Nick van der Lijke rejoins set-up for the 2023 season
After the earlier announcement of the merger between Leopard Pro Cycling and Riwal Cycling, it is now the perfect time to welcome rider number nine for the project: the comeback kid Nick van der Lijke.
In 2020 and 2021, Dutchmen Nick van der Lijke was already part of the Riwal Cycling Team. In this period he won the Kreiz Breizh Elites for the second time and impressed with amazing results in races such as the PostNord Danmark Rundt, the Amstel Gold Race, the Tour of Norway, the Tour de Bretagne, the Tour de Wallonie and the Druivenkoers – Overijse. But already before his first races in the Riwal-kit, Van der Lijke was able to impress as part of the Dutch Roompot and Team LottoNL-Jumbo outfits.
After the 2021 season, Van der Lijke decided to say goodbye to the sport, but – as turns out – his retirement only lasted one season. Van der Lijke is a rider that likes tough races. Whether they are flat or filled with nasty uphill kicks, one can count on the 31-year-old to be up there with the bests. For 2023, Van der Lijke hopes to return to his condition from before and will be there for the youngsters in the team at any time.
Provisional roster 2023
Loïc Bettendorff (LUX - 2001)
Mathias Bregnhøj (DK - 1995)
Colin Heiderscheid (LUX - 1998)
Cedric Pries (LUX - 2000)
Kasper Viber Søgaard (DK - 2001)
Tim Torn Teutenberg (GER - 2002)
Nick van der Lijke (NL - 1991)
Emil Vinjebo (DK - 1994)
Mats Wenzel (LUX - 2002)
Nick van der Lijke
“After I decided to stop racing in 2021, my wife and I were taking over the family business. Unfortunately, due to to personal circumstances we had to sell it back again. Since that moment, the itch to get back to racing was always there. I am so happy that I am back again and that I am able to be part of the Leopard and Riwal set-up for next season. This merger is a big step forward and I am sure that we will operate as a professional team. I hope that I can play my part with good results and guide the younger guys throughout the season.”
Sebastian Andersen, Sportive Manager
“As a team we are very happy to help Nick with his comeback. Personally, I first worked with him at the Circuit des Ardennes in 2021 where we won the race with Lucas Eriksson for the first time. There I saw a brilliant rider and I am convinced that Nick will again be of great value to our team. His experience will be important throughout the 2023 season.”
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