Axelle Dubau-Prévôt will leave EF Education-Oatly at the end of the 2026 season and join Team SD Worx-Protime on a two-year contract running through to the end of 2028.
The 30-year-old Frenchwoman has made one of the more unusual progressions into the Women’s WorldTour. After years moving between road racing, cyclocross, mountain biking, trail running and gravel, Dubau-Prévôt only committed fully to professional road cycling this season.
That decision has already produced a top-10 finish at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes and attracted interest from several teams. SD Worx-Protime see her as a rider who can strengthen their options in the Ardennes while continuing to develop as a climber.
“It’s a dream to now be part of it,” Dubau-Prévôt said. “It feels a bit bizarre: ten years ago, my career was more or less over, and now, in my thirties, I’m suddenly a member of one of the best cycling teams in the world.”
Photo Credit: GettyTenth at Liège changed Dubau-Prévôt’s road prospects
Dubau-Prévôt joined EF Education-Oatly ahead of this season on a programme originally designed to combine road and gravel racing.
The move followed a successful period on gravel that included the French national title, two second places at The Traka and overall victory at Gravel Burn, where she also won four of the six stages.
Her return to the top level of road racing was covered when Dubau-Prévôt initially signed for EF Education-Oatly, but the scale of her progress became much clearer during the spring.
After 21st overall at the UAE Tour Women, she was not initially scheduled to ride much of the Ardennes campaign. A late call-up gave her the opportunity instead.
Dubau-Prévôt finished 22nd at La Flèche Wallonne before producing a significantly stronger performance four days later at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
She stayed in contention deep into the finale and eventually finished 10th, 1:56 behind Demi Vollering, in a race featuring many of the strongest climbers and one-day riders in the peloton.
Her performance formed part of a highly selective edition in which Vollering attacked on La Redoute and rode solo to victory.
For SD Worx-Protime sports director Danny Stam, that ride was the clearest indication of what Dubau-Prévôt could offer.
“Axelle makes a particularly strong impression on hilly terrain,” Stam said. “Precisely because we want to strengthen our squad for the Ardennes classics, she’s an excellent fit for us.”
SD Worx believe there is still more climbing development to come
Dubau-Prévôt’s age is unusual for a rider being signed partly on potential.
She turned 30 in July, but her development curve bears little resemblance to that of somebody who has spent a decade continuously racing on the road.
She previously competed professionally with Bizkaia-Durango and Experza-Footlogix before stepping away from that side of the sport. Cycling was subsequently mixed with trail running and other disciplines before gravel brought her back towards competitive racing.
Even during the years when cycling was central to her life, it was not being pursued through a conventional WorldTour development pathway.
“It wasn’t until 2026 that I turned fully professional for the first time,” Dubau-Prévôt said. “Before that, I combined cycling with my job as a nutritionist.”
That relative lack of continuous road racing is part of what interests SD Worx-Protime.
“As she had to ride many races in support of the team last season, we haven’t yet seen the best of her,” Stam said. “There’s certainly still room for improvement when it comes to climbing.”
Photo Credit: GettyTour de France Femmes ambition becomes increasingly important
Dubau-Prévôt’s move also comes after a season in which she wanted more opportunities on the road.
She had identified riding the Tour de France Femmes as a major ambition when joining EF Education-Oatly, but was not selected for the team’s seven-rider squad this summer.
That team instead centred on riders including Magdeleine Vallières, Cédrine Kerbaol, Noemi Rüegg and Kristen Faulkner.
Missing the Tour was a disappointment for Dubau-Prévôt after her Ardennes performances had shown she could compete in WorldTour races, and her move to SD Worx-Protime gives her a fresh opportunity to push towards a first appearance in 2027.
There will be no easy route into the line-up. SD Worx-Protime remain one of the deepest teams in women’s cycling and competition for their Tour places is considerable.
Dubau-Prévôt nevertheless sees the race as one of the next major objectives of her career.
“As a Frenchwoman, I have the ambition to compete in the Tour,” she said. “It would be fantastic if I could achieve that for the first time with Team SD Worx-Protime.”
The 2027 Tour de France Femmes will begin in Britain, giving Dubau-Prévôt another clear target as she moves completely towards road racing.
Ardennes strength adds another option for SD Worx-Protime
The immediate attraction for SD Worx-Protime is the Ardennes.
Their squad already contains Anna van der Breggen and several riders capable of performing on hilly terrain, but the team have been making significant changes ahead of 2027.
Eline Jansen will join SD Worx-Protime through 2028, while Lisa van Belle has also extended her contract to the end of 2028.
At the same time, riders including Femke Markus, Blanka Vas and Julia Kopecky are leaving, creating space for the next version of the squad to take shape.
Dubau-Prévôt offers something slightly different from many of those additions.
She already has the endurance developed through gravel racing, enough climbing strength to survive a WorldTour Monument and a willingness to work for teammates. The next question is whether greater road-specific preparation can turn a result such as 10th at Liège into regular appearances in the closing stages of the biggest Classics.
She is particularly excited about the possibility of racing alongside Van der Breggen.
“Anna van der Breggen has also been an inspiration to me for years,” Dubau-Prévôt said. “It’s a dream of mine to be able to ride the Ardennes classics alongside her.”
Dubau-Prévôt commits fully to road racing
The transfer also marks a change in priorities.
Dubau-Prévôt joined EF partly because the team offered the freedom to combine road and gravel racing. After one year back at WorldTour level, she has decided that road racing should now take precedence.
“I’m fully committed to road cycling,” she said. “That was an easy choice.”
Her 2026 season has not been built around a large number of race days, but the performances that mattered have been enough to reshape the direction of her career.
A year ago she was primarily known as one of Europe’s strongest gravel racers. By next spring she will line up for SD Worx-Protime with the Ardennes Classics among her principal targets and a first Tour de France Femmes appearance firmly in mind.
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Photo Credit: Getty
For a rider who describes herself as still feeling young within professional road cycling despite turning 30, the move gives her two seasons to discover how much further that late development can go.
