Reigning road world champion Magdeleine Vallieres will remain with EF Education-Oatly through the end of the 2028 season, after agreeing a long-term contract extension that reflects both her rapid rise and her growing importance within the squad.
Fresh from her breakthrough rainbow jersey victory in Kigali, the 24-year-old Québécoise has committed her future to the team that has shaped her development since her first days at WorldTour level. The extension formalises a shift in role as well as status, with Vallieres set to take on greater leadership responsibilities as EF Education-Oatly targets victories across the biggest races on the calendar.
Vallieres’ path to the top has been built on patience and consistency. Over the past few seasons, she established herself as one of the most dependable domestiques in the peloton, regularly delivering key turns in decisive moments of major races. That foundation proved crucial at the World Championships, where she backed herself with a long-range attack to claim the sport’s most coveted jersey.
“I learned a lot from helping others,” Vallieres said. “I won the worlds because of it. Now, I am looking forward to taking a different approach and trying to bring everything I learned to race more as a leader.”
Her world title was the defining result of her 2025 season, but within the team it confirmed a longer-term belief in her potential. Rather than a one-off success, the rainbow jersey marked a transition point, from trusted support rider to protected leader with freedom to race for wins.
A major factor in Vallieres’ decision to extend was continuity. She has repeatedly pointed to the environment at EF Education-Oatly as central to her progress, from performance staff to team culture.
“I’ve been with the team forever and it feels like my family,” she said. “I grew up on this team and I think I can continue to develop here. We know how to race together and how to get the best out of each other.”
That confidence is rooted not just in race-day cohesion but in the broader structure around her. Vallieres highlighted the work of the team’s nutritionists, mechanics and sports directors, as well as the investment in testing and bike-fit facilities in Girona, as key reasons for committing long-term. The emphasis on treating riders as people as well as athletes was a decisive element.
Team general manager Esra Tromp believes Vallieres’ presence as world champion will lift the entire squad. She described the Kigali victory as a reward for Vallieres’ courage and self-belief, and an example for younger riders within the team.
“Seeing the rainbow jersey in the group when they are out training or at races makes everyone raise their level,” Tromp said. “Mags leads by example, and that confidence spreads through the team.”
The coming seasons will test Vallieres in new ways. She is expected to open her 2026 campaign at the Tour Down Under, before turning her attention to the Ardennes classics, the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. Alongside those goals sits a particularly personal ambition: defending her world title on home soil when the Road World Championships are held in Québec.
“I still have a lot to learn to be consistent at the top,” Vallieres admitted. “But I’m excited to take this on with my teammates. We’re a young team, and I think we can really develop together.”
For EF Education-Oatly, securing Vallieres through 2028 provides long-term stability and a clear sporting focal point. For Vallieres, it offers the platform to turn a single defining victory into sustained success, as she grows into one of the central figures of the women’s peloton.
