2025 Roster Balances Youth with Experience
EF-Oatly-Cannondale Ready for an Exciting Second Season
EF-Oatly-Cannondale’s second racing season is set to be even more thrilling than its inaugural year. The team’s athletes and staff are determined to surpass the successes of 2024, a challenging but exciting ambition. With young recruits bringing fresh enthusiasm and experienced veterans providing leadership, the squad is prepared to take on the challenge.
Building on a Strong Foundation
Sophomore seasons are often described as the toughest, but EF-Oatly-Cannondale is determined to make its second year a standout. General Manager Esra Tromp expressed her excitement for the 2025 roster, describing it as a dream team.
“This is my dream roster because we have a really young group but also a really experienced group,” says EF-Oatly-Cannondale general manager Esra Tromp. “The team is a mix of characters and nationalities, a mix of strengths, and all these women are open to learning. I think that’s something you really need – that they want to learn from each other, with each other, and grow with each other. ”
A Stellar Debut Season
The team’s debut season in 2024 was remarkable. Noemi Rüegg secured the team’s first-ever victory at the Trofeo Felanitx-Colònia de Sant Jordi, quickly followed by Magdeleine Vallieres winning the next day. These wins set the tone for the season, which saw Kristen Faulkner and Alison Jackson claim stages at the Vuelta, Clara Emond win a mountain stage at the Giro, and Kristen take two Olympic gold medals in Paris. By the end of the season, the team had amassed 14 victories.
“Pretty quickly we found a good rhythm with the whole team – with the riders and the team staff, how to work together,” Esra says. “Setting it up at the beginning was not easy, especially in a super international environment. That’s something we managed quite well. After the spring, we got better and better every week. Setting up all the goals for all the riders, doing that together with the women, was also really successful. It was very cool that we won stages at the Vuelta and the Giro, and were pretty close with some top fives in the Tour de France. The season was a result of how we set up all the goals.”
Ambitions for 2025
Heading into 2025, the team’s ambitions have grown. Key returning athletes like Cédrine Kerbaol, Kristen Faulkner, and Alison Jackson are poised to lead the charge. Kerbaol aims to continue the momentum from her Tour de France stage win, while Faulkner and Jackson will target success in the spring classics and grand tours.
New recruits Alex Volstad, Babette van der Wolf, Henrietta Christie, and Nina Berton, all under the age of 23, bring fresh energy to the team. Veteran Sarah Roy, a former Australian national champion, joins as a road captain, ready to guide the younger riders and seize opportunities to showcase her own talents.
A Balanced and Versatile Roster
The returning roster features breakout performers from 2024, including Kim Cadzow, Clara Emond, and Magdeleine Vallieres. Megan Armitage and Nina Kessler will continue their roles as invaluable teammates in diverse race scenarios, while Letizia Borghesi aims to convert her consistent top-ten finishes into victories. Veteran sprinter Lotta Henttala will both mentor teammates and pursue her own wins in bunch sprints.
“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,” Esra says. “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. We have a really solid group for every kind of parcours. We are super balanced and we have more depth than in 2024.”
Focused on Growth and Teamwork
EF-Oatly-Cannondale’s strategy for 2025 centers on creating an environment where riders can perform at their best while having fun. The team has carefully chosen its race program to balance development opportunities for young riders with high-level challenges.
“We chose our program really wisely with some good development races,” Esra says. “We have really young riders and also experienced riders, so that balance was chosen really well and was also part of the success of this past year. 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. 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.”
With the guidance of Olympic and grand tour champions, the younger riders are expected to develop quickly. The shared commitment to racing for each other ensures EF-Oatly-Cannondale is ready to shine in its sophomore season.
EF-Oatly-Cannondale 2025 Roster
- Megan Armitage
- Nina Berton
- Letizia Borghesi
- Kim Cadzow
- Henrietta Christie
- Clara Emond
- Veronica Ewers
- Kristen Faulkner
- Lotta Henttala
- Alison Jackson
- Cédrine Kerbaol
- Nina Kessler
- Mirre Knaven
- Sarah Roy
- Noemi Rüegg
- Magdeleine Vallieres
- Babette van der Wolf
- Alex Volstad
Photo credit – Jered Gruber & Ashley Gruber | Gruber Images
