WM3 Pro Cycling

WM3 Pro Cycling

Team information
UCI code	RBW
Registered	Netherlands
Founded	2005 (2005)
Discipline	Road
Status	UCI Women's Team
Bicycles	Colnago (2005–2008) Giant (2009–2016) Ridley (2017–)
Website	Team home page
Key personnel
General manager	Eric van den Boom
Team manager(s)	Koos Moerenhout
Team name history
2005 2006 2007–2008 2009 2010–2011 2012 2012 2013 2014–2016 2017 2017–	DSB Bank DSB Bank–Ballast Nedam DSB–Bank DSB Bank–LTO Nederland Bloeit Stichting Rabo Women Cycling Team Rabobank Women Cycling Team Rabobank–Liv Giant Rabo–Liv Women Cycling Team Fortitude Pro Cycling[N 1] WM3 Pro Cycling[1]

WM3 Pro Cycling (UCI Code: RBW) is a women's professional cycling team, based in the Netherlands. The team is sponsored by Rabobank and Giant Bicycles through its women's brand Liv.

Riders for Rabobank Women compete in the UCI Women's WorldTour and other elite women's events throughout the world.

History

2009

2012

The team's first win of the season came in the Ronde van Drenthe where Marianne Vos claimed victory. The teams first overall General classification win came at the Festival Luxembourgeois du cyclisme féminin Elsy Jacobs, again being won by Marianne Vos – along with a stage – Annemiek van Vleuten also won the prologue and a stage. Marianne Vos went on to win 5 stages of the 2012 Giro d'Italia Femminile, as well as the General classification. Vos followed this by winning the General classification of the Tour Féminin en Limousin. Vos continued her strong run of wins claiming the 2012 Olympic Games road race in London. The final wins for the team came at the Holland Ladies Tour where Vos won the General classification and took two stage wins. Vos later won the 2012 UCI World Championship road race.

2013

Marianne Vos opened the teams account securing victory in the 2013 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championship. The teams first road win of the season came at the Drentse 8 van Dwingeloo, with Vos claiming victory. Vos went on to win the Ronde van Drenthe and Tour of Flanders. Like the previous season the first overall General classification win came at the Festival Luxembourgeois du cyclisme féminin Elsy Jacobs, with Vos winning the General classification, Points classification and taking a stage win. Like the previous year, Annemiek van Vleuten won the opening prologue. Vos continued her winning streak in one day races taking out wins in the Rabobank 7-Dorpenomloop Aalburg and Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria. Vos failed to retain her 2013 Giro title, losing to Mara Abbott, but did claim the Points classification and three stages. Vos also claimed overall victory in Trophée d'Or Féminin

2014

The 2014 season marked a different start to the season for the team. Marianne Vos started her road season late, leaving the team to support other riders in the opening races of the year. Lucinda Brand won the team's first General classification of the year at the Energiewacht Tour. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won the La Flèche Wallonne Féminine with Anna van der Breggen claiming victory at the Dwars door de Westhoek. van der Breggen then claimed overall victory at the Festival Luxembourgeois du cyclisme féminin Elsy Jacobs with Marianne Vos winning the Points classification and Ferrand-Prévot taking both the Mountains and Young rider classification. Vos then claimed overall victory at the inaugural Women's Tour of Britain. The team won further race General classifications with overall victory at the Emakumeen Euskal Bira for Ferrand-Prevot and the 2014 Giro d'Italia Femminile for Vos. Vos followed this up by winning the inaugural La Course by Le Tour de France.

Riders in

On 29 August, Moniek Tenniglo joined the team.^[2] On September 13 Thalita de Jong, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Roxane Knetemann, Anna Knauer and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot signed contract extensions.^[3] On October 9 the team signed Shara Gillow and on October 20 Anouska Koster joined the team. On November 13 Jeanne Korevaar joined the team.^[4]

Riders out

On March 1, Sanne van Paassen left the team to join Boels–Dolmans.^[5] In September 2014, the team announced that the Annemiek van Vleuten would leave the team and join the Bigla Cycling Team for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.^[6]

2015

In January the team scored 1st and 3rd in the UCI World Cyclo-cross championships, with Ferrand-Prevot and Vos respectively.^[7] In the first European road race of the season, the Omloop het Nieuwsblad, the team rode very strongly. With 30 km to go Anna van der Breggen escaped together with Ellen van Dijk (Boels–Dolmans) from a front group of 15 riders on the Molenberg. The duo extended their advantage over the cobbled sections that followed, holding off the chase group to the line, where Van der Breggen won the two-up sprint.^[8]

In December 2015 Rabobank announced that it would end its sponsorship of professional sport at the end of 2016, forcing the team to find a new sponsor.^[9]

2016

In September 2016 the team announced that it would be known as Fortitude Pro Cycling in 2017. At the same time the team confirmed its 11-rider roster for 2017, including six riders who were part of the Rabo-Liv squad in 2016 - Marianne Vos, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Yara Kastelijn, Jeanne Korevaar, Anouska Koster and Moniek Tenniglo. The remainder of the squad consists of new signings Rotem Gafinovitz, Anna Plichta, Lauren Kitchen, Valentina Scandolara and Riejanne Markus. Among the riders leaving the team are Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Anna van der Breggen, Lucinda Brand, Thalita de Jong, Shara Gillow and Roxane Knetemann.^[9]

Major results

Olympic, World, Continental & National Champions

Team Ranking

Team roster

2016

As of 1 January 2016. Ages as of 1 January 2016.^[10]

Rider Date of birth  Lucinda Brand (NED) (1989-07-02)July 02, 1989 (aged 26)  Thalita de Jong (NED) (1993-11-06)November 06, 1993 (aged 22)  Pauline Ferrand Prevot (FRA) (1992-02-10)February 10, 1992 (aged 23)  Shara Gillow (AUS) (1987-12-23)December 23, 1987 (aged 28)  Yara Kastelijn (NED) (1997-08-09)August 09, 1997 (aged 18)  Roxane Knetemann (NED) (1987-04-01)April 01, 1987 (aged 28)

Rider Date of birth  Jeanne Korevaar (NED) (1996-09-24)September 24, 1996 (aged 19)  Anouska Koster (NED) (1993-08-20)August 20, 1993 (aged 22)  Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL) (1994-09-29)September 29, 1994 (aged 21)  Moniek Tenniglo (NED) (1988-05-02)May 02, 1988 (aged 27)  Anna van der Breggen (NED) (1990-04-18)April 18, 1990 (aged 25)  Marianne Vos (NED) (1987-05-13)May 13, 1987 (aged 28)

Notes

References

External links

• Official website