Marianne Vos capped off her best season in years by winning the 2019 Women's World Tour at the Tour of Guangxi in Guilin, China The 32-year-old has 32 top-10 finishes and 19 individual wins this year.

For the entire CCC-Liv team, it was a productive season in anticipation of changes in women's cycling, which will see a new two-team format and calendar reorganization in 2020.

CCC-Liv manager Eric van den Boom confirmed to Cycling News that the team will be registered as a Polish team next year instead of a Dutch one. He also confirmed that Vos and Ashley Moolman-Pasio will once again lead the team.

The team is currently ranked fifth in each of the Women's World Tour's team rankings and is one of eight teams that have applied to be part of the new two-team top World Team, which will be introduced next year.

"It's a big step in women's cycling. I think for most teams this is a really big step, but I think it's a good one," said Eric van den Boom, manager of CCC-Liv.

"It may be a little too early and women's cycling is not completely ready. Hopefully all the teams that have applied now will get their WorldTeam licenses and we will have a good, full-fledged kick-off to this structure."

"We are very excited about this, and we hope that we will have a good, full-fledged kick-off to this structure.

In 2020, the women's peloton will be tiered for the first time, with up to eight WorldTeams comprising the top category and the remaining registered applicants receiving ContinentalTeam status.

Top team status comes with the responsibility of providing stronger social and legal support for riders, including minimum salary and maternity leave, but also allows them to participate in the top races on the calendar.

The UCI is rebuilding its foothold on the calendar. A gradual build-up is envisaged for the first few seasons. However, with more top teams racing in a gradually improving financial and broadcast environment, greater investment and competition at the top is expected.

In order for CCC-Liv to obtain a WorldTeam license, it must be sponsored by CCC, a Polish shoe manufacturer. This Polish sponsor also supports the men's WorldTour team and the development team. The company sought to enter the women's peloton in late 2018, joining the Van den Boom team.

The men's CCC team took off as a merger between the second-place CCC Splandi Polkowice and the WorldTour BMC Racing Team structure. The women's team, on the other hand, is based on the Dutch BSB Bank/Netherlands Bloit team.

Van den Boom, which now has two Polish riders, praised the cooperation and the ability to coordinate logistical operations.

"We have a unique structure that works really well. I used to be part of the Rabobank team, so our structure is primarily based on what we need for the world tour. But we actually have a very warm relationship with the CCC team. If we need any information or they have experience traveling to other places, we can share ideas," Van de Boom said.

For many years, the majority of the CCC team riders were Dutch, so the team had a Dutch-registered license according to UCI women's team regulations.

The CCC-Liv team structure will not change significantly in 2020. However, team management decided to register the team in Poland instead of the Netherlands because the title sponsor, CCC, is headquartered in Poland.

"When registering as a world team, the license does not give nationality, but the team can choose its nationality. Of course, with a big main Polish partner like CCC, it would be fitting for us to choose the same Polish nationality as the men's team," he said.

The team will again rely on Vos and Ashley Moolman Pasio to get results in the biggest race of 2020. Vos has traditionally been the team's biggest winner, and Mourman-Pasio, who joined the team this year, finished fourth in the Giro Rosa, third in the Setmana Valenciana and Tour of California, and both finished in the top 10 in the world championship road race.

"It was a pretty good season. Of course, Marianne, Ashley, and Marta Lack had some great wins. In the big races we were able to race as a team and finish many times.

"The pinnacle is to get a World Tour individual ranking," Van den Boom said before the Tour of Guangxi.

"Honestly, I was very happy because the racing was very good right from the start. Of course, we expected Ashley and Marianne to do well, and we were hoping for a little bit more. But after a few weeks together, the chemistry between the riders had grown and they were building each other up, and it was very motivating to have two leaders to close out the race."

Vos and Mourmain-Pasio stressed the importance of working together as co-leaders from the beginning. The duo has run in support of each other in multiple races this season. As expected, Mourmain-Pasio concentrated on hilly classics and tougher stage races, while Vos again came out on top in hilly and flat classics and smaller stage races.

"They are both very professional athletes and know where they are strong. They know that if they help each other they can succeed." For all members of the team, it is important to try to win as a group, not so much who wins. If there are two or more good riders in the final, they have a better chance of winning the race by playing good tactics. They know that they need each other to be able to play tactical games." Riejanne Markus finished 6th at the Festival Elsy Jacobs. Marta Lach won a stage win at the same event and a silver medal in the women's U23 road category at the European Championships.

"The possibilities that the CCC gives us allow us to mentor our riders in a more professional way and help them take the next step in their careers. Of course, it also helps to have top riders like Ashley and Marianne. Not only do they know what it takes, but they are very accommodating. The rest of the team respects these riders more," van der Boom said.

"Marta Lach, for example, has developed well. Jeroen Brilevens, the sport director, thought from the beginning that she could become a real sprinter. And [the progress] allowed us to give the riders a chance. She has already succeeded and taken a big step from club rider to the professional level. That gave her a big boost."

CCC-Liv has not announced all the riders for the 2020 season. Voss and Moolman-Pasio are still signed with the team for next year, and the team will also return Valerie Demay, Evi Kuipers, and Sabrina Stultiens. The team has already announced the signing of Soraya Paladin from Ale Cipollini.