After racing with the HTC Highroad setup and its successor, Specialized lululemon, since 2010, Evelyn Stevens has decided to take her career in a different direction and has inked a deal with the Boels-Dolmans Cycling team.
The 31 year old has inked a two year deal with the Dutch squad, joining other top names such as former team-mate Ellen van Dijk, the World Cup winner Lizzie Armitstead and Chantal Blaak.
The former Wall Street banker took her third straight gold medal in the Elite women’s time trial championship on Sunday, helping Specialized lululemon defend its title.
She will add a lot of horsepower to the Boels-Dolmans team but, as her past victories in La Flèche Wallonne, the Route de France, the Giro del Trentino and Thüringen Rundfahrt plus her third overall in the 2012 Giro Rosa show, she is also good on all sorts of terrain.
Stevens has already worn the Boels logo this year, having worn – and won – the leader’s jersey in the Boels Rental Holland women’s tour.
Team manager Danny Stam regards the new signing as a very important addition to the team.
“Evelyn Stevens is a cyclist who can help us achieve our ambitions in becoming world champion in the team time trial, but above all, she is a cyclist who adds a new dimension to our current team,” he said.
“Although we were at times dominant in the cycling classics - it’s no surprise we won the Tour of Drenthe, the Tour of Flanders and were individual winner in the World Cup - we felt we could still strengthen our position on hilly terrain and in stage races.
“Stevens is a cyclist who has proven that she feels comfortable in the hills and mountains. She makes our team even more complete.”
It is unclear at this point in time if the Specialized lululemon team will lose any more big-name riders. Both of the title sponsors are stepping back, but team owner Kristy Scrymgeour told CyclingTips in a recent interview that other backers are expected to come on board. The team is also using crowd funding as part of its budget for 2015.