Pooley's former team, Dutch squad AA Drink-leontien.nl, is set to disband at the end of the 2012 season due to a lack of financial support. Pooley, therefore, had looked to take an extended break from pro cycling to focus on completing her doctorate in geotechnical engineering.

Now, however, Pooley has signed a contract with Team Bigla Cycling.

A silver medallist at the 2000 Beijing Olympics and 2010 time trial world champion, 30-year-old Pooley is an ideal role model for the team’s under-23 riders according to team manager Emil Zimmermann.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Pooley played an integral part in helping Great Britain teammate Lizzie Armitstead win the silver medal in the road race, but narrowly missed out on a medal in the individual time trial event.

"I’m looking forward to this new challenge and I’ll do my best to help the young riders on the Bigla team to make the step up," Pooley commented.

"I’ve raced against a lot of them in local races in Switzerland and I can see how talented they are. We will be a force to be reckoned with in 2013. I’m very grateful to Herrn Bösch and Zimmermann for giving me this opportunity to join the Bigla team in Switzerland."

"Next year will be different for me than the last few years, because I’ll be spending the winter studying to finish my PhD. That will mean a slower start to the 2013 season. But Bigla will give me plenty of racing opportunities, some fun new challenges, and also the freedom to focus a bit on my own goals in the time trial (discipline)," Pooley explained.