Gravel rider Geerike Schreurs gives extra dimension to Team SD Worx - Protime

Gravel rider Geerike Schreurs gives extra dimension to Team SD Worx - Protime

Gravel rider Geerike Schreurs gives extra dimension to Team SD Worx - Protime

20/09/2024

From next cycling season, Geerike Schreurs will join Team SD Worx - Protime. Last year, the 35-year-old Dutch gravel rider was already associated with the team via Specialized. That collaboration worked out so well that the team wants to continue with Schreurs in 2025.

Sports manager Danny Stam: ‘Gravel is becoming increasingly important in cycling.Last year we were asked by Specialized if we could think along with them.We tried to facilitate Geerike as much as possible this year. We have seen that, as a team, we get a lot of extra exposure and popularity out of gravel cycling. We realise that it is also important to have charisma in this branch of cycling.’

Stam: ‘Furthermore, we have discovered that the other riders are pulling themselves up to Geerike again in gravel racing. Some feel the need to also have an occasional ‘outing’ in a gravel race. For instance, several of our riders participated in The Traka this year. Geerike fits into our team and was also an added value during the training camps. In the future, we can also have her step in if necessary when we are short of a rider for a road race.’

‘I am very happy with this contract,’ says Schreurs. ‘I didn't actually expect it. I did have a good season, but now I am really part of the team. It's still incredibly special when you think about it. Twelve years after I said goodbye to road cycling after two seasons with Sengers Ladies Cycling Team and one with Dolmans Landscaping Team, I now have a contract with the best women's team in the world. In that period, women's cycling has completely changed. After 12 years, Anna van der Breggen and I will be teammates again, how nice is that?’

‘The focus next year will of course be on graveling again. I excel in the long distances that come with graveling. I do think it would be fun to ride the occasional road race when the team is tight. In fact, the combination could also be useful for me in graveling. Road races are more explosive and I can grow in that. Gravel riding is also individualistic, while by nature I like to help others. If I can gain explosiveness in road races and do work for someone else at the same time, that motivates me tremendously AND is also to my advantage for my gravel races.’

‘It's a crazy story,’ Schreurs points out. ‘In 2013, I had little support from my family and friends because a career in cycling was not realistic then either. I then focused on courses to become a sports masseur. If I do something, I want to be the best. But at one point, I was no longer happy with what I was doing. I witnessed the development of women's cycling up close and it started itching again. Not so much to be able to make money from it, but just to see what I could do as a cyclist. And last year came this opportunity to join Team SD Worx-Protime through Specialized for a part. I grabbed that one with both hands.’
 
‘I remember being excited about how I would get through my first training camp with the team. I knew I had a long way to go to keep up with those strong riders. I used to pull myself down in the past, now I tried to pull myself up to them. I am proud of my performance in Unbound. There was a lot on me in my first participation. It is the most professional gravel race and there was pressure involved. Of course, I wanted to make my sponsor Specialized proud. That I ended up finishing second in Unbound is one of my absolute highlights so far. I also won a UCI race in Scotland and rode a consistent season. I am trying to be at the forefront of the gravel world. I work hard to have separate races for women instead of mass starts with women and men at the same time. We women deserve that. We can make the competitions interesting ourselves. That's also just the fairest thing. It's not always appreciated that I'm committed to that. For example, I make a point of not even going to races anymore where there is a mass start.’

‘I'm glad I took the step to go fully for a gravel career. The great thing is that you meet all kinds of people in different age groups. Recently, I met a 60-year-old woman who called me an inspiration. All I could think is that she inspired me. I just hope that as a sixty-year-old I will still be able to do what she can do. But first, my current career. I am really looking forward to defending the colours of Team SD Worx-Protime in 2025.’

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