EF Education-Cannondale

New to the women's peloton in 2024 is the UCI Continental team, EF Education-Cannondale. The bright pink kits and Cannondale bikes may not be new, and the team may feel rather familiar, but the American squad are in fact a brand-new outfit. 

Their arrival has come in the wake of, and probably caused, the demise of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB. The former WorldTeam had the support and partnership of EF Pro Cycling and its various backers, but team boss and founder Linda Jackson was reluctant to hand over control of the WorldTour license to Jonathan Vaughters' Slipstream Sports. 

In turn, the organisation decided to step back from the former TIBCO-SVB team and start their own, brand-new and fresh squad for 2024. With the loss of sponsorship from Education First, Rapha, Cannondale and others, Jackson's squad ceased to exist as of the end of 2023. 

In its wake stands EF Education-Cannondale, who will begin life as a UCI Continental side with grand ambitions to operate as a pseudo-WorldTour outfit and leverage their respected name to gain invites to the sport's biggest races. 

Heading up the team in their first year will be Esra Tromp, who launched the Jumbo-Visma women's squad in 2021 and is a former professional rider in her own right. From the old EF Education-TIBCO-SVB squad, Tromp and Vaughters have retained the services of Alison Jackson, Veronica Ewers, Letizia Borghesi and Magdeleine Vallieres.

Elsewhere, the team made some notable additions in the shape of Coryn Labecki from Jumbo-Visma, Lotta Henttala from AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step and Kristen Faulkner from Jayco AlUla. 

With the support of Cannondale, Rapha, Wahoo and more, EF Education-Cannondale's future looks bright as they eye up the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and eventual WorldTour status once a licence becomes available. 

Kristen Faulkner

Kim Cadzow

Noemi Rüegg

Alison Jackson

Clara Koppenburg

Veronica Ewers

Letizia Borghesi

Magdeleine Vallieres Mill

Clara Emond

Coryn Labecki

Elizabeth Stannard

Megan Armitage

Lotta Henttala

Nina Kessler

Natalie Quinn

Racing

Interviews

New team, new philosophy: how EF Education-Cannondale are plotting Tour de France Femmes success

Alison Jackson and Veronica Ewers will continue as teammates at the new EF Education-Cannodale squad

In 2024, there will be a new pink-clad team in the 

. Twelve years after the closure of the Garmin-Cervélo women’s team, and at the end of a two-year partnership with 

, EF Pro Cycling are making another foray into the world of women’s cycling with the new EF Education-Cannondale squad.

Like seemingly every new cycling team, EF Education-Cannondale’s goals are lofty: light up races, step up to the WorldTour, and eventually win the 

. It’s a career path we’ve heard repeated by many newcomers over the years.

The difference, though, is that you can really believe EF Education-Cannondale might achieve them. From signing a litany of star riders, including Paris-Roubaix Femmes winner 

, to sponsorship and infrastructure worthy of the top WorldTour squads, EF Education-Cannondale already look like a team ready to compete on the highest level.

Behind the helm of it all in 2024 will be Esra Tromp, a retired pro and experienced general manager who launched the 

 women’s squad in 2021 after three years working behind the scenes with the successful Parkhotel Valkenburg team.

Tromp joined the EF set-up in June, spending a few days with the men’s EF Education-EasyPost team at the Tour de France in July to get settled, and despite the hard work of setting up a team, it’s clear that she’s raring to go.

“In the last few weeks, I’ve messaged people in the team so many times saying ‘I want to start racing! I don’t want to have this winter, I want to start racing immediately.’ I think we have a good group of riders, but also a really great group of staff members. Mixed with the knowledge and support from the men’s organisation, we have one organisation in a box.”

EF Education-Cannondale recruit Carmen Small as head sports director

To the uninitiated, there is already an EF women’s team in the peloton: EF Education-TIBCO-SVB share the name, the website, the jersey design and plenty more with the men’s team, but they were officially only partnered with EF Education-EasyPost and supported by EF Education, rather than actually owned by the overarching Slipstream Sports organisation.

With EF Education-TIBCO-SVB owner Linda Jackson unwilling to pass her team ownership over to Slipstream, the next option was to set up a new team themselves, taking with them the sponsorship of both EF Education and Cannondale. The loss of two sponsors, plus the collapse of SVB earlier this year, proved too much for Jackson’s team to weather, and EF Education-TIBCO-SVB will fold at the end of this year.

Rising from its ashes will be EF Education-Cannondale, a team which is somewhat recognisable, but also very different. The similarities: they’ve picked up several of the same riders from the folding WorldTour team, they’ll race in the signature EF pink, and the name change is as small as a change of suffixes.

In reality, though, this is a brand new, separate team, which aims to be different from its predecessor, bringing in a new philosophy and style rather than just inheriting Linda Jackson’s squad. As well as the different ideas, there’s one practical element that will separate EF Education-Cannondale from its TIBCO-SVB older sister: the new team won’t be in the Women’s WorldTour.

As a newly-launched team current UCI rules preclude EF Education-Cannondale from applying for a Women’s WorldTour licence, and the next scheduled promotion and relegation isn’t until 2026, though a licence may become free earlier. This means that for at least 2024, EF will only be a Continental-level team.

However, the lack of a WorldTour licence is only a formality in the eyes of Tromp. Though officially a Continental squad, the team aims to operate on the level of a Women’s WorldTour outfit, in terms of professionalism and set-up.

“Now it wasn’t possible due to the UCI regulations, but we check all the boxes for a WorldTour licence,” Tromp said.

“As soon as there is a licence available, whether it’s next year because of a team that falls out [of the WorldTour] or later, we will step up to the WorldTour as soon as possible.

“For sure that’s our goal. We set it up as a WorldTour team, we only don’t have the licence, but in one or two years we will be.”

Emulating a WorldTour team, for Tromp, means not only replicating the financial and structural requirements of a top-level team but also emulating a high level of professionalism and competition.

“The level of professionalism is there. We haven’t started racing yet, but I’m sure it’s on a really high level, and competitive with other top WorldTour teams.”

Stepping up, though, is not something the team are definitely assured of, if and when a spot opens up. The new relegation and promotion system means that the 15 licences only change hands every three years, according to points, or on the occasion that a team folds and a licence becomes available earlier.

In essence, this means that if EF Education-Cannondale want to become a WorldTeam, they first need to become one of the best Continental teams. The commitment to achieving this as soon as possible seems to be already clear from their roster, which despite being built from scratch, has recruited some of the best and most reliable riders in the peloton.

So how did they go about recruiting their roster? Whilst there are certainly challenges of having to build a roster of 15 or so riders from scratch, it also gave Tromp, and CEO of EF Pro Cycling Jonathan Vaughters, the freedom of a blank slate, and the chance to really hand-select the type of riders they wanted.

Rather than just basing their search on results, Tromp and Vaughters thought a lot about the riding philosophy they wanted their new recruits to embody. Despite Tromp’s long career in the women’s sport and Vaughters’ shorter history with women’s teams, the pair found a lot of commonality in the riders they wanted to sign.

“I thought okay, maybe we have different opinions about riders and who to hire and who fits in the team, but actually we have quite the same ideas,” Tromp explained.

“We searched for riders with an aggressive profile, [who can] just be a little bit more out of the box sometimes, not just following what is already for years or past strategies from teams. I really liked that philosophy.

“I think the riders who are joining the team really stand behind this philosophy and this way of racing.”

EF Education-Cannondale top 10 riders for 2024

Building a team from a blank slate gave Tromp the freedom to really shape the squad, how she wanted, and it’s clear there was a distinct strategy to their recruitment.

“I wanted to split the team more or less into an experienced group and a little bit younger group. We also hired a few girls who aren’t the youngest, but young in cycling age. For example, Megan Armitage is young in cycling years, not the youngest in the group but not as experienced as say Alison Jackson or Lotta [Henttala]. So I wanted to balance it out.”

As well as her knowledge from working as a DS, Tromp watched races, went to races, and worked with the men’s performance team to identify talent in the peloton based on data, and fill the gaps in their roster. The result of this holistic approach is a team full of talent, and impressively balanced for a brand new squad.

The only downside of putting together such a talented roster - and perhaps the best problem for a team boss to have - is how to manage all the riders’ ambitions, hopes and expectations.

EF Education-Cannondale’s squad is packed with stars, from the defending Paris-Roubaix champion to several riders who have won Grand Tour stages.

It makes sense, given Tromp and Vaughters’ desire for aggressive riders, riders who can win, but there are very few riders you’d look at on the EF roster and pick out as a domestique. So how will it work, having a team of riders who all want to win?

“Everything starts with good conversations,” Tromp said. “I think it’s really important to get together and really understand what are everybody’s needs and wants for next year. And if there are challenges then we really discuss it openly with the riders, sports directors and coaches.”

For Tromp, it’s all about openness, but open conversations and also being open to changing plans as things evolve during the season. And though the task of managing expectations may be a tricky one, there’s also clearly a strength to having so many winners in a team.

“Because the goals also need to be there, and for sure sometimes riders will have the same goals for a certain race. Sometimes it’s a challenge, and sometimes it’s an advantage, because then you probably have two or three strong riders for those finals, and you can play the game.

“If we are honest with each other in the race, outside the race, if we can speak about it and have a good discussion, then in the end having three cards to play in the final is even better. I see it as an advantage.”

Whilst the roster and team set-up may be worthy of a WorldTour licence in all but name, the fact they don’t actually have that status has one significant impact: they won’t get automatic invites to WorldTour races.

As a Continental team, EF Education-Cannondale will be at the behest of race organisers, who pick and choose which squads they invite to their events, based on a wide variety of factors. The lack of a guaranteed calendar may not be ideal, but for Tromp, the profile of the team will go a long way in helping them.

“That’s obviously the biggest challenge, but I don’t think it’s a real challenge, I’m not worried at all,” Tromp said. “It’s just a little bit harder to plan, I would say, because you’re depending on what invitations you get. But on the other hand, you can make contact with race organisers, and we have a roster that’s really attractive to a lot of organisers.

“The team and the marketing around the team is I think one of the best of the peloton, men and women. So that’s also really attractive for organisers, and we have a good relationship with all the big organisers, so that’s really helpful.”

The ultimate goal: win the Tour de France

Perhaps the most notable element of EF Education-Cannondale’s calendar is the fact that this year their chances of an invitation to the Tour de France Femmes are slim. The non-WorldTour spots go to the two best-performing Continental teams, plus a handpicked selection of second-tier squads, almost always taking a heavy French bias. The lure of a men’s-attached squad may help them out, but it’s also very likely the pink jerseys won’t be in action in France next August.

However, that doesn’t mean that the Tour and their future at this race isn’t on their mind.

In women’s cycling, the Tour de France Femmes may only be a couple of years old, but it’s quickly also building a very important status, as both the most targeted and most famous race on the calendar and therefore a big sporting and commercial goal for any rider, team or sponsor.

“One of the main goals, which we set before starting the team, is that in the end, winning the Tour de France is important for us,” Tromp said.

“That doesn’t need to be next year, but in the upcoming years - I don’t want to pinpoint a year - but in the end, that’s really our goal: to be one of the best teams. And winning the Tour de France is obviously the highest thing you can reach in cycling.”

It’s clear from speaking to Tromp that EF Education-Cannondale’s goals are ambitious and overarching, as the outfit looks to set up a long-term and sustainable project. It all has to start somewhere, though, and for 2024, their aims are slightly smaller but still aspirational.

“Next year, we really want to be out there and be visible in races, to show our pink jersey,” she said. “We really want to show it, race aggressively, and of course go for as many wins as possible. We want to be aggressive, not just following and maybe getting dropped or beaten. We really want to race with our hearts. Yes, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, that’s the challenge, but we want to play the game, and that’s the main thing.”

For a new team, having ambitious goals is perhaps nothing new, but it’s what is behind those goals that counts. And for EF Education-Cannondale, it’s evident that the basis for their ambitions is a strong roster of riders, an experienced group of staff, committed support from the men’s outfit, and a set-up that is ready to emulate a high level of professionalism and determination.

Their 2024 debut race may not be confirmed yet, but one thing seems certain: the new pink jerseys will be getting stuck into the action as soon as they can be.

Read more news, features and interviews from around the women's peloton in our dedicated 

Tech

News

Tech News

Unreleased POC helmet sees early season success at the hands of EF Education-Cannondale 

 women’s team have been spotted using an unreleased 

. The new helmet looks to be a hybrid road helmet that is heavily influenced by design cues from the brand's time trial lid.

The new helmet design is reminiscent of the 

Kask helmet that Ineos Grenadiers have been spotted using this year

. Most notable is the same dropped profile that sees the tops of the riders' ears sit inside the shell of the helmet. 

With three magnets visible in the brow of the helmet it looks like the brand is trying to incorporate an integrated visor to further increase aerodynamic efficiency.

The helmet looks to be cut from the same cloth as POC’s recently released TT helmet, the Procen, with a few alterations to make it more suited to road races. 

As mentioned, the profile only covers the tops of riders' ears whereas the Procen comes further down a rider's jaw and covers the entire ear. The rear of the helmet is also stubbier with a more abrupt end. This is likely an attempt to be more aero in a variety of riding positions. 

TT helmets only need to be optimised for a static position, whereas, in a road race riders can position themselves in a whole array of positions. It could be that this helmet will be the Procen Road denoting its origins as well as its intended use.

EF Education-Cannondale on cloud nine after perfect start

This new road helmet has the same ventilation structure as the Procen TT helmet with three vents situated at the front. These will channel air around the rider's head before exiting through the rear vent in the tail of the helmet. 

Although this is sufficient for short-duration time trials it might struggle to adequately cool a rider's head for a multi-hour road stage. This could be why we are seeing the ear covers being lifted to just cover the tops of riders' ears to increase the surface area exposed to wind flow, without compromising aerodynamics too much.

POC has never been shy of creating waves with its radical design approach. It received plenty of hate from the vanity police when the Tempor TT helmet was released with its sweeping curves and flared profile that smoothed the junction between helmet and rider. POC seem to follow the data when it comes to design, as although the Tempor might not have been winning any fashion awards, it was one of the fastest helmets out there.

As of yet, we have only seen the helmet a handful of times, originally being teased at stage 1 of the 

 and more recently with the EF Education-Cannondale women’s team at the 

What do you make of the new helmet, will you be heading out to buy one as soon as it is available? Let your thoughts be heard in the comments below.

From a salmon farm to EF Education-Cannondale - Kim Cadzow's rapid rise through the pro peloton

Kim Cadzow on the attack at the UCI Road World Championships in Glasgow this year

Every pathway into professional cycling is different, but few are as unique and as varied as New Zealander 

's, who until just a few years ago was a swimmer-turned-triathlete with a string of side jobs that helped propel her on her European adventure.

The just-turned-22-year-old recently signed with the 

 at the squad’s winter training camp in Girona, Spain to talk about her route into the sport, and her aims in what should be a pivotal year in her budding career.

“Yes, I did work on a salmon fishing farm,” Cadzow says when asked about her range of work experience that helped her raise the funds necessary for her first trip to Europe in 2020.

“I just want to clarify that this has no connection to 

, and we’re not salmon fish buddies. It was just one of my first jobs at home and I have a very interesting resume with some interesting jobs on it but I did work on the salmon farm where I caught the fish, filleted the fish and worked as a waitress. I ended up being trained as a sous chef at 17 but I’ve been a lifeguard, a barista, I’ve worked at Domino's, I’ve been a landscaper, and now I’m a professional cyclist."

While her CV might be varied, the reality is that it tells the story of a young athlete who has worked incredibly hard to get to where she is today. 

It’s often said, but should always be reinforced, that the hurdles young female athletes face when getting into elite sports are much higher than the ones ahead of their male counterparts. Cadzow explains that her landscaping job, for instance, often left her on the point of exhaustion. She's still close with her boss from the time – he came to see her race in Europe – and she’s applied that same level of commitment and passion to her road racing career. 

“With those jobs, I knew that I wanted to come over to Europe and be a cyclist but I needed to make some money. I was quite lucky because I finished school earlier than I should have done because I took my exams a year early and graduated ahead of schedule. I got my odd jobs, saved my money and came over to Europe. That work helped me pay for my bike, and my travel,” Cadzow says.

“And everyone knows me from triathlon but I only did it for a year and a half and I only did three races. The desire came from doing the New Zealand nationals and a couple of small races and I thought it was amazing. I loved what cycling could bring with all the chaos and variables. It’s not like any other sport.”

Cadzow did have help along the way, most notably from her bike mechanic brother who spent weekends with her in the workshop building up her dream bike ahead of her travels to Europe.

“It was pretty cool to be able to race my first season in Europe on a bike we’d made together. We ordered all the parts so it had loads of cool bits of equipment. We spent plenty of weekends on that bike, putting it together. I learned a lot, so did my brother, and there were plenty of mistakes but it was a great experience to share with him,” she says.

Cadzow’s first ride in Europe in 2020 came via the Torelli-Cayman Islands-Scimitar squad. She had been introduced to the team via her coach Patrick Harvey, whose daughter, 

“I remember signing the contract and just being over the moon. I’d only done three races before signing so coming over here was a shock to the system,” Cadzow says.

Contract signed and bike packed, Cadzow touched down in London but any assumptions that life on the road would be plain sailing were quickly dashed. Still, her determination shone through, and she took the positives from a new experience.

“In my first year I did four months in Europe. I started off in London and then moved closer to Manchester. It was the wildest time of my life,” she says with a smile.

“We’d travel in a van with no windows from Manchester to Belgium and it would take us close to 14 hours. We’d stay in these F1 hotels, and it was awful in one sense but absolutely amazing in another. For a small-town New Zealander, it was incredible.”

After a spell back home, Cadzow landed a spot on the Jumbo-Visma squad for 2023. This was a major step up for the youngster, and her raw talent and power saw her pick up a number of top-10 rides in WorldTour races. She became a solid domestique, but at the end of the year she and Jumbo-Visma decided to part ways with one year left on her current deal. There were no hard feelings, it seems, the fit just wasn’t quite right.

“I did my first year on Jumbo but I’d signed a deal for two years. We decided though that it wasn’t the best fit for me. I think you need to find a team that really fits so we decided not to go forward for that second year. I’ve come to EF though and I’ve found it pretty amazing,” Cadzow says.

New opportunities at EF Education-Cannondale

Ten days into life at EF and Cadzow seems to be well-immersed with her new surroundings. The team have organised co-ed training sessions with the corresponding men’s team and Cadzow has settled in with her new squad.

“The atmosphere is just eclectic and everyone is happy to be here. There’s a common understanding with the team and it’s nice to have a group of people around who are working towards a common goal of winning but also having fun. We all got into racing because we enjoyed riding our bikes,” she tells 

2024 will be a huge year for the Cadzow. Her calendar will include a return to the Ardennes for a second season in a row, while she also has a Grand Tour - or two - pencilled into her schedule. She admits that there’s still plenty to learn, which isn’t surprising given her meteoric rise in such a short space of time. 

“My goals are to be more confident on the bike within the peloton,” she says.

“I really want to progress my skills. Obviously having not ridden for as long as others I’m not as competent as some of the other riders. I’d also like to work on my time trial and my power. I want to put that into practice and be in the pointy end of races.”

If her enthusiasm and drive are anything to go by, Cadzow will have a long and prosperous career within the sport. Her rise has been dramatic but when you’re this passionate about cycling and taking on new adventures, almost anything is possible.

“Sometimes, when I look back I can’t really believe how far I’ve come,” she says. “I think it’s happened so fast and at times it’s felt like a blessing and curse but it’s crazy to think that a couple of years ago I didn’t know about this world. Having it as a profession is amazing and I wish I could go back and tell little old me that I’d be living this dream.”

From salmon farmer to world-class bike rider. Cadzow has turned a pretty incredible dream into a reality. 

Narrow Handle Bars, Perfect Bike Saddles & Chain Wax | GCN Tech Clinic

Are Super Strong Cyclists Killing Racing? | GCN Show Ep. 591

The 2024 Giro D'Italia Story So Far! | GCN Racing News Show

I Built A £17,000 Bike. WAS It REALLY Worth It?

Name	Age	UCI Career Wins	UCI Points
Kristen Faulkner	31	10	667
Kim Cadzow	22	4	572
Noemi Rüegg	23	3	525
Alison Jackson	35	10	358
Clara Koppenburg	28	2	333

EF Education-Cannondale

EF Education-Cannondale

The Team

Top EF Education-Cannondale Stories

New team, new philosophy: how EF Education-Cannondale are plotting Tour de France Femmes success

Unreleased POC helmet sees early season success at the hands of EF Education-Cannondale

From a salmon farm to EF Education-Cannondale - Kim Cadzow's rapid rise through the pro peloton

Subscribe to the GCN Newsletter