'Depth is our strength' as young talent fortifies 2025 EF-Oatly-Cannondale to support Faulkner, Jackson, Roy
GM Esra Tromp admits 'this is my dream roster' as Continental programme enters second season
EF-Oatly-Cannondale confirmed they will field a roster of 17 riders for their second season at the Continental level, with Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner and former Paris-Roubaix winner Alison Jackson returning to anchor the squad's Grand Tour and one-day race aspirations in 2025.
Veteran Sarah Roy, who turns 39 in February, moves from Cofids to contribute as a road captain. The former Australian road champion looks to make an impact in the Spring Classics and lead a strong contingency of young riders in stage races.
Half of the team enters the second season for the EF-Oatly squad under the age of 24, including newcomer Cédrine Kerbaol, who amassed five victories in 2024 including a hilly stage 6 at the Tour de France Femmes ahead of Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike).
“This is my dream roster because we have a really young group but also a really experienced group. The team is a mix of characters and nationalities, a mix of strengths, and all these women are open to learning,” Esra Tromp, team general manager, said in a press release.
“Our team includes different characters, balancing strength on the bike and off the bike. I’m really excited about this upcoming season, about all of the races. I love to see how the young ones develop.”
For their debut season, the EF-Oatly-Cannondale squad landed 14 road victories in 2024, with a trio of Grand Tour stage wins - Faulkner and Jackson at the Vuelta a España and Clara Edmond at the Giro d'Italia Women - then double gold medals by Faulkner at the Paris Olympic Games.
The balance of new riders for next year are all 23 or younger - Nina Berton, Henrietta Christie, Alex Volstad and Babette van der Wolf. Christie spent the last three seasons on the WorldTour level with Human Powered Health, going seventh overall at the 2023 Tour Down Under. Volstad is the youngest at just 18 and the Canadian won both the junior criterium and road race titles last year. Both Berton and Van der Wolf are versatile riders with experience in one-day racing.
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They join a strong group of returning youngsters who had breakout seasons last year - New Zealand time trial champion Kim Cadzow, Tour de Feminin stage winner Mirre Knaven (riding for AG Insurance-Soudal NXTG), Swiss road champion Noemi Rüegg and Magdeleine Vallieres, who won Trofeo Palma Femina. In addition to national titles, Cadzow won the GC at Trofeo Ponente in Rosa and Rũegg won the 2024 European season opener at Trofeo Felanitx-Colònia.
“We have a really solid group for every kind of parcours. We are super balanced and we have more depth than in 2024,” Tromp said. ”We want to do better in the classics, so that’s a goal for next year and this is also what we searched for in terms of riders
“I think we were really successful in building a team. What I want to build is an even stronger, more balanced team that will show more force in the finales of every kind of race. If it’s a climbing race or a classics race or a sprint race, I want to be more present there. That's what we were searching for in this 2025 team. Our depth is our strength."
Rounding out the roster are proven teammates from 2024, including Letizia Borghesi, who was one of the team’s most consistent performers with 19 top-10s last season. Edmond earned her first career victory in a big way last season, going solo for 47km to win stage 4 of the Giro. Megan Armitage, Veronica Ewers, Lotta Henttala and Nina Kessler also return.
Departed from the squad are Coryn Labecki and Elizabeth Stannard, both retiring this year, Clara Koppenburg, who moves to Cofidis, and USA's 2023 U23 road champion Natalie Quinn, who expects to sign with a new team later this month.
"I love to see how the young ones develop. I think they will step up really quickly because they have really good examples. They have the Olympic champion in the team, they have Grand Tour stage winners in their team. We are a team that really wants to race for each other,” Tromp added.
EF-Oatly-Cannondale roster 2025
- Megan Armitage (IRE)
- Nina Berton (LUX)
- Letizia Borghesi (ITA)
- Kim Cadzow (NZL)
- Henrietta Christie (NZL)
- Clara Emond (CAN)
- Veronica Ewers (USA)
- Kristen Faulkner (USA)
- Lotta Henttala (FIN)
- Alison Jackson (CAN)
- Cédrine Kerbaol (FRA)
- Nina Kessler (NED)
- Mirre Knaven (NED)
- Sarah Roy (AUS)
- Noemi Rüegg (SUI)
- Magdeleine Vallieres (CAN)
- Babette van der Wolf (NED)
- Alex Volstad (CAN)
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).