Born in Waidhofen an der Ybbs, Rijkes came to competitive cycling through her Dutch father. As her first Elite racing team she joined the Austrian ARBÖ Löffler Ladies Team from her hometown Waidhofen an der Ybbs, where her mother worked as a team official. Her first professional team was the Austrian outlet Squadra Scappatella, which she joined in 2013. Only a few months after the season started, Rijkes suffered a major setback as she crashed heavily at the Tour of Chongming Island world cup race in China and missed almost the entire season,[4] not returning to racing before September. Despite her unlucky season, Rijkes managed to get her first professional contract abroad in 2014 when she joined the Lotto–Belisol Ladies team in Belgium. During her time at Lotto–Belisol Ladies, she also rode as a guest rider for several other teams. After two years, Rijkes stayed in Belgium, this time signing for Lares–Waowdeals in 2016.
Rijkes has a Dutch surname with her father being from the Netherlands.[5] She is fluent in Dutch. Besides her career in professional cycling she is currently also studying biology.[5]
Major results
2008
3rd Time trial, National Junior Road Championships
2009
2nd Time trial, National Junior Road Championships
2011
2nd Time trial, National Under-23 Road Championships
2012
2nd Time trial, National Under-23 Road Championships
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