Visma-Lease a Bike Women has signed Frenchman Marion Bunel, widely regarded as one of the most promising young riders in the peloton, for the next three seasons.

The 20-year-old Bunel won the Tour de l'Avignille Femme in August with two stage victories, including a summit finish in the Collet de Finestre, and the overall win. He also completed his first Tour de France Femme this summer, finishing 17th overall in his first full professional season and 3rd in the race's best young rider award.

The rider of the Saint-Michel-Mavic-Ober 93 said in a Visma-Lease a Bike press release that he is looking forward to racing with experienced teammates like Marianne Vos and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot.

As explained in a recent feature in Cycling News, the Visma-Lease a Bike women are undergoing a major roster shakeup for 2025, saying goodbye to mainstays Anna Henderson and Lierjeanne Marx and adding Ferrand-Prevot, who is returning to road racing

The team has also made a major shake-up of its roster.

Ferrand-Prevot has said she is aiming to win the Tour de France Femme, a goal that would dramatically increase Visma Ries-a-Bike's ambitions. The Frenchwoman will join Martina Fidanza, Imogen Wolff, and Viktoria Klodanova on the team.

“I am convinced it is the perfect next step for my career. I couldn't ask for a better environment in terms of facilities and teammates,” Bunel said.

“Up until now, I've always trained with my father, so I'm really curious to see what it's like to train in a different way.”

“I have followed Pauline for a long time. She is a great role model for me and for many others. I am very happy to be running on the team with her for a few more years. I will try to learn as much as I can from her.”

“Marion is a great talent who can hold her own in the mountains,” added team manager Lutger Theisen, noting that Bunel and Wisma were already in touch after she finished eighth in the 2023 Tour de Lavenir. Said Tyssen: “We are very happy that she chose us, and I think she would be happy to take the next step with us.”

Bunel herself said she hopes to continue to progress: “My first Tour de France gave me a lot of motivation. Of course, it would be great to win the Tour one day, but first I want to learn and discover as much as possible.”