Team: Rabo Liv Woman Cycling Team
UCI Ranking: 1/36 (same 2014)
Win Count: 24 (Down from 48 in 2014)
Top Riders: Anna van der Breggen (1), Lucinda Brand (10), Katarzyna Niewiadoma (12), Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (18)
With the absence of Marianne Vos due to injury, the Rabo Liv Woman Cycling Team went into the 2015 season with a significant handicap. Last year, the team rallied primarily around Vos to record an impressive 48 victories (21 of those from Vos). This year, the team managed to win exactly half that amount, 24, but that didn’t to take away from the team’s ability to secure the top spot on the UCI ranking ahead of runner-up squad Boels Dolmans Cycling Team and third placed Wiggle Honda.
In addition, the team’s go-to rider Anna van der Breggen delivered when it counted, even with a mid-season break, winning 11 races including the overall titles at the Giro Rosa, Elsy Jacobs and a World Cup victory at La Fleche Wallonne Feminine. She also took numerous other stage victories and a second place in the road race at the World Championships. Her success pushed her into the top spot in the women’s individual UCI ranking by season’s end.
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Other riders who made strong contributions to the overall success of Rabo Liv in the UCI ranking included Lucinda Brand, ranked 10th in the individual standings, won stages at the Energiewacht Tour and Giro Rosa, while Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, who decided on mixing in mountain biking during the season, won a stage of the Giro Rosa. Katarzyna Niewiadoma pulled her own weight as well winning the overall title at the Euskal Emakumeen Bira. The team also took top honours at the Crescent Woman World Cup Vargarda team time trial.
What to expect in 2016
The bulk of the team will remain the same in 2016, so we can expect to see more of their success with riders like Van der Breggen, Brand, Niewiadoma and Ferrand-Prevot leading the charge. After treating her hamstring injury and a period of feeling overloaded, Vos is expected to make the long-awaited return to road racing next year. Although her sights are firmly set on competing at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, one can never count her out for victories elsewhere. The team will also no doubt be one of the strongest on the new Women's WorldTour.
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