Veronica Ewers takes 9th on Tour de France Femmes GC

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.

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.