TEAM DSM

Six years after its inception, the Skil-Shimano team launched a women's structure in 2011; called Skil-Kolga, which grew alongside the men's team. Kirsten Wild, the Dutch rider with 109 road victories and nine track world titles, secured the team its first significant victories in 2013, at the Tour of Qatar and Gent-Wevelgem, when the team was known as Giant-Shimano. The team's name differed from that of the men's team in 2015 and 2016 (Liv-Plantur), a dissociation only in appearance because Liv and Plantur are both owned by the Giant group (the cycling giant) and the shampoo brand Alpecin, which are the two main sponsors of the men's team. 

The relationship has become much more transparent over the last five years, with a return to a common name, Sunweb, between 2017 and 2020, and then DSM. It was in 2017 that the team reached its peak. That year, it won the World team time-trial Championship in Bergen and finished second in the UCI ranking, driven by European time trial champion Ellen van Dijk among others. Since then, she has never been outside the top four in the world. The team now relies on the best sprinter in the world, Lorena Wiebes, and has confidence in the French rider Juliette Labous for the general classification.