For Amy Peters, the 2019 season was a great one. The Dutchwoman is the team leader of Boels Dolmans, the number one team in women's cycling, but her personal highlight came in national colors throughout the year.

The jersey she will wear in the road race this year (European Road Race Champion) represents her greatest success, having won gold in her home race in Alkmaar last August ahead of Elena Cecchini and Lisa Klein.

A few days later, she won the rainbow stripe in the same event at the World Championships in Yorkshire.

And on the track, it was the strong duo of Pieters and Kirsten Wilde, who together won the Madison event at the Hong Kong UCI World Cup in January and again in Minsk in November. In the meantime, they won the track world championships, and Pieters also won three gold medals at the Dutch championships; it is no surprise that the two are among the favorites to win this year's Tokyo Olympics.

"I can't complain," Pieters modestly told Cycling News at the recent Boels-Dolmans training camp.

"I'm off to a very good start on the track, being World Champion.

"I think I did better in the road classics in 2018, but last year was a big one; hopefully I'll be as good again in 2020."

Tokyo is of course the big target for next season, but it's not all about the Olympics, and with the Track Worlds defense coming up at the end of February, there are trade team goals in between.

"In Tokyo we aim only for track. That's the rule of the Dutch federation, but I think we need to focus on one thing. I think me and Kirsten Wild have a good chance in Madison, so we will do our best for that," Pieters said.

"Of course, that's important, but the season is more than that. On the track we have the World Championships, and on the road we have the spring classics. The Olympics are important and if I can win a medal, that would be special. In the road race you have four hours, so on the track everything has to be perfect.

Pieters, who is currently competing in the Berlin 6-day track race, has his sights set on the road again this season.

For example, last spring he finished in the top five in the Ronde van Drenthe, Nokelle Koase, Ghent-Wevelgem, and Hercy Aging tours, and also finished 10th in the Tour of Flanders, where he finished second in 2018.

The team's philosophy is that all athletes are given the opportunity to compete, and with talented teammates like Anna van der Breggen, Christine Majerus, and Chantal Black, it is not surprising that the designated race leader is decided months in advance, but during the run No wonder.

"It's always hard to say because we're such a strong team," Pieters said of her main goals for the 2020 Road. 'One of our strengths is that the whole team plays really well together. But sometimes it has to be a lucky day. You can have a really good leg and still have other players in front of you and vice versa. You always want to see how you are at the starting line, how you feel, and what the outcome will be.

"I think it's easier having only two or three top players, but it's also a bit boring. Last year Christine Majerus won the Boels Ladies Tour, and she always does a great job for the whole team.

"I don't think anyone was as happy as when she won. It was great to be able to give back to the people who always help us. I think that's why our team is so strong. I think Danny and Jack do a really good job of encouraging that."

Another thing the team allows and encourages is for riders to focus their efforts on races that Boels Dolmans does not compete in. Evidence of this is already in Pieters' hands, not only in the track races, but also in the World and European Championships. Amalie Dideriksen is also focusing on the track for 2020, while Majerus is riding cyclocross during the winter.

Peters said she appreciates the opportunity to change disciplines and compete off the road, as she does, but it is also a case of staying engaged in the sport and her training during the long winter months.

"For me it's better to switch. I have tried to do only road, but that would make the winter too long. Too much training and too many races. Now I have to do the World Cup as well. My winter is basically one week in Spain, one week on the track, one week in Spain, one week on the track. So I'm constantly switching things up, and I like to race on the track to make sure I'm in good shape [on the road, it stops in September, and the next race is in March, so it's really long. Some girls like that, but for me it's too long and it gets a little boring to be in Spain all winter"

.

"I do a lot of road training to prepare for the circuit. Luckily, the switch from road to circuit is very fast and easy, and that way I feel better on the road. Plus, I don't race much on the road this year, so I'm lucky that this team is supporting me so that I can go to the Olympics on the track. For me, it makes both sides stronger."