Racing La Vuelta Femenina

Georgia Williams is a rider who loves the hilly classics, stages races, and time trials. She got her initial start as a track cyclist and after representing New Zealand in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2016 Olympics, she decided to fully dedicate her time to road racing.

She is a versatile rider with a pair of medals from back to back Commonwealth Games, four time trial national titles, two road race national championships, and top ten finishes on both stage and one-day races in nearly every season of her career.

Georgia’s 2023 season got off to a strong start. At Tour Down Under, she earned a pair of top-three finishes on the last two stages which saw her finish third on the overall. Her results helped the team win the best team competition. The following month, she returned to New Zealand where she earned her fifth time trial national championship. Georgia was an integral member of our Giro d’Italia Donne squad where her work helped to place teammate Veronica fourth on the final general classification.

She loves to race aggressively and support her teammates but what keeps her motivated is the simple joy that riding brings her, day in, day out. Georgia takes advantage of the travel opportunities that come along with racing and you’ll often find her exploring new routes and training in the fresh air with her friends. She spends the racing season in Girona, Spain and heads back to New Zealand for the austral summer.

Now entering her 11th season as a pro, Georgia is a seasoned veteran who is eager to share her knowledge and experience with her teammates. With her easy-going attitude, she is a natural mentor.

Magdeleine Vallieres Mill hails from Sherbrooke, Québec. At nine-years-old, she and her dad took a 1,000 kilometer bike packing trip over nine days. After that, Magdeleine was hooked. A sports program at her high school introduced her to bike racing. She loved every discipline, racing road, cyclocross, and mountain bike as a junior before deciding to focus on road racing.

She applied for the UCI World Cycling Center (WCC) program as she transitioned out of the junior ranks and was offered one of eight spots on the WWC squad for 2020. The Continental team serves as a launching pad into the professional ranks for its scholarship riders, who typically hail from across the globe. Magdeleine’s first season with the WCC was interrupted by Covid but she took advantage of every opportunity and ultimately earned a spot on EF Education-TIBCO-SVB.

Magdeleine is approaching her second season with the team full of energy and excitement. In her rookie season, she didn’t know what to expect but her eagerness to seize every opportunity ultimately led to plenty of race days for the 21-year-old. She raced the classics, one-day races, and stage races, all while providing essential support to her teammates. Now in her second year as a pro, Magdeleine continues to be an essential member of the team. You will often find her at the sharp end of the peloton, pulling for her teammates.

Her diverse cycling background has helped her develop a love for the chaotic classics, the endurance required in stage racing, and has taught her unrivaled track standing skills.

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.

Kathrin Hammes began her professional career with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB, racing for the American squad from 2015-2017. After four seasons with various teams, she calls her second go-round with the team a return to her roots.

She started riding at age 17 thanks to a family friend. Riding soon led to racing and racing led to a stage win at Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche while competing on a composite team. This win, which happened shortly after Kathrin submitted her master’s degree thesis in sociology, was the catalyst for signing with the team.

On the bike, Kathrin is a hard working domestique who never hesitates to support and protect her teammates. She loves a long climb and frequently rides up Schauinsland, a mountain in the Black Forest.

The German favors her home roads in and around Freiburg for training, climbing and racing. While many of her teammates prefer the warmer climates of Spain and the south of France as their in-season residence, Kathrin remains in Germany throughout the year. Her favorite races are the Ardennes Classics and tough stage races like the Giro d’Italia Donne, a race she has started five times.

In 2023, Kathrin has continued to be not only a loyal rider, shepherding her teammates through the peloton, she also earned her best result in the German road race national championships when she claimed the silver medal.

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.