SHIRIN TO TURN A NEW PAGE WITH CANYON//SRAM

From mountain ascents to cobbled sectors and cyclo-cross berms, Shirin van Anrooij has proven her ability to excel in almost every setting. Now, the multi-talented Dutchwoman is ready to turn a new page, joining CANYON//SRAM from November 1, 2026, on a contract through to 2029.

Graduating from the junior ranks in 2021 with an impressive collection of time trialling honours – including European and Dutch titles, plus a World Championship silver medal – Shirin made an immediate step into the professional ranks and has remained in the same team environment ever since.

Now, she feels ready to make a bold switch and pull on the vibrant CANYON//SRAM livery:

“Immediately from my first chats with the team, I had a good, welcoming feeling, and personally, it means a lot to feel the confidence that they have in me as a rider. It will be a big change after being on my current team for almost 7 years, but I’m looking forward to developing further in a new environment and seeing what we can achieve together.”

Jonas Möslein, Director of Business at CANYON//SRAM, shares Shirin’s enthusiasm and is confident that the two sides are a “fantastic fit”:

“Shirin combines enormous talent and ambition with a grounded, positive personality. She is hardworking, and eager to keep learning and developing, all while wanting to contribute to the group. She’s exactly the kind of character that matches our team DNA.

She has already shown that she can compete with the very best, but we strongly believe that Shirin still has another level to unlock. Her signing reflects our ambition to invest in the future, to develop exceptional talent, and to remain competitive at the highest level. We’re incredibly excited that she has chosen our project, and we can’t wait to see her racing in our jersey.”

CANYON//SRAM Director of Performance Dan Fleeman shares his view of Shirin’s physiological profile, strengths and potential:

“Shirin is exceptionally versatile, with a strong aerobic engine and the ability to perform across a wide range of terrain and race scenarios. She can climb, handle demanding one-day races and stay competitive when races become long and physically demanding. Her resilience and race intelligence make her a particularly complete rider. She brings immediate quality, but also considerable long-term potential, especially given her strong competitive mentality and desire to keep improving.

With more experience, Shirin can continue to refine her positioning, decision-making and tactical confidence, while bringing all of her strengths together to more consistently convert the opportunities she creates into results.”

Over the past seven road seasons, Shirin has evolved enormously from the time trialling standout she was as a junior. Her ability to turn her hand to almost any type of racing was particularly evident in 2023 and 2024, after she won the Best Young Rider classification at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift the year before.

At just 21, she powered to her maiden WorldTour victory with a solo triumph at the respected Trofeo Alfredo Binda, before going on to dominate the inaugural Tour de l’Avenir Femmes where she claimed the overall and mountain classifications, and a stage victory.

The following season, Shirin added another string to her bow during the Classics block, recording top-five finishes at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Strade Bianche before taking podiums at both Dwars door Vlaanderen and the revered Ronde van Vlaanderen. The latter, a career highlight for any rider, is a day that Shirin recalls as one of her most memorable on the bike:

“Tour of Flanders 2024, from riding solo on Oude Kwaremont in the pouring rain to winning the race with Elisa [Balsamo] and also finishing on the podium myself.”

While much of the road peloton retreats into winter hibernation, the 24-year-old simply changes bikes. Her long-standing passion for cyclo-cross has already earned her two UCI World Championship rainbow jerseys – first as an U19 in 2020, then as an U23 in 2023 at a home championships in Hoogerheide.

It is for this very reason that Shirin won’t have to wait long before pulling on fresh colours in competition. Her contract with CANYON//SRAM begins on November 1, and then she’ll join fellow mud-lover Zoe Bäckstedt for the 2026/2027 cyclo-cross season – something she’s particularly excited about:

“I’m looking forward to being teamies with Zoe and racing together in both cyclocross and on the road. I also really cannot wait to race in the colourful kit!”

Looking ahead, Shirin puts enjoyment firmly at the top of her priorities. But, when it comes to performance, there is one accolade that stands above the rest, having already represented her country with distinction on the world stage across multiple disciplines.

“I’d love to win an elite world title, but most important would be to never stop enjoying riding my bike as much as I do right now.”

The high-achiever from Goes, in the Dutch province of Zeeland, might well have been just as high-flying had cycling not been the path she chose to take.

“I think I would have kept running on the track and become a student-athlete at a university in the USA, to combine studying psychology with track and field.”

It’s an honour to have Shirin on two wheels, and an even greater one to have her doing so in CANYON//SRAM colours for the next three seasons. She arrives with an already accomplished palmarès, but with plenty more still to come.