EF Pro Cycling is opening its doors to a new partner in a move that could reshape professional cycling. The team, backed by Education First (EF), is inviting a strategic investor to join as a title partner. It’s an unusual step in a sport where long-term ownership rarely opens the door to additional big-money partners.
The goal is simple, according to a statement on Friday. EF wants to compete with the richest teams in the peloton across men’s, women’s, and development squads.
EF’s big goals
“It’s rare in professional sport, and nearly unheard of in cycling, for an owner and anchor partner to commit long-term at EF’s current level and still invite an additional title partner to invest purely to make the team stronger,” EF Pro Cycling CEO and former pro Jonathan Vaughters said.
EF’s hope is to win the Tour de France Femmes within three years. As well, it wants to continue building the sport’s leading development pathway, and eventually claim both the men’s and women’s Tours with riders groomed entirely within its system. Key riders—including Ben Healy, Sherbrooke’s Magdeleine Vallières-Mill, Kristen Faulkner, Richard Carapaz, and Neilson Powless—have signed long-term extensions, providing a foundation for the next era.
A long-running pro team
Founded in 2003 and acquired by EF in 2017, the team has won everything from monuments to Olympic medals and elite road world championships, grâce à Vallières-Mill. “Our sport has changed dramatically over the past two decades,” Vaughters said. “WorldTour budgets have risen at an unprecedented pace, and we see this as an opportunity to partner with a brand that shares our vision of winning at the highest level while staying true to who we are.”
Former pro and boss of French team Groupama-FDJ Marc Madiot recently echoed the changing landscape of pro cycling. “Apart from state sponsors (i.e., Team UAE Emirates, Bahrain), it’s difficult to exist in the peloton these days. Cycling used to be for workers and farmers; now it’s a sport for the rich,” the two-time Paris-Roubaix winner said on a podcast.
More than moolah
The team statement says the invitation isn’t just about cash—it’s about creating a global cycling powerhouse with longevity, impact, and ambition.
As Vaughters puts it: “We see this moment as an opportunity to partner with a brand that shares our ambition to win at the highest level while staying true to who we are.”
The Canadian connections
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