Jolanda Neff (Switzerland)(Image credit: Rob Jones)
World Cup leader Jolanda Neff (Kross Racing Team)(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Jolanda Neff (Switzerland) gives Emily Batty (Canada) a hug(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Jolanda Neff (Sui) Kross Racing Team was easily riding sections most other struggled on(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Emily Batty (Canada) in a world of hurt(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing XC)(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Emily Batty (Canada)(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Switzerland's Jolanda Neff is the newest addition to the Trek Factory Racing team for the 2019 season. The mountain bike specialist announced her contract deal on Wednesday through a video message on Twitter, confirming that she will also be racing on the road and in cyclo-cross.
"I'm more than excited to share the news that I will be racing on the Trek Factory Racing team," Neff said. "My main focus will be mountain biking, but I will also get the chance to race on the road and in cyclo-cross. I can't wait to see you all at the races."
Neff won the elite women’s cross country world title in 2017, and the overall World Cup titles in 2014 and 2015, she was also three-time under-23 world champion.
A versatile rider, Neff has also been successful on the road winning the Swiss championships title in the road race twice, along with overall victory at Tour of Poland and third at Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio. She was also eighth in the road race at the Olympic Games in 2016 and has placed inside the top 10 at the World Championships.
Batty renews
Neff will join Canada’s Emily Batty, who also announced that she renewed her contract with Trek Factory Racing in 2019 and beyond in a video message.
Batty has secured two bronze medals at the World Championships in 2016 in Nove Mesto and 2018 in Lenzerheide. She has also earned the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 in Glasgow and the gold medal in the Pan American Games in 2015 in Toronto.
She finished just off the podium in fourth place at the Olympic Games in 2016, in what was a sprint for the bronze medal against her compatriot Catherine Pendrel.
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"I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be racing with Trek Factory Racing for 2019 and beyond," Batty said. "I’m so excited to get back to racing, especially with my new teammate Jolanda Neff. We’ll see you guys at the races."
At the Tour de France in July, Trek announced that it would be forming a UCI Women’s Team, initially called Trek Factory Racing, that would compete in road races on the Women’s WorldTour. At the UCI Road World Championships in September, Trek announced that the team would also be sponsored by Segafredo, and will take on the same title as the men's WorldTour team Trek-Segafredo.
Much of that roster has been announced to include former world champion Lizzie Deignan Elisa Longo Borghini, Lotta Lepistö, Letizia Paternoster, Ellen van Dijk, Abi Van Twisk, Tayler Wiles, Ruth Winder, Trixi Worrack and Lauretta Hanson. Former sprinters Ina Teutenberg and Giorgia Bronzini will direct the team.
In cyclo-cross, Trek Factory Racing's women's team includes Ellen Noble, Evie Richards and Emma Swartz.
