"This new project gave me so much energy" - Esra Tromp intent on taking new EF Education-Cannondale team to the top of women's cycling

In 2023, the dominant force in women's cycling was unquestionably Team SD Worx. In 2024 however, a new challenger emerges through EF Education-Cannondale and team boss Esra Tromp is intent on taking them right to the top.

“It feels super supportive here and this new project gave me so much energy. I’m also super happy to be becoming a mom. That gives me also a lot of energy,” Tromp, who's baby is due in early 2024, recently told Velo. “I’m lucky as that I have had quite a relaxed pregnancy. I haven’t had any issues so far with morning sickness or feeling super tired. Of course, I have a few days that I feel a bit more tired at the end of the day, but it’s also normal without a pregnancy. If you’re starting a new job, then there’s a lot of information to take in for example."

Tromp is full of praise for the support given to her during her pregnancy by her new team. “Of course, I won’t be at the team around giving birth and the first few weeks but that’s something if you know this in advance, you can also organize things. In the end the team, we need to back-up each other if something happens,” she explains. “Now this is me having a baby but the next day maybe some coach or sports director is sick for a long time, or whatever. You need to back up each other. So far, I’m really confident that we created an organization that can back me up.”

On the road, Tromp also has big ambitions. “Result-wise, it’s really hard to say ‘Hey, this is what we want to achieve as a result in races.’ But if I see a really cohesive team working together really well, riders and staff, because adding a lot of people to an organization also have some impacts of how things are run,” Tromp says. “So, if we see one team that works together really well, can show the colors in races and we are bold, we are out there, we show ourselves, and hopefully also have a few great results then I’ll be really happy. That gives us a really good foundation to build on for the next years. I’m super confident that there will be results next year because they’re all individuals who are super strong. I’m really proud to have this roster because I see so much potential in this team and if it works then I think we can create magic.”