Canadian all-rounder Olivia Baril is to become a member of the Telefónica-backed Movistar squad next season, further strengthening the team’s 2024 roster. The 25 year-old rider is a strong presence in both the mountains and the flat and was notably prominent at stage races last year. The Québec native will join the Sebastián Unzué-led outfit on January 1st. With Olivia in the ranks, the Movistar Team will continue to aim for the biggest goals in the UCI Women’s WorldTour next year.
Having lived in San Sebastián (Basque Country) over the last few years, Baril has just completed an impressive 2023 season, in what was only her second year fully devoted to professional racing. On top of claiming a second consecutive victory in the GP Eibar and notching up a stage win in the Tour de l’Ardèche, where she finished in 4th overall, the Canadian talent shone at two WorldTour stage races, with 4th overall in the Itzulia, plus 6th in the Tour of Scandinavia. She also successfully completed La Vuelta (19th in GC) and the Tour de France Femmes.
Olivia Baril said, “I’m really excited to race with the Movistar Team. I’m sure it’s the right team to make me progress into the rider I want to become. They’ve had so much success in the past few years, especially in the Grand Tours and stage races. They had the best Grand Tour rider in the world with Annemiek, but I also see that it’s the team she had that helped her achieve everything she has. I feel confident in my choice with the Movistar Team, because they’ve shown that they can develop incredibly successful riders and they have the right means on and off the bike to do so.
“I think I’ve come to make my mark as a climber and a GC rider, but I definitely don’t want to limit myself to it. I want to be a complete all-rounder, being useful to the team in the one-day races, flat or climbing and I’m especially focusing more on the time-trial. I never want to be known as ‘just a climber’. I think the Movistar Team and myself have big expectations and goals for 2024. They are an ambitious team, so they’ll want to win one-day races, stage races and stages of all the major WWT races. In 2024, I’m hoping to participate in both Olympic events, (RR and ITT) and I’m confident the Movistar Team will fully support me and my goals for Paris.”
