"Exciting to discover my talent on the road" - Mountain biker Laura Stiger lands WorldTour deal with SD Worx- Pro Time

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"Exciting to discover my talent on the road" - Mountain biker Laura Stiger lands WorldTour deal with SD Worx- Pro Time

Laura Stigger shocked the world of cycling when she won the Junior Women's Road Race World Title in Innsbruck, Australia in 2018. After 6 years, she has built a successful career in professional mountain biking, but for the 2025 season, she is ready to return to road racing with a new contract with SD Worx-Protime, one of the world's largest teams, 1.

"Taking the world title in my area soon with my first real introduction to the road was super special. I now want to see what I value in the elite category on the road," Stiger said in the team's press release.

"While I can continue my mountain bike career with a professional factory racing team, I'm happy to discover it.

Stiger had a successful multi-discipline junior career, winning 2 world titles in cross-country mountain biking and gold medals at the 2017 and 2018 European Championships. In 2019, he won 3 u-23 Mountain Bike World Cup and Series ranking. 

Since being promoted to the Elite Rank in 2020, she was still under the age of 23, but has won multiple victories and podiums in the World Cup Series of cross-country and short track racing.

Stiger, 24, currently races in specialized factory racing, she continues to compete on cross-country mountain bikes. He has also competed in road races including the Ardennes Classics, and is also a sponsor of Sd Worx-Protime.

"Laura combines mountain biking with road cycling. We are pleased that she will do this with us. Together with Laura, we have another nice reinforcement for climbing. She will do well in the work of the Ardennes. Last year she attended a training camp with our team and it worked very well. That's why we decided to give her the opportunity to taste the real thing on the road," said team manager Danny Stam.

"The combination of different disciplines is becoming increasingly trending. Mountain biking and road cycling are very complementary. Mountain bikers are usually very strong in the mountains, where they can successfully release their power."

Stiger believes her strength lies in a road race with punches, but she needs to build her experience. She said her training on the roads at her home in Innsbruck meant she was well suited to climbing in the area, which was why she put her focus on the world of roads six years ago.

"It was a success and I also ended up winning the world title in my home city. Totally unexpected. It's a great memory," Stiger said.

She said she then met Anna van der Breggen, who won the Elite Women's Road Race in Innsbruck that year, at altitude camp and then trained together. She said that Van der Breggen, who will retire in 2025 and race with SD Worx-Protime, encouraged her to compete on the road.

"The fact that it finally happened a few years later is beautiful and exciting at the same time. I look forward to riding with her on the same team now," Stiger said.

"I think my steering skills from a mountain bike will come in handy. We want to combine both disciplines to make significant progress in both road cycling and mountain biking."

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