Lessons from La Vuelta

Six-time Israeli national champion Omer Shapira has been racing since the age of 16. When her dad and brother began joining group rides through their village in the northwestern Negev desert, Omer, who describes herself as always having been a little bit different from her peers, quickly accompanied them. She branched out to ride on her own, savoring the solitude and pushing herself as far as she can.

To Omer, there is no better feeling than breaking through perceived limits, whether that’s in training or racing. The sport has helped her grow as a person and as an athlete. She appreciates the opportunities and experiences cycling has brought her, like international travel, meeting new people, and seeing the world from different points of view.

A competitor at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Omer finished in 24th place after spending much of the race up road. She says that one of her motivations during her breakaway was to promote Israeli cycling in general, particularly girls' participation in the sport.

Omer splits her time in Europe between her bases in Girona, Spain and Andorra. She is a climber by nature and loves to be in the mountains.

Sara Poidevin grew up immersed in athletics. The Canadian hails from Canmore, Alberta, a high caliber athlete mecca. Surrounded by cross country skiers and mountain bikers, Sara rode recreationally with her family for a few years before growing more interested in mountain bike racing during high school.

Sara started training on a road bike in the winter, in an effort to keep up her fitness for mountain biking, and quickly discovered that she was better on the road than in the dirt. She raced on the road with her provincial team and then a local club in Calgary, balancing cycling with scholastics as she pursued her exercise and health physiology degree.

A professional racer since 2016, last season was a year of firsts for Sara – first time changing teams, first year living abroad, first season on a WorldTour team. In 2022, she raced more days than in any other season which provided her with ample opportunities to learn and grow.

This season, Sara’s racing played a vital role in securing the team’s second consecutive GC win at the Joe Martin Stage Race. Just a few weeks later, Sara put in a massive ride at the Canadian road race national championships where she spent the bulk of the 124 kilometer course in a solo breakaway, setting the stage for teammate Alison Jackson to claim the win.

Veronica’s focus and dedication made the 2022 season one full of podiums. In Luxembourg, she won the final stage of the Festival Elsy Jacobs which earned her second place on the general classification. She took the overall win at the Navarra Women’s Elite Classics as well as second place at both Emakumeen Nafarroako Women’s Elite Classic and Durango-Durante Emakumeen Saria. At the Tour de France Femmes, Veronica rode aggressively and with heart, finishing among the top ten on two stages which landed her in ninth place on general classification. Veronica had the honor of representing her country at the 2022 World Championships in Wollongong, Australia. She concluded the season with a pair of second place podiums in the Italian one-day races and a fifth place GC finish at the Tour de Romandie.

Her list of race results is particularly impressive given that 2022 was her first season as a full-time professional cyclist.

Veronica burst onto the professional racing scene at the 2021 US National Road Championships, coming in third place behind Lauren Stephens and Coryn Labecki. The result, and the way she earned it, turned heads, ultimately landing Veronica a guest ride with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB at Joe Martin Stage Race. Veronica backed up her nationals bronze with second place at Joe Martin, her first national level race.

Because the 28-year-old had limited experience in the peloton before she turned pro, Veronica is proud of the growth she has displayed as she has learned to navigate the bunch. This improved skill has led to greater confidence, which in turn has helped her become a more proficient racer.

Though she is new to cycling, Veronica is not new to competitive sports. She played Division III soccer at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon while double majoring in Spanish and anthropology. Following graduation, she turned to running, and a running friend encouraged her to attend a local club ride meet-up. This led to Veronica joining Fount Cycling Guild where she worked closely with Jennifer Wheeler, who rode for TIBCO in 2011-2012. Wheeler recognized Veronica’s budding talent immediately and connected the up and coming rider with Linda Jackson, founder of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB.

Veronica raced the Giro d’Italia Donne for the first time this season and her aggressive approach animated the race. She had a trio of top-ten results and on the final stage, she attacked during an intermediate sprint to earn a single bonus second which placed her in fourth place on the final general classification, her best result to date in a WorldTour GC.

For now, Veronica sees herself as an all-rounder. She is punchy and loves the hills, including the longer mountain climbs. She spent a month of the off season in Medellín, Colombia where she explored the local climbs and got to practice her Spanish.

Veronica is as surprised as anyone at the way her cycling journey has unfolded to date, but is excited to continue to develop and see just how far she can go in the sport.

For Krista Doebel-Hickok, 2023 marks a decade of being a professional cyclist. She got her introduction to European racing when she joined the team for the 2014 and 2015 seasons and notched her first stage wins at Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche and Tour de Feminin.

Krista returned to EF Education-TIBCO-SVB in 2022 and raced a brilliant season. She placed eighth in Flèche Wallonne before heading to the US to race the Tour of the Gila. At Gila, she won two of the five stages, including the opening stage and the individual time trial. She won the mountains classification and was second overall. She had two more top ten finishes at Emakumeen Nafarroako and the Vuelta a Burgos. After racing both the Giro Donne and the Tour de France Femmes, Krista had great form at the Tour Fèminin International des Pyrénées. She and her teammates won the opening team time trial and Krista went on to win the next two stages in commanding style, taking the general classification as well as the points and mountain jerseys.

Before she discovered her love of riding, the California native was a proficient runner. As a full-scholarship cross-country and track & field athlete and Summa Cum Laude student at Vanderbilt University, she broke the 10,000 meter school record while maintaining a 4.0 GPA in Economics.

Upon graduation in December 2011, Krista moved back to Southern California, and bought a bike to find some joy in exercise and competition once again. She hasn’t looked back.

Letizia Borghesi has been racing bikes for half her life. The 24-year-old pinned on her first number when she was 12. After hearing stories from her dad about his wins as a U23 racer, she thought to herself, “I could do that,” and she took up cycling. While injuries prevented her dad from turning professional, Letizia has achieved what he was unable to. Her family is very supportive of her athletic career and she says that growing up in an active household helped her to develop a strong sports mentality. You can often find Letizia’s parents at the races, having driven from their home in northern Italy to support their daughter.

In 2022, her first season with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB, Letizia earned a pair of top ten finishes in the spring classics and gained plenty of experience racing at the WorldTour level. This season, her palmarès includes a string of top ten finishes. She raced the Giro d’Italia Donne this year where she was an important teammate in supporting Veronica to the team’s best GC result at a WorldTour stage race. Letizia’s stage win at the 2019 Giro her biggest result to date. It came down to a head-to-head sprint after spending the day in the breakaway and Letizia managed to pull off the win just on the finish line.

Growing up in the mountains of northern Italy, Letizia is happiest when she is outside. She adores her home region of Trentino and you can often find her hiking to nearby lakes when she’s not training on the road. She earned the silver medal in the 2022 Italian gravel national championships, her first ever gravel race. In the off season, Letizia enjoys competing in the local cyclocross races. Given her experience in cyclocross, it’s not a surprise that her favorite races are the cobbled classics because she loves the steep climbs and is used to the harsh weather conditions.

Letizia completed her bachelor’s degree in sports science and she is currently studying for her master’s degree in biology/nutrition.