Linda Jackson: EF-TIBCO-SVB will end after 2023

Linda Jackson confirmed on Friday that her company will not be seeking to renew its WorldTour licence for the next WT cycle. The EF-TIBCO-SVB license is entirely owned by To the Top Cycling LLC and will not be transferred to another team, she said.

“It is with deep regret that I confirm that I have not been able to secure the sponsorship needed to maintain my WorldTour license,” Jackson said in a statement to Canadian Cycling Magazine. “Trying to find sponsorship was just too difficult following SVB’s collapse in March given the overall economic environment at the time. I let my riders know early on that they should be looking for other opportunities as my main priority was to be transparent. I wanted to assist them with transitions to other WorldTour teams versus dragging out the sponsorship hunt to the 11th hour.”

Two decades of growth

The team was born in 2004 from a group of amateur Silicon Valley riders sponsored by a local bike shop, Palo Alto Bicycles. Jackson found sponsorship from TIBCO and Silicon Valley Bank, leading to the team growing gradually each year, to eventually rise to the Women’s World Tour.

Canada’s first Action Jackson, her WorldTeam and the new Tour de France Femmes

“I am very proud of what we accomplished over almost two decades with TIBCO Software and Silicon Valley Bank. We definitely started from scratch with grassroots support, local riders and a budget of under $30,000. When I first started with the PAB women’s team, we weren’t even in the national circuit. In 2005 we were ranked as the 60th team in North America,” the Olympian said.

EF to sponsor new women’s team, future of EF Education–TIBCO–SVB unclear

“In 2006, we won our first national level race with Brooke Miller at the Nature Valley Grand Prix and moved up to the 24th ranked team in North America. By 2009 we had won several nationals championships and had risen to the No. 1 team in North America. We expanded our international racing in 2010 and began generating meaningful results immediately. In 2018 we had our first World Cup win with Kendall Ryan winning a stage of Amgen’s Tour of California. In 2021 we won our first World Tour stage with Kristen Faulkner at the Tour of Norway, and this year we won our first monument, with Alison Jackson at Paris Roubaix.”

Development was key

The former national champion and Olympian said that the team’s competitive advantage was in the early identification and development of talented female road cyclists.

“We focused on North American athletes where possible and provided them with a development pathway from the North American circuit to the more challenging European circuit. We were a launching pad for numerous elite level athletes over the years including Alexis Ryan, Brodie Chapman, Brooke Miller, Chantal Blaak, Kendall Ryan, Krista-Doebel Hickok, Jasmin Glaesser, Kristen Faulkner, Lauren Stephens, Megan Guarnier, Samantha Schneider, Sarah Gigante, Skylar Schneider, Veronica Ewers and most recently Zoe Backstedt,” Jackson said.

“Other notable riders that spent a substantial part of their racing careers with us include Jo Kiesanowski, and Meredith Miller. Rachel Heal rode for us in 2008 and went on to be our sports director from 2019 through 2021 and our general manager for the past two years. Patricia Schwager raced for us from 2014-2015 and has been working for our team since she retired in 2015. Both Rachel and Paddy, and the rest of our management and staff, were significant contributors to our team’s success,” she added.

Sport has grown

It’s a bittersweet moment for Jackson, after all the success her team has seen.

“Our sport has grown tremendously over the past two decades, especially in the past several years. Women can now not just race their bikes out of passion but do so while earning substantial income befitting of elite, professional level athletes. As a result of the money now coming into women’s cycling, over the next five years we should see much needed growth in the number and caliber of women entering the sport,” she said.

“The UCI deserves substantial credit for propelling women’s cycling forward. We now have the media attention that we fought so hard for these past few years. It was really exciting to watch the emerging Continental teams in this most recent Tour de France avec Zwift, and the World Championship road race was a thrilling battle of female cycling legends,” Jackson said.

Grateful for the ride

“I thank TIBCO and SVB from the bottom of my heart for everything they did for our team and our sport. They were early adopters of supporting women in sport and their support of our team mirrored their support of women in the workplace,” the former pro says. “I am also very proud of the role we played in the development of our sport. In total, we helped over 100 elite level women pursue their goals of becoming top international competitors. The skills they learned while racing will help them in every facet of life. The past two decades have seen incredible growth in women’s cycling, and Jackson is proud to have been part of it.”

Women’s pro cycling has grown leaps and bounds

“It took a village to grow this team, and I thank all that were involved from the beginning and supported the team’s growth along the way. The team has been my life for 20 years. I’ll deeply miss being immersed in the progression of women’s cycling, but I look forward to watching the sport evolve and hope that over the next 18-24 months, as our economy improves, I can find partners that can allow us to recreate our successful history,” she adds.

“As far as what is next for me, I have been asked many times if I am going to retire. I read a recent article on Phil Liggett turning 80, and people asking him when he was going to retire. He’s got a few years on me in the sport, but I loved his response, and I feel the same way: ‘…what do I retire from, this is my life,” Jackson reflected.

The new EF-Cannondale team has not been entirely announced yet, but there will be some riders who will transfer there. It should be noted that Jonathan Vaughters’s team is a completely different entity, and has nothing to do with Linda Jackson’s team, save for the title sponsor.
There are three Canadians currently riding for EF-TIBCO-SVB: Alison Jackson, Magdeleine Vallieres and Sara Poidevin. There are unconfirmed rumours that two have signed with the new EF squad.

Riders and staff free to look for new jobs

On Friday, an article in Sporza seemed to blame Jackson for not trying to work together with Vaughters to help her riders and staff retain jobs. According to the piece, anyone on the current team was not allowed to sign up with the Vaughters outfit. Jackson sent Canadian Cycling Magazine an additional statement concerning the article.

“I can’t speak to my contract with EF as it is confidential. As you can see in the hiring of Veronica Ewers, and possibly other riders, neither I, nor EF, are enforcing any contract clause that would prevent the new team from hiring EF-TIBCO-SVB staff or riders. They are free to contact the new EF Education/Cannondale team regarding work for next season,” she confirmed. “I have no say or influence on which members, riders or staff, from my team EF chooses to hire for the brand new EF Education Cannondale team for 2024 and beyond.”