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Trek announces Lotta Lepistö will join new team in 2019

  • Ron 

Trek continues to build an impressive and well-rounded team for 2019 with the addition of Lotta Lepistö, an explosive sprinter, and seven-time Finnish national champion. Lotta excels in technical courses and is also proficient in the time trial, winning five National championships alongside her road titles.

Lotta first began racing in her teenage years, but it was a slow progression over the next decade. Despite winning her first National road title in 2012, she struggled in other elite races. At the Internationale Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen, Lotta was dropped in stage two and finished out of the time limit. But testament to her tenacity, three years later she came back with a vengeance to win stage four. She also sprinted to second in stage one, finished a strong fifth in the time trial, and claimed seventh overall.

Lotta’s first significant results came a year later with two bronze medals at the UCI World Championships in the road race and team time trial, but it was 2017 when Lotta had a season to behold: first in Gent–Wevelgem, first in Crescent Vårgårda (Sweden), first in the semi-Classic Dwars door Vlaanderen, and a stage six victory in the Giro d’Italia Femminile.

Lotta is currently in her fifth season with Cervélo-Bigla, initially joining the Swiss-based professional team in 2014. Cervélo-Bigla has helped tremendously in her development, but Lotta decided that taking a fresh start in a new team, that will include working under two legendary sprinters – sport directors Ina Teutenberg and Giorgia Bronzini – was what she needed to make another step forward in her career.

“I am super excited to join the Trek team! I’m looking forward to working with a new team setup. I’m happy I can work with such a strong squad, especially Ina and Giorgia, they are some of the best sprinters, and I’m eager to learn from them. I want to help the team to be on top and really excited to take on the new challenge,” said Lepistö.

While 2018 has not been as lucrative with wins, Lotta did capture her seventh consecutive National road title, fifth successive time trial title, and sprinted to victory in stage five at the Ovo Energy Women’s Tour (UK). She also reached the podium for the third straight year in the WorldTour one-day race Crescent Vårgårda, finishing in third place amongst a who’s who of sprinters.

Lotta, 29, is now reaching her prime years, and only hungry for more.

“I want to win as many bike races as we can, as a team,” she added. “For me, it would be super cool to win one of the Classics in the spring and have a good race at the World Championships in Yorkshire.”

Humble goals for a proven sprinter who has yet to reach her peak.

Tags: Bigla-Katusha, Cervelo, Dwars door Vlaanderen, Giorgia Bronzini, Giro d'Italia, In women's road cycling, Ina Teutenberg, Lotta Lepistö, National Championships, ovo energy, professional team, Sweden, team time trial, Trek Factory Racing, UCI Women's Teams, United Kingdom, Velocio–SRAM Pro Cycling
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