EF Pro Cycling announced on Thursday they will start a women's team that will race as EF Education-Cannondale next season.
The press release was vague and did not mention how this would affect the current Women's WorldTeam of Paris-Roubaix winner Alison Jackson and junior time trial World Champion Zoe Bäckstedt, which recently lost long-time sponsors Tibco and Silicon Valley Bank due to "recent economic challenges and events" after the bank's collapse earlier this year. The two companies had supported the women's team, run by Linda Jackson, since 2008.
EF Education joined the team as a co-title sponsor in 2022 but Jackson owns and manages the squad. Calls to EF Pro Cycling gave no clarification, and Linda Jackson could not be reached for comment.
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It is so far unclear if EF Education-EasyPost will become the ninth WorldTeam to own a women's equivalent, joining the ranks with Alpecin-Deceuninck/Fenix-Deceuninck, Cofidis, Movistar Team, Team DSM, Jayco-AlUla, Jumbo-Visma, Lidl-Trek and UAE Team Emirates/UAE Team ADQ.
They might be creating a lower-level outfit along the lines of Soudal-Quickstep, who have a women's Continental counterpart in AG Insurance-Soudal-Quickstep.
It's not the former Slipstream outfit's first foray into women's cycling. Jonathan Vaughters and Slipstream picked up the Cervélo women’s team as part of an agreement with the bicycle sponsor in 2011. The women's team came along with seven riders from the men's Cervélo Test Team.
Team Garmin-Cervélo included top riders like Emma Pooley and a young Lizzie Deignan. However, by the end of 2011, a handshake deal with BigMat to come on as a co-title sponsor for the organisation evaporated, leaving Vaughters scrambling to save the entire outfit.
The collapse could have been devastating for riders aiming to earn a spot for the Olympic Games in London in 2012, but the team found reprieve with a partnership with the AA Drink/Leontien.nl run by Michael Zijlaard. That team also ended after one season.
