Visma-Lease a Bike’s addition of Markus is clearly a move designed to strengthen their spring Classics core, with team manager Tijssen describing her as “a rider who perfectly fits the profile we were looking for within our Classics squad.”

Marianne Vos and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot are the team’s spring leaders, as they showed with podium finishes at Paris-Roubaix Femmes and the Tour of Flanders this year, and should be part of the plan for a few more years even if, at 39 and 34, they’re edging closer to retirement age.

But the team also has a strong group of younger Classics racers. 22-year-old sprinter Nienke Veenhoven was on the podium at the Ronde van Brugge and Scheldeprijs, 25-year-old Nooijen took third at Dwars door Vlaanderen and 11th at the Tour of Flanders, and 20-year-old Imogen Wolff has already been in and around the top 20 at Roubaix, Flanders, and In Flanders Fields.

All three, plus the strong Daniek Hengeveld, are locked down beyond this season, and so the addition of Markus – at 29 bridging the gap between the generations – adds another powerful Classics weapon to this core, arguably the most impressive cobbled line-up in the peloton.

At SD Worx, Markus has been part of winning efforts at Dwars, Roubaix, and Flanders, and in 2023 showed she could compete for victory on the biggest stage – late bad luck excepted. Having only turned pro four years ago, there’s still room for progression, Tijssen said.

“In recent years, she has shown that she performs well in selective races and challenging conditions. At the same time, we believe there is still room for further development within our environment, and we are looking forward to taking the next steps together with Femke.”

Visma-Lease a Bike’s addition of Markus is clearly a move designed to strengthen their spring Classics core, with team manager Tijssen describing her as “a rider who perfectly fits the profile we were looking for within our Classics squad.”

Marianne Vos and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot are the team’s spring leaders, as they showed with podium finishes at Paris-Roubaix Femmes and the Tour of Flanders this year, and should be part of the plan for a few more years even if, at 39 and 34, they’re edging closer to retirement age.

But the team also has a strong group of younger Classics racers. 22-year-old sprinter Nienke Veenhoven was on the podium at the Ronde van Brugge and Scheldeprijs, 25-year-old Nooijen took third at Dwars door Vlaanderen and 11th at the Tour of Flanders, and 20-year-old Imogen Wolff has already been in and around the top 20 at Roubaix, Flanders, and In Flanders Fields.

All three, plus the strong Daniek Hengeveld, are locked down beyond this season, and so the addition of Markus – at 29 bridging the gap between the generations – adds another powerful Classics weapon to this core, arguably the most impressive cobbled line-up in the peloton.

At SD Worx, Markus has been part of winning efforts at Dwars, Roubaix, and Flanders, and in 2023 showed she could compete for victory on the biggest stage – late bad luck excepted. Having only turned pro four years ago, there’s still room for progression, Tijssen said.

“In recent years, she has shown that she performs well in selective races and challenging conditions. At the same time, we believe there is still room for further development within our environment, and we are looking forward to taking the next steps together with Femke.”