EF Education-Oatly has secured one of Belgium’s brightest young prospects with the signing of junior national champion Auke De Buysser. At just 18 years old, she already has a strong palmarès and arrives with the ambition to test herself in both sprints and the cobbled classics.
De Buysser enjoyed a standout 2025 campaign, collecting five victories and five further podium finishes across just 28 race days. Her versatility was evident with top 10 results in the junior editions of Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders, underlining her ability to contest results beyond flat finishes.
A rider with both speed and resilience
While De Buysser is best known for her finishing kick, she has shown the strength to handle the short climbs that shape the classics. “I’m a sprinter for now and maybe also a classics rider but I don’t know it yet. I’d like to become a classics rider. Those races are really nice with some cobbles and small hills. That suits me, I think. I’m a sprinter but I have the power to get over the punchy climbs,” she explained.
Her progression has been steady across both road and track. On the boards she has dominated domestically, winning the Belgian junior titles in the omnium, elimination, points race, Madison, and 1000 metres, while adding silver in the scratch race at the junior world championships. That track experience has sharpened her tactical instincts and top-end speed, but she now intends to focus primarily on the road.
EF Education-Oatly’s perspective
Esra Tromp, general manager of EF Education-Oatly, believes De Buysser is arriving with all the qualities needed to develop into a complete rider. “Auke joined our Mallorca camp at the start of the season and it was clear right away that she was a great fit on and off the bike. There’s no telling what kind of a rider Auke will become. She’s been remarkably consistent in her two years as a junior which tells me that she knows tactics and is a smart racer. When you couple her ability to read a race with her raw power, it makes Auke a really exciting rider to watch.”
The team’s long-term vision is to provide her with a measured calendar, including UCI 1.1 races in 2026 to test her sprint under elite conditions without rushing her development.
Building on family roots
De Buysser credits her brother with first getting her into the sport, while her father introduced her to the velodrome that quickly became her winter training ground. “It was more fun than riding outside in the Belgian winter. It’s very cold!” she said with a laugh. Cycling quickly became more than a pastime, as she found success and community in both road and track racing.
Her ambition is now firmly set on adapting to the professional peloton. “I want to learn step by step. I won’t start with too many big races, probably mostly UCI 1.1 races so I can grow a bit and try my sprint. It would be nice to have that winning feeling again. My goal is just to learn and do my best helping the team. I think the team believes in me. That’s everything I need.”
Looking ahead
With her arrival, EF Education-Oatly gains a rider who combines finishing speed, race craft and a classics-oriented engine. The signing also signals the team’s continued investment in emerging talent, with further announcements expected soon, including the anticipated addition of Stina Kagevi from Team Coop-Repsol.
