Published August 22, 2018 11:47AM
Ruth Winder to join new Trek women's squad
Ruth Winder and Lauretta Hanson will join the new Trek women's team in 2019
Ruth Winder on the move at the Ladies Tour of Norway. Photo: Luc Claessen/Getty Images
The new Trek women’s team has announced that British-born American Ruth Winder will join the squad in 2019, adding another strong climber to a roster already set to include former world champion Lizzie Deignan.
Winder, 25, emerged as one of the premier up-and-coming American talents in the peloton last season. She has spent 2018 racing with Team Sunweb, and counts a stage victory at the Giro Rosa on her season palmares.
“As soon as I heard about the team, I was interested, and after talking with Trek, it sounded like a great fit,” Winder said via a team press release. “Not just with the athletic program that is being built, but also as an American working with such a loved American brand.”
Trek will also bring in another well-rounded up-and-comer in Australian Lauretta Hanson, who has spent the last six seasons mostly racing in the United States, the last two of those with UnitedHealthcare.
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Trek-Segafredo manager Luca Guercilena announced the creation of a women’s team for the upcoming season during the Tour de France this July. The future Trek Women’s Team team is separate from the current Trek-Drops squad. According a report in Cyclingnews, that team will continue without Trek as a title sponsor from 2019 on.
Winder and Hanson will be joining some talented company as they make the move this offseason.
In addition to riders like Deignan, Ellen van Dijk, and Elisa Longo Borghini, Trek will count on some talented staff members as well. Giorgia Bronzini, retiring from racing, is set to serve as a sports director alongside sprinting legend Ina Teutenberg.
“I’ve spent a really good year in Europe learning a lot about the races and [positioning in the] peloton,” Winder said. “I feel fully ready to take that into next year with what’s going to be a really strong team. Along with Lizzie, I was actually born in Yorkshire, and I am really looking to the 2019 World Championships there. The upcoming year is full of goals to get there, and I’m excited to see what we will achieve.”