Swiss climber Steffi Häberlin switches SD Worx for Canyon-SRAM with 'more to unlock' – Analysis

Canyon-SRAM announced the signing of Swiss rider Steffi Häberlin, who joins the German team after spending two years at SD Worx-Protime.

Häberlin is a fairly recent convert to road cycling, having started racing mountain bikes in 2020. She quickly found success, winning the Swiss MTB marathon title the same year and taking European silver in the same event a year later.

She turned pro on the road just last year, joining SD Worx and winning the Swiss road title as well as finishing fifth at the Tour de Romandie Fémninin. This season, she's progressed further, defending her national title, winning the recent Tour de Gatineau, and scoring top-10 finishes at the UAE Tour and Tour de Suisse.

28-year-old Häberlin is hoping to continue her rapid progression with her new team.

"Canyon-SRAM is an ambitious team, but at the same time I don’t think that the human side of the sport gets lost," she said.

"I've had the feeling that Canyon-SRAM really tries to support each rider individually, and get the most out of everyone. I also find it commendable that Canyon-SRAM takes responsibility for the next generation through the Generation team."

Häberlin joins fellow Swiss racer Jasmin Liechti on the incoming list for Canyon, while Dutch multi-disciplinarian Shirin van Anrooij also joins next month ahead of the cyclocross season.

A trio of riders are on the outgoing list, with Kasia-Niewiadoma-Phinney heading to Lidl-Trek, Maike van der Duin moving to Visma-Lease a Bike, and Tiffany Cromwell retiring.

Häberlin will embark on her third season in the Women's WorldTour next season, and she said any doubts about her place at the top level of road cycling are "long gone."

"My first contract was a big change for me because I had only been cycling for four years, and that was mainly as a cross-country mountain biker. I had been thinking about making the switch to the road for quite some time, but I didn't really know what to expect or whether it was the right decision for me at that time," she said.

"Those doubts are long gone now, and I'm really happy to be a road cyclist. I see this next step as a great opportunity to keep learning and developing as a rider, and to gather more race days."

For SD Worx-Protime, Häberlin's departure is the sixth for 2027, joining Marta Lach (Human Powered Health), Julia Kopecký, Blanka Vas (both Lidl-Trek), Femke Markus (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Elena Cecchini (retiring).

To date, the Dutch team have brought in four riders in the shape of Cédrine Kerbaol, Axelle Dubau-Prévot (EF Education-Oatly), Rachele Barbieri (Picnic-PostNL), and Eline Jansen (VolkerWessels).

Analysis

Dani Ostanek

There's clearly more to come from Häberlin, given she's only raced at this level for two years. That's certainly what Canyon-SRAM are betting on with this transfer, in any case.

The team has suffered a major loss as Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney heads off next season, though in Antonia Niedermaier they appear to have a ready-made replacement, the 23-year-old having finished fourth at this year's Tour de France Femmes as best young rider.

Of course, they'll need to support Niedermaier's Grand Tour ambitions in the coming years, and Häberlin looks like a good fit to slot into that role. Canyon-SRAM performance director Dan Fleeman called her a "strong climber with a very good aerobic engine, and the consistent ability to stay competitive when races become long and physically demanding," naming her a rider who can support team leaders while taking her own opportunities.

"I believe that Steffi has more to unlock in terms of how she uses her climbing strengths in racing. With more experience and confidence, she can continue to improve her positioning and decision-making in the key moments, as well as her ability to follow and respond to the key moves," Fleeman said.

"The goal is to help her to create more opportunities to compete for strong results herself,

From SD Worx's perspective, the loss of Häberlin isn't a trajectory-altering move. She only raced in one Grand Tour for the team (the 2025 Giro), though might've been a useful rider had she been selected for any of the three races this year. She'll certainly get more chances at her new squad, in any case.

The team is rebooting for 2027, with Kerbaol coming on board as their new GC hopeful, while Dubau-Prévôt and Jansen will add to their climbing support squad. There's a sense that there's more to come from Häberlin, though, so there's a chance that the Dutch squad could end up with some regrets at this loss.

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