The Giro d'Italia Women start is coming up on Saturday, and teams around the women's peloton are announcing their squads for the season's second Grand Tour, with EF Education-Oatly among the latest to unveil their line-up
The US squad is heading to Italy looking to add to their successes at the first Grand Tour of the year, La Vuelta Femenina, where Noemi Rüegg and Cédrine Kerbaol won a stage each, and Rüegg wore the leader's jersey.
World champion Magdeleine Vallieres heads up the Giro team, which is built for stage hunting across the nine days from Cesenatico to Saluzzo.
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The Canadian is looking for her first win in the rainbow stripes, with her top result so far in 2026 being fifth place at Strade Bianche. She said she's eyeing up one stage in particular – the hilly fifth day running 146km from Longarone to Sante Stefano di Cadore.
"Stage 5 I'm really excited about because it's a lot of elevation but separated over a few climbs and I think it will be the first GC day, apart from the TT," she said.
"It will be a fatigue-resistance kind of day with the longer climbs. I'm looking forward to this stage the most. Also, with the circuit at the end, I think it will be a really interesting one."
Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner also makes the EF selection. She has already raced a Grand Tour this season after taking part in La Vuelta Femenina and has Grand Tour stage-winning experience, having taken two wins at the 2022 Giro.
Nina Berton, Stina Kagevi, Mirre Knaven, and Alexis Magnier fill out the seven-rider selection, while another Canadian, Grand Tour debutant Alexandra Volstad, is the team's sprint hope.
"I'm super excited. It's my first Grand Tour and also we get the cool Assos Giro kit. Plus, we have a really cool team, and there are some good opportunities for us, so it should be fun," Volstad said.
"Getting to sprint in a Grand Tour will be pretty sweet. There are about three stages that should be sprints, so I'm looking forward to testing my legs.
"Last year was really tough with stepping up from Junior level, but this year, I feel like I'm at enough of a level where I can start to get in the mix. So, hopefully, we can get in the mix in the Giro."
Vallieres recently rode Itzulia Women, finishing 13th overall in San Sebastián while working alongside Berton, Kagevi, Knaven, and Volstad in preparation for the Giro.
"I think we have a strong team also for the sprints. We have a few sprint days, so I think this will be quite exciting," Vallieres said.
"I've had the chance to race with this squad a few times now and recently at Itzulia. I could see that it's incredible how good my teammates are at positioning, so for me, that's really a big help to be able to race with them and follow them around in the bunch.
"I feel extremely lucky that I will have their help during the week. In Itzulia, I was really, really impressed with everyone. I'm hoping we can take some opportunities and go for a few stages. It's a strong squad, so we can all take our opportunities to do something.
"I didn't do the Giro last year, and I was bummed to miss it because the Giro is always a great Grand Tour. It's one of my favourites. There's always a story, something is always happening. I'm really looking forward to it.
"We're going to have a great team with the riders and with the staff all around. We’ve had a few races together, and it’s going super well, so I'm really excited."
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