Visma | Lease a Bike signs promising U23-mountain bike star

Visma | Lease a Bike has reinforced itself for 2026 with Austrian Katharina Sadnik. The 22-year-old won the World Cup mountain biking under 23 classification last year, but will focus entirely on the road starting next season. She has signed with the Dutch team for two years.

Sadnik was mostly into mountain biking in recent years. ''I started mountain biking when I was around nine years old,” she says. “We were introduced to mountain biking at school and one of the teachers told my parents ‘She’s got talent on the bike, let her try racing.’ That’s how it all started.

So now she's leaving that sport for now. 'I had been thinking about it last year. I was training a lot on the road bike, and I loved the speed. I started doing my first road races. This year, I rode Tour de l’Avenir and Tour de Féminine, where I finished tenth. It was my first proper introduction to road racing and I really enjoyed it. I wanted to experience more.'

'I never thought Team Visma | Lease a Bike would be interested in me,” she admits. “When the first contact came, I couldn’t believe it. I have a lot of respect for what this team stands for and I’m really proud to become part of it.

“In mountain biking, you race individually, but on the road you have a whole team around you. That’s something I really look forward to. Sharing experiences, working together and relying on each other. I want to be a helper, to support my teammates and to grow into a valuable team player.” She’s eager to continue her development as a road cyclist: “I want to keep learning and improving with every experience. I’m excited to focus fully on road racing now and see how far I can go.”

Team manager Rutger Tijssen shares his enthusiasm about Sadnik’s arrival: “Katharina comes from mountain biking, which has given her exception bike handling skills. That will be very useful in the spring classics. We see a role for her in supporting our team in these races. She’s still young, but she has a lot of potential, and we’ll give her the time and space to grow into the role we have in mind for her."

Sadnik, who competed for KTM, is the third addition to the Visma | Lease a Bike women's team for next year after Sarah van Dam and Daniek Hengeveld, both from CERATIZIT . Last year, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot - like Sadnik now - made the move from mountain biking.