‘Hilly stage races will always be a target for us, and we have added some Classics depth’ says team founder
New to the EF Education-TIBCO-SVB team in 2023 is Georgia Williams, who found success at the Tour Down Under(Image credit: Getty Images)
The leap to the Women’s WorldTour in 2022 may have seemed daunting for the long-time US-based EF Education-TIBCO-SVB squad. Until last season, the TIBCO programme had spent most of its 18 seasons as a Continental programme, the metamorphosis bringing a new title sponsor, increased staff and seven new riders to the team. Any misgivings that the hurdle would be too steep were swept away in the spring when the team scored a trio of victories on two continents, the first of 13 wins in their WorldTour debut season.
Krista Doebel-Hickok climbed to a pair of stage wins at the Tour of the Gila while across the Atlantic Ocean Veronica Ewers won stage 2 of Ceratizit Festival Elsy Jacobs two days later. Both US riders would secure second place in the overall standings for the respective races.
The dynamic duo return to anchor the 15-rider roster for 2023, with only two new signings, two-time Canadian road national champion Alison Jackson moving from Liv Racing and six-time New Zealand road national champion Georgia Williams from Team BikeExchange-Jayco.
“We had a lot of new riders on the team for 2022 and it always takes time for a ‘new’ roster to get to know one another and build the trust and cohesiveness that is needed for the team to win. I was amazed at how well and how quickly the team gelled this past season,” said Linda Jackson, team founder and owner.
“Overall, we want to move up into being a top 10 UCI team this year and that's a big jump. We have a couple of the world's best climbers on our team, so hilly stage races will always be a target for us, and we have added some Classics depth as well.”
Bringing a boost of speed and stealth to the team is Alison Jackson, who raced for the TIBCO programme in 2018 and 2019 before she took opportunities at the top-tier with Sunweb and Liv Racing. Her explosive sprint gives the team the extra firepower it was looking for in the Classics and shorter stage races.
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“When EF came on board, it was really interesting just watching the team grow. You know, for some of the reasons why I left, I just saw those gaps being filled. They brought on so many resources. They really have a lot of ambition to be a top five team,” Alison Jackson told Cyclingnews from winter training camp in California recently.
“I really love the ambition for the team. I mean, I want to win races, I want the team to win races. And when I looked at the program, they really needed a rider like me, a Classics rider.”
She had one of her best seasons in 2021 with Liv Racing, when she was sixth at the World Championships in the road race, won the points classification at the Ladies Tour of Norway and had three road victories, including double national titles in the road race and time trial. Even with a series of injuries, beginning with a torn ACL, that hampered last season, she rebounded with the points classification win at Tour of Scandinavia and had three top10s at Simac Ladies Tour.
Alison Jackson won the Green Points Jersey at the 2022 Tour of Scandinavia while racing for Liv Racing Xstra (Image credit: Getty Images)
The big kick from “Action” Jackson in the Spring Classics will be complemented by the steady power from Williams, who can contribute results in stage races and time trials. Williams went to work straight away and took a podium on stage 3 of the season-opener Tour Down Under, proving she could climb and keep enough in the tank for a sprint finish.
Both newcomers should pay dividends early in the season for a team heavy with climbers, as the team looks to improve from its 12th-place finish in the Women’s WorldTour rankings.
“Specific goals include a top five overall result at one of the major WorldTour stage races, a podium in a one-day WorldTour classic, and a stage win in a Grand Tour. Doing well at home in North America is always important to us as well, and we will target the Joe Martin Stage Race and the national championships,” the team founder added.
EF Education-TIBCO-SVB has dominated national championships on home soil for two consecutive seasons, with Emma Langley taking over as the 2022 US Pro Road champion a year after Lauren Stephens, and Clara Honsinger repeated as the US cyclocross champion for a second season. Also claiming road titles for their home countries this past season is Omer Shapira for Israel, who took the double in the road race and time trial, and Williams, the best in the road race for a fourth time for New Zealand. Canadian teammate Jackson looks to reclaim the double road titles she won in 2021.
Other storylines to follow in 2023
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British rider Zoe Backstedt in action during the women's elite race at Gullegem in the Superprestige cyclocross series(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Young talent abounds with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB, as they now have the resources to attract, and keep, top teenagers and U23 riders. Kicking off the new year in a big way in the mud was Zoe Bäckstedt, who claimed her first elite British cyclocross title at the national championships in Cumbria. Following cyclocross season, the 18-year-old will tackle her first full season as a WorldTour pro.
Another Briton, 20-year-old Abi Smith, jumped in mid-season last year with EF Education and contributed right away, completing the 10-stage Giro d’Italia Donne. Her versatility on the road, especially with longer road days, will give her a chance to help the team and prove herself.
Stephens is back as the ultimate team captain, her 10th season with the TIBCO programme, for a mix of road and off-road. The two-time winner of Unbound Gravel 100 took part in the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships and was the top US rider in 15th place. She won a pair of bronze medals at US Pro Nationals in the road race and time trial, showing her all-around abilities.
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).
