After 4 years wearing the jerseys of DSM and Team Picnic PostNL, Francesca Barale is ready to fly to Spain: Movistar awaits her. The 22-year-old athlete from Ossola has signed a three-year contract with the Iberian team.

"I am very excited to become part of the Movistar team and can't wait to start a new chapter. After my first 4 years as a professional, I have learned a lot, and I think now is the time to take an additional step in my career. I am happy to be part of the same team as strong athletes like Marlen Reusser and Liane Lippert, I want to help them achieve great goals and at the same time understand what kind of cyclist I will become. I hope the team will help me do this in the next 3 years," Francesca stated, who in the top category nearly reached the podium in the 2023 Tre Valli Varesine won by her future teammate Lippert and was also a protagonist of a good start to the 2024 season in Australia.

Barale, who in 2025 with Picnic PostNL raced the Classics, Giro d'Italia Women and Tour de France Femmes, bid farewell to the Dutch team by writing on social media "Thank you, forever grateful for this journey".