Alison Jackson signs with ‘new’ EF-Cannondale team
Paris-Roubaix champ joins teammate Magdeleine Vallieres on Jonathan Vaughers’s team
Alison Jackson will be swapping her EF Education-TIBCO-SVB kit for…an EF-Cannondale outfit in 2023. On Friday, former national champion and Olympian Linda Jackson confirmed her company will not be seeking to renew its WorldTour licence for the next cycle, thus spelling the end of the EF-TIBCO-SVB squad. The team originated in 2004 as an assembly of amateur cyclists from Silicon Valley, backed by a nearby bike shop called Palo Alto Bicycles. Linda Jackson secured support from TIBCO and Silicon Valley Bank, which resulted in the team’s incremental expansion over successive years, culminating in its elevation to the Women’s WorldTour. The EF-Cannondale team will not be in the WorldTour in 2024; instead, it will be a Continental squad.
Different team, same sponsor
It was announced this summer that Jonathan Vaughters would be creating a women’s team, using the same backer, EF Education, that currently supports his men’s squad. Linda Jackson’s team, although sharing the same title sponsor, is wholly unrelated to the former Tour de France rider’s outfit. Without EF, Jackson said she will be unable to continue the team.
Alison Jackson joins Magdeleine Vallieres
Alison Jackson took a huge win in 2023, taking Paris-Roubaix in magnificent style. She also won the national championships, so she will be sporting her pink/red maple leaf kit in 2024 as well. EF-Education made the announcement as part of a series of posts about which riders will be joining the team. Magdeleine Vallieres has also been formally introduced as part of the new outfit. It is unclear if Sara Poidevin, who also currently rides with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB, will be part of this new group.
Of course, someone gave Alison Jackson doughnuts on the road worlds climb
The team announced the news in an Instagram post. “I love racing and I always say I just want to be a difference-maker, so whether it’s me getting to be the winner or helping a teammate to make that happen, my goal is to do something that really matters in the race,” Alison Jackson said.
