CyclistPinky promise: Why this could be the season of EF Education-OatlyThree against one. EF seem to like those odds. Nine months after Neilson Powless downed three Visma-Lease a Bike riders at the mens Dwars door Vlaanderen, EF Education-Oatlys Noemi Regg would overpower three UAE Team ADQ riders for victory at the Womens Tour Down Under.It wasnt unexpected. Theres a reason the 24-year-old was the defending champion. Last season, she triumphed on Willunga Hill to carve out an advantage of 15 seconds on general classification, which proved insurmountable as the race came to its conclusion in Stirling.Regg thrives in the hills and has a punishing sprint, which is why all eyes were on her on the final day this year. Two sprint stages meant FDJ United-Suezs Ally Wollaston was top of the pecking order going into the final. Yet the undulating roads of Stage 3 from Norwood to Campbelltown meant the ochre jersey was up for grabs, with two ascents of Corkscrew Road and a speedy descent to crown the overall victor.The race splintered on the final slog. UAE Team ADQs Dominika Wodarczyk dangled out in front alone and EF Education-Oatly made their presence felt at the front of the peloton. World Champion Magdeleine Vallieres played her role perfectly as the last wheel in front of Regg, setting a fierce pace to break the group.It was Regg that got to Wodarczyk first. Unfortunately for her, she had been followed by two more UAE riders in Paula Blasi and Mavi Garca. She was outnumbered, but confident in her sprint should it come to it. The UAE trio had already been working hard earlier in the stage trying to drop Visma-Lease a Bikes Sarah Van Dam while Regg sheltered in the bunch, and they didnt quite have the legs to do it again. The final kilometre came calling Reggs domain. She jumped as her rivals looked at one another. They never stood a chance. Related Posts Pro Log: UAE Tour to feature new super-steep climb; Regg defends Tour Down Under title; Van der Poel and Brand win (again); UK Grand Dpart routes announced All the 2026 WorldTour kits ranked from worst to first Rating every womens WorldTour teams 2025/2026 transfer window 8 standout riders in the Womens WorldTour in 2025 Con Chronis/Getty ImagesIts a positive sign for EF Education-Oatly. They enter 2026 having just been promoted to the WorldTour, off the back of a fantastic but slightly under-the-radar 2025, and while theyve lost several talented riders including Letizia Borghesi, Alison Jackson and Veronica Ewers, theyve added a handful of strong replacements such as Swedish National ITT Champion Stina Kagevi, Alice Towers from Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto and Alexis Magner, the former Canyon-SRAM rider who has spells with L39ION of Los Angeles and Cynisca Cycling under her belt.The team prides itself on a style of racing that electrifies the field, targeting tenacious breakaways and do-or-die aggression to light up the action and break the stranglehold of the superteams. As general manager Esra Tromp puts it, their DNA is all about going out there and having fun and creating something really cool in the races we will not wait and be conservative to end up 15th or second or sixth. For us, that is not important.Their riding lends itself to one-day all-or-nothing bonanzas and its no surprise they have their eyes set on the Ardennes Classics this year with their wealth of potential in the hills. CdrineKerbaol gets better every year, and the Frenchwoman just missed out on the podium at Lige-Bastogne-Lige last year, while New Zealand National Champion Kim Cadzow put in a strong showing the year prior, coming home sixth.Theres no more doubting the capability of Vallieres either after her rainbow-winning ride in Rwanda, and the team will be hoping Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner gets back to her daring best in 2026. Regg is the cherry on top. She was consistent throughout the spring last season including a podium finish at Milan-San Remo, and will be hoping to push on this year.This isnt to say they dont have the talent for a GC bid too. Kerbaol is still only 24 years old, and already has a pair of Tour de France GC top tens and a stage win as well as fourth overall at the Vuelta Feminina in 2025. Vallieres is also set to develop herself as a GC rider with EF Education-Oatly pinpointing the Giro dItalia Women as the race her sights have landed on, and with the Colle delle Finestre set to decide that race, anything can happen.It looks like it might be la vie en rose for EF Education-Oatly in 2026.The post Pinky promise: Why this could be the season of EF Education-Oatly appeared first on Cyclist.