Team SD Worx-Protime has secured the latest reinforcement for 2025 by signing the 24-year-old Austrian Laura Stigger for 1 year. Stigger has so far excelled in mountain bike cross-country, but has also shown her talent on the road in the past. She skilfully took the world junior title at the 2018 World Road Cycling Championships in Innsbruck. Stigger will now combine the two disciplines across her two teams.Â
‘It was super special to immediately take the world title in my own region at my first real introduction to the road. I am now curious to see what I am worth in the elite category on the road. It’s nice that I can discover that while I can still continue my mountain bike career with the Specialized Factory Racing Team,’ Stigger said.Â
Sports manager of Team SD Worx – Protime, Danny Stam is pleased to have Laura Stigger’s commitment to the squad for the upcoming season. ‘Laura will combine mountain biking with road cycling. We are pleased that she will do this with us. With Laura, we have another nice reinforcement for climbing. She will do well in Ardennes work. Last year she attended a training camp with our team and it went very well. That’s why we took the decision to give her the chance to get a taste of the real thing on the road,’ Stam confirmed. ‘The combinations of different disciplines is more and more a trend. Mountain biking and road cycling are quite complementary. Mountain bikers are usually quite strong in the mountains and can release their power well there.’
Stigger added, ‘I think I am more of a puncher type, although I have yet to discover that myself. I first came into contact with road cycling at the 2018 world championships in Innsbruck. I am from that region and those around me suggested I should try to qualify. That succeeded and I also ended up winning the world title in my home city. Totally unexpected. A wonderful memory!’
‘Still, after 2018, my main plan was to continue mountain biking. During that period, I met Anna van der Breggen, who was an elite world champion on an altitude training course close to my home. She invited me to go for a ride together. Even then, Anna told me I should try it on the road. The fact that it has finally happened a few years ago is beautiful and exciting at the same time. I look forward to now riding alongside her in the same team. I think my steering skills from mountain biking will come in handy. I hope to make important strides in both road cycling and mountain biking by combining both disciplines.’
‘With Laura, we have one last great reinforcement for our team,’ Danny Stam continued. ‘Obviously we have had to make some quality cuts left and right, but we are convinced that we have a competitive and balanced team that can perform on any pitch. We traditionally start the preparation for the season this week with a nice team building.’
