Jolien D’Hoore and Christine Majerus extend contracts with the SD Worx Cycling Team

Antwerp, 16 June 2020 – Olympic champion Jolien D’Hoore has extended her contract with the current Boels-Dolmans team by one year. This means she will be riding for the new main sponsor SD Worx in the new Olympic year of 2021. Ten-time road champion Christine Majerus from Luxembourg is also staying with the team. Majerus is extending her contract by two years. Olympic champion Anna van der Breggen, European champion Amy Pieters, former world champion Chantal Blaak and Dutch talent Lonneke Uneken also previously extended their contracts with the best women's cycling team in the world. They have all set the tone for what is to come.

Sporting Director Danny Stam has high expectations of D’Hoore. The 30-year-old rider from Ghent has already achieved 46 wins at the highest level: “Last year, Jolien suffered a broken collarbone and elbow, and this season she has not been able to prove herself yet because of the coronavirus pandemic. I know for sure that she is eager to excel next year in the colours of our main sponsor, SD Worx from Belgium. I am expecting a number of great wins from her on the road. She will focus on the Flemish events in the spring, and after April she will start working towards the Olympic Games in Tokyo.”

“I didn't hesitate when the team offered me a new contract," Jolien D’Hoore says. “Even though I'm the only Belgian in this Dutch team, I have always felt right at home. I am proud that SD Worx will be our new main sponsor in the coming years. It is a large, well-known company that has Belgian roots like me. As a Belgian cyclist, I am hoping to put this sponsor in the spotlight. After the setbacks of 2019, I'm preparing to put in a good performance in the second half of 2020. I hope the races that were postponed due to the coronavirus can still go ahead this year. Of course, I'm now focusing on the Flemish events. They're where I'm at my best. The classics feel like home to me.” 

Jolien D’Hoore won the bronze medal for the omnium race event at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. D’Hoore has also been very successful in the madison discipline with Lotte Kopecky in recent years. Together, they became European champions (2016) and world champions (2017) in this event. Stam would also like to see her compete in the omnium race event in Tokyo. “Now that the short, explosive parts have been removed from omnium racing, D’Hoore stands a very good chance of securing a medal. It has made it easier to transition from road racing to the track," explains Stam.  

D'Hoore herself says that her full focus will be on the madison: “My chances of a medal are greatest in the madison, so that discipline is my absolute priority. At the Olympics, we will see who is the strongest at that particular time – Lotte or myself – to compete in the omnium.” 

Danny Stam is also pleased to keep Majerus (33) in the team. “Christine has been an invaluable asset to the team since 2014. She is an excellent team player and a true professional who is always willing to support others. And when she's in a situation where she has a chance of winning, she'll make that happen, too. Her victory at the Boels Ladies Tour last year is a perfect example of this. There's also the fact that every winter, she finishes as one of the best in a large number of cyclo-cross events.”