It was in the pipeline, it is now confirmed. La Visma | Lease a Bike announced this Thursday that it had hired Marion Bunel for the next three seasons. The 20-year-old rider, originally from Eure, was notably spotted by crushing the Tour de l’Avenir this summer by sticking more than two minutes to her runner-up in the general classification. She has also just finished second in the Tour de l’Ardèche.
Rutger Tijssen, the manager of the Dutch team, praises a “a great talent, especially in the mountains. We are very happy that she chose us and I think she is happy to continue her career with our team.” For her part, the young Tricolor marvels at a “dream come true”. There she will meet the Olympic mountain bike champion, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, whom she admires enormously. “I’ve been following her for a long time. She’s a role model for me and many others. I’m excited to be on the same team with her, I hope to learn a lot of things.” Motivated by her last Tour de France, the Normandy is ambitious for the future. “It would be great to win a stage or even the Tour one day, but for now I want to learn and gain experience as much as possible.”she said.
