Visma-Lease a Bike Women have signed France's Marion Bunel, widely considered one of the most promising young riders in the peloton, for the next three seasons.
Bunel, 20, triumphed in the Tour de L'Avenir Femmes in August, picking up two stage wins en route to overall victory including one on the Colle dell Finestre summit finish. She also completed her first Tour de France Femmes this summer, finishing 17th overall in her first full professional season and third in the race's best young rider classification.
The St Michel-Mavic-Auber93 rider said in a Visma-Lease a Bike press release that she was looking forward to racing alongside experienced teammates such as Marianne Vos and fellow Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.
As explained in a recent feature in Cyclingnews, Visma-Lease a Bike Women are undergoing a major overhaul in their roster for 2025, saying goodbye to stalwarts Anna Henderson and Riejanne Markus, and adding Ferrand-Prévot as she makes her return to road racing.
Ferrand-Prévot has said she will try to win the Tour de France Femmes, an objective that dramatically ramps up the ambitions at Visma-Lease a Bike. The Frenchwoman is joining Martina Fidanza, Imogen Wolff and Viktória Chlodanová in joining the team.
"I am convinced that this is the perfect next step for my career. In terms of facilities and teammates, I couldn't wish for a better environment," Bunel said. "Up until now, I was always trained by my father, so I am very curious to see what it will be like to train in a different way."
"I have been following Pauline for a long time. She is a great example for me and I think for many others. I am very happy that I can now ride in a team with her for a few more years. I will try to learn as much as possible from her."
"Marion is a great talent who can hold her own in the mountains.," team manager Rutger Tijssen added, pointing out that Bunel and Visma had already been in contact after she finished eighth in the 2023 Tour de l'Avenir. "We are very happy that she chose us and I think she is also very happy that she can take the next step with us."
Bunel herself said she hoped to continue progressing in the coming years: "My first Tour de France gave me a lot of motivation. Of course, it would be great to win [ a stage in] the Tour one day, but I want to learn and discover as much as possible first."
