Rosa Klöser, winner of the Unbound Gravel 200 pro women’s race, will also race on the road in the WorldTour next season, having signed a two-year deal with Canyon-SRAM.
The German, 28, is relatively new to cycling and won Gravel racing’s headline event on debut while still being a full-time PhD student back in June after a breathless sprint in the 320km race.
Klöser will continue to race gravel as a privateer going forward but hopes to progress as a road racer on her home team Canyon-SRAM, with an eye on applying her talents in the Classics and Grand Tours.
“While my main focus for next season will be on gravel as a privateer, I am convinced that the team structure and road calendar where I am racing with incredibly talented teammates and being guided by highly experienced support staff, will allow me to make some big steps and unlock new potential in my still fairly new cycling career,” said Klöser on Canyon-SRAM’s website.
“With my background in gravel racing, I believe that I can be a quite versatile rider. I would like to try myself out in classic races and be up there in the mountain stages of Grand Tours to support the team’s GC ambition. I am excited to see where my limits are.”
Klöser picked up cycling competitively in 2022 in Denmark while studying for her PhD in green shipping at Copenhagen Business School. She found immediate success when she jumped fully into the gravel racing world, netting several podiums at the UCI Gravel World Series in 2023 and 2024 ahead of her triumph at Unbound in Kansas.
As she joins Canyon-SRAM, the team of defending Tour de France Femmes champion Kasia Niewiadoma, Klöser has made another monumental jump in her career as a bike racer.
“Winning Unbound 200 in my debut year while still being a full-time PhD student who has only dipped her toes into cycling around three years ago was certainly the biggest moment in my cycling career so far,” she said.
“I’ve been looking up to Canyon//SRAM Racing as one of the leading Women’s World Tour teams since I started cycling around three years ago. From the first conversation with the team, I could tell that I would feel at home here.”
Having cut her teeth racing the local scene in Copenhagen, Klöser has some, albeit limited, experience racing on the road, also taking on the Tour de Berlin Feminin in 2023 and the German national championships road race in 2024 – where she was ninth behind mostly WorldTour riders.
Klöser is the fifth new Canyon-SRAM signing announced for 2025 alongside Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Maria Martins, Wilma Aintila and Anastasiya Kolesava, who was similarly announced on Monday morning having moved up from the development team.
“It’s a big step for me to join Canyon//SRAM Racing for the upcoming year,” said Kolesava.
“I’m an all-rounder who can do spring classics and help the team in the stage races. I can position my teammates in the peloton and have good race instinct. My objectives for the upcoming season are growing as a rider and supportive teammate.”