Letizia Paternoster signs for BikeExchange-Jayco

Italian rider Letizia Paternoster has signed a two-year contract with BikeExchange-Jayco. The move ends her four-year stay at Trek-Segafredo and boosts the Australian squad’s sprinting options for the new season.

“I am very happy and excited about beginning the new season with GreenEDGE Cycling, I can’t wait to get started. I am extremely motivated to do well and with this new experience I am sure we will achieve great results,” Paternoster said in a statement.

“From what I have seen and what I heard, I am confident that I will find my place with Team BikeExchange-Jayco. I look forward to meeting all my new teammates and building a strong relationship with all of them and I hope we will achieve important results together. I just need to hold on with my excitement and grit a bit longer before the new season will begin.”

Paternoster, still just 23, burst through as a promising junior in 2016, taking top-fives in both the world championships and the European championships road races. A year later she did the double in the time trial and road race at national championship level with a move to the Astana Women’s Team coming as a result.

Despite limited racing time on the road, Paternoster still racked up several wins with a move to Trek-Segafredo sealed for the following year. She won on her debut in 2019, taking the first stage of the Santos Women’s Tour, before taking third in Gent-Wevelgem later that spring. Several more top placings followed before she won the European championships U23 road race in Alkmaar, the Netherlands.

The last three years have seen Paternoster maintain her focus on the track with several European and world championships titles added to her palmares. With more opportunities on the road, BikeExchange-Jayco’s Brent Copeland is confident that the Italian can rediscover her sprinting legs.

“There is no doubting it that Letizia is a huge talent, and it is hard to believe her age with the number of results she has already achieved. It is always exciting signing a rider like this that has so much experience but also so much potential still to give,” the team’s general manager said.

“We feel that Letizia will fit in very well in the women’s squad and it is exciting for us to be bringing on such a fast finisher that will give the team many more options to challenge for top results across the women’s WorldTour calendar.”

BikeExchange-Jayco are set for a number of changes in the off-season. Urška Žigart has already been offered a two-year contract extension but Amanda Spratt is destined to leave after spending her entire career so far on the Australian team.

Spratt has not announced her official team for next year but one possible destination is Trek-Segafredo, with VeloNews learning on Tuesday that both the rider and the team are in the middle of talks. Kristen Faulkner is set to stay on the Australian team, with another year left on her current deal.