"The right move for me" - World Champion Magdeleine Vallières renews with EF Education-Oatly

Leading up to Christmas, EF Education-Oatly have unpacked their gift early. The American team, on the men's side, announced the renewal of Neilson Powless until 2029. On the women's side, they have managed to secure Magdeleine Vallières, current rainbow jersey, all the way until 2028 in a new long-term contract.

“Daring to race and have confidence in herself and finally get that world championship win was really inspirational for all of our riders,” team manager Esra Tromp said in a press release. “Mags leads by example. For the other girls now, seeing her rainbow jersey there in the group when they are out training or at dinner will make them think, ‘Okay, now we need to step up, because we have the world champion in our team and we need to show that in the races. We need to be able to help her'."

The Canadian rider has complemented her current team a lot, which she joined in 2022. Previously she had problems with weight, more specifically during her time in the World Cycling Center team, where she was called fat and blackmailed with food for a long time. This hampered her development, but now in the American team, she has shown her true colours. Her end of the season saw her in great form, on the attack at the Giro dell'Emilia and Tre Valli Varesine with her new rainbow jersey, which she obtained ahead of Niamh Fisher-Black in Kigali.

She is the new headlining figure at EF Education now. "That is going to give a big push to all of the riders. Mags will draw a lot of confidence from the jersey and will get more confidence from the team to go out and race a lot of finales and find more wins.”

“I’ve been with the team forever and it is like my family now. I grew up on this team and I think I can continue to develop here," Vallières explained. "Signing a long-term contract felt like the right move for me and for the next steps in my career. I get along really well with the girls and I think we're in a place where we can keep growing together. We know how to race together and how to get the best out of each other. We're a lot stronger because we get along so well.”

At only age 24, there is still room for progress, but the truth is she already carries a palmarès that is enviable, with a world title obtained by her own power and also smart tactics in Rwanda. She believes that she is in the right place to continue to grow. “We have excellent nutritionists and super good mechanics. The team has built a lab in Girona for testing and bike fits. Our sports directors do a really good job of looking at the big picture and figuring out which steps we need to take to get to where we want to go. 
They think of us not only as riders, but also as humans, which is really important for me.”

“I learned a lot from helping others. I won the worlds because of it," she argued. "Now, I am looking forward to taking a different approach and trying to bring everything I learned to race more as a leader. I also know that I still have a lot to learn to be consistent at the top and I'm looking forward to taking this as an opportunity to continue learning in this new role and learn together with my teammates. We’re a young team, but I think we can really develop all together.”