Starting October 1, 2005, Ricardo van der Velde will join the cyclo-cross squad of the Rabobank Continental Team. The 18 year-old Van der Velde will stay with the team of Nico Verhoeven through the 2006-2007 cyclo-cross season.
In 2003, Ricardo van der Velde was Dutch national cyclo-cross youth champion. At the recent World Championships in Sankt Wendel, Germany he placed fifth, the best Dutch result in the Junior race. Van der Velde also showed his talents at the European Championships, last season in Vossem, Belgium, which he finished in second place. The winner of the 2005 overall Super Prestige classification for Juniors has already won a number of cyclo-cross races in both Holland and Belgium last season: Dudzele, Woerden, Wortegem-Petegem, Ruddervoorde, Oudenaarde, Niel, Asper-Gavere, Gieten and Zolder. Ricardo van der Velde is the son of Johan van der Velde, former teammate of Joop Zoetemelk in his 1980 Tour de France victory.
