Park Hotel Valkenburg Takes Contract Dispute with Lorena Wiebes to Court

Road
Park Hotel Valkenburg Takes Contract Dispute with Lorena Wiebes to Court

The issue of Lorena Wiebes' withdrawal from the Parkhotel Valkenburg team has grown even louder after the Dutch national team filed a court case against Wiebes for breach of contract.

According to 1limburg.nl, the case will be presented to the Alkmaar court on Thursday.

Wiebes, the Dutch champion and leader of the UCI world rankings, had received offers from several other big teams and hoped to reach an agreement with Parkhotel Valkenburg by January 1.

The 20-year-old told Nos.nl last week that she is considering not racing at all until the transfer window opens on June 1, 2020.

"So I have two options. Either I don't [race] for six months or I move to yet another team," Wiebes said.

"So there's a good chance I won't be cycling because I don't want to run for Park Hotel anymore. So I won't be running for the Park Hotel anymore.

According to NOS.nl, even if Wiebes is able to terminate his contract with Park Hotel Valkenburg, he will not be able to race for another team before the transfer window, as his contract expires on November 1, 2019.

"The UCI confirms that it was in contact with the athlete's (Vives, ed.) agent in the last weeks of 2019," the UCI told NOS.

"We have been informed that the points earned by the rider will be included in the UCI team classification of the team registered as a rider on January 15, based on a valid contract.

"Riders were also informed of the deadlines for registration with the UCI Women's World Team and Continental Team, which are November 1 and December 31, respectively.

Wiebes joined Parkhotel Valkenburg in 2018 and is reportedly under contract with the team until the end of 2021.

She had an outstanding 2019 season with 15 wins, including the Tour of Chongming Island, the RideLondon Classic, two stages of the Boels Ladies Tour, and all three stages and the overall win at the Dutch Road Race Championships.

According to the cycling website Wielerverhaal.com in November, Wiebes has received offers from three of the world's biggest teams for the 2020 season: CCC-Liv, Sunweb, and Trek-Segafredo, looking for a way out of his contract with Parkhotel Valkenburg.

Categories