Noemi had never seen Mags pedal with such confidence. Mags flashed Noemi a peace sign as she rode past her and then went straight to the front of the group and hammered up the cobbles of the Côte de Kimihurura. Over the summit, the two EF Education–Oatly teammates smiled at each other as they hurtled ahead into the warm Kigali air. The pre-race favorites were losing time. They were already nearly two minutes back from Mags and Noemi’s ten-rider group. The most powerful teams in the race were running out of riders for the chase.

“It was such a cool moment,” former Swiss champion Noemi said after the race. “I was in the breakaway that she caught. She came past me and just gave me this grin, and we were like, ‘This is great. We’re in the break together at the world championships.’”

Seeing Noemi there heartened Mags.

“Noemi was ahead in the break for most of the race, and then, when I caught back up to her, she gave me this smile and cheered,” Mags said.

Watching at home, EF Education–Oatly general manager Esra Tromp could hardly contain her excitement. She messaged Jonathan Vaughters, EF Pro Cycling founder and CEO.

“Esra and I started texting with about 35 kilometers to go,” Jonathan said. “We were both going, ‘This sets up pretty well for us.’ We were doing a bit of play-by-play through text messages as it was getting closer and closer.”

Esra was impressed by Mags’ patience. Through the early kilometers of the race, the 24-year-old barely touched the wind. She was just a flash of red in the peloton, gliding forward on the wheel of her Team Canada and EF Education–Oatly teammate Alison Jackson before the key corners.

“We knew that Mags was in really good shape and that she could do something here,” Esra said. “She is a really strong bike rider and also a smart bike rider. She just needed to believe in herself, and all of the puzzle pieces needed to fall her way. I saw her hiding early in the race. That is something she has had to learn to do—wait and really race for the win. She trusted herself. And then she had the confidence to go for it.”

When the big attacks began to fly on the final circuits, Mags came to the fore, following all of the right wheels until she saw her chance. She took advantage of a lull and then a moment’s hesitation from the favorites to ride across to Noemi’s break. The pair pressed on, keeping the group moving. They both knew that this was their opportunity to get big results for Switzerland and Canada. And then, with just over a lap to go, Mags attacked on the steeps of the Côte de Kigali Golf.

Standing on the pedals, her Cannondale rocking gently underneath her, she powered away from the remains of the race. Only two riders—Giro stage winner Niamh Fisher-Black from New Zealand and nine-time Spanish champion and Tour de France stage winner Mavi García—could follow her as she danced up the hill with poise.

“She went on the steeper climb and you could really see that she was on a mission,” Noemi said. “She had already pulled a lot in the breakaway. You could see she really wanted it. She was so strong. It was incredible.”

As Mags ducked her maple leaf jersey low to keep out of the wind, tucked in her arms, and whirred a terrific gear, cycling fans around the world began to wonder: Who is Magdeleine Vallieres? And could she really win the rainbow jersey?

Magdeleine Vallieres was not a household name yet, but anyone who knew her story or had seen the work that she did for her teammates in races like the Ardennes classics or the Tour de France Femmes could have guessed that she was on the cusp of greatness.

Mags was born and raised in Sherbrooke, Québec, a small university city in the province’s Eastern Townships. She started cycling when she was a little girl and really got into the sport when she was eight years old. That summer, she went on a nine-day, 1,000 kilometer bikepacking trip with her dad, riding from their home through the forests of northeastern Québec to Gaspésie on the Atlantic Ocean. Mags loved those long days on the road, being out in the fresh air, enjoying the simple act of pedaling. To this day, that is what drives her.

“I just have this passion for cycling,” Mags said. “I have had that passion since day one. I really like to ride my bike. It makes it easy to work hard and push my limits.”

When she was a young teenager, Mags started racing on the road, on mountain bikes, and at cyclocross, with the encouragement of her family. By the time she had turned 16, she was winning elite cyclocross races in Québec. That winter, she finished second in the Canadian cyclocross championships for under-23 riders and went to Europe to race against the pros. By 18, she was Canadian junior road race, time trial, and criterium champion. She finished 10th that autumn at the junior road race world championships in Yorkshire and decided to move to Europe to race full time while continuing her business studies. Her first two years in Europe were tough, but by 2023, Mags had earned her first contract.

Alison Jackson remembers Mags’ first pro training camp.

“When we were first teammates in 2023, I remember her riding up to me. She was small and kind of shy and she said, ‘My coach says I should ride with you to learn from you,’ and I was like, ‘Umm, you got it, kid.’ Mags has always been talented and super committed, but seeing her grow into her confidence to now be able to put up her hand and say, ‘I believe that I can do really well at the world championships,’ is incredible.”

Mags is, by nature, quiet, humble, and studious. She brings a pad of paper to every team meeting and jots down notes, always listening more than she speaks. When she is given a role, she commits to her task. She prefers to let her legs do the talking. Her performances at this summer’s Tour de France Femmes are a case in point. Mags shone in the Alps, leading Cédrine Kerbaol over the high peaks to keep her in the race for the yellow jersey. When Cédrine crashed at the base of the Col du Joux Plane on the final stage, Mags hit her brakes, waited for Cédrine, and then time trialed up the mountain with her teammate on her wheel to save Cédrine’s race. Time and time again, Mags has put in MVP performances for EF Education–Oatly leaders like Cédrine, Noemi, and Kristen Faulkner.

“She is such a committed helper in the team,” Noemi said. “Whatever role she’s given, she does it 100 percent. This year, she helped me so much in races. She was my bodyguard. Whatever role she is given, she just commits to it. She is such a selfless rider.”

“She is such a great teammate,” Cédrine said. “It is incredible. Mags is a fantastic person. She helps us every time.”

“Even though she is incredibly strong and tactical, she is almost always supporting her teammates,” Kristen said. “She is selfless, kind, fun, hardworking, humble, and the kind of person you want to support. She’s a quiet role model. She’s a loyal friend.”

Esra’s mission for Mags this season was to take all of her bike racing strength and smarts and learn how to become a captain herself. Taking on that responsibility is tough. To win a race, a cyclist needs to be patient, conserve her strength, and keep a close watch on her rivals and every minor shift in how the race is playing out, and then, at the decisive moment, pit all of her remaining power up against the best.

“Last year in November, we sat down together and pinpointed some goals for her to focus on, where she would not be a worker but could go for her own result,” Esra said. “There were some blocks during the season where we needed her to be the best teammate ever. I think that balance helped her a lot. And then, for the races she was going for, talking her through them and encouraging her to wait longer than she felt comfortable with was key for her mindset. She really needed to learn how to race for the win.”

One of the races where Mags wanted to do well was the world championship road race in Rwanda. With 3,676 meters of climbing packed into 11 laps of the circuit in Kigali, it was set to be one of the hardest races in cycling history—perfect for a climber like Mags. With EF Education-Oatly’s support, she organized a pre-worlds altitude camp in Andorra.

Team Head of Nutrition Dr. Anna Carceller was there, working closely with Mags during the weeks leading up to the race. One key factor for Mags’ strength is that she has managed to improve her hormonal health since she joined the team.

“She has been amazing,” Anna said. “For the past year, she’s been working so hard on it. She recovered her period three months ago, more or less. That took incredible work from her. With all of her training and nutrition, she was super committed, just following the plan.”

Mags worked very hard at her camp. By the end, she felt stronger and healthier than ever. Her Canadian teammates said they wanted to ride for her.

“Coming into Rwanda, Mags was like, ‘I’m going all in,’” Alison said. “And I was like, ‘Awesome. I want to be there. If you are going to do well at a world championship, I want to be there.’ Mags has been a part of so many of my beautiful moments in cycling. So, I wanted to come and just repay her, encourage her, help her believe in herself, and then be a road captain for the team and help her into those positioning points in the race.”

Mags started to believe in herself.

“For me, the biggest thing is having people who believe in me,” she said. “I did a lot of work, and I really put a lot of effort into preparing for this race. In the days leading up to it, I said that I would like to finish in the top 10, but winning would be nice. And when I said that, no one laughed. It felt a little intense to say it, but all of the Canadian girls said that they wanted to help me achieve my goal. Ultimately, it was just having the girls who believed in me and the hope that my team held for me all year long. Before the race, I spoke with my EF Education-Oatly sports director Carmen Small and she said, ‘Today is your day. And if you go, you have to be committed.’ And that’s what I did. I don’t know if I would have been able to keep up if I had waited for the favorites to go. I knew I had to take a risk, leave earlier, and take my chance.”

On the slope of the Côte de Kigali Golf, with the strength fading from her own legs, Noemi willed Mags on with her whole heart, as she watched her teammate ride away.

“I think deep down, she always knew what she had,” Noemi said. “She just could not always show it because she was so committed to helping the team. Now she could show the world what was truly in her. That was amazing. It is crazy what Mags did. I’m really, really, really happy for her.”

Throughout the final lap, Mags kept her cool. She knew she had to keep her trio moving and their pace high if they were going to stay ahead. As the favorites behind ebbed and surged, launching last-gasp attacks to try to go across, Mags rolled through, encouraging García and Fisher-Black to take their turns and pushing on anyway when they began to flag.

“When I crossed the line going into the last lap, I saw that we were 20 seconds ahead of the girls behind. Then, I said to myself, ‘If we really go for it, it’s possible,’” Mags said.

She knew her chance to become Canada’s first-ever world champion would come on the final climb: the Côte de Kimihurura, 1,472 meters of cobblestones through the center of Kigali in the middle of a huge, roaring Rwandan crowd.

“When I reached the last corner, I saw that the girls were a little tired, so I attacked and I saw that I had a gap,” Mags said. “I gave 100 percent until the finish. I didn’t want to have any regrets.”

All around the world, Mags’ EF Pro Cycling teammates and colleagues were screaming at their televisions and mobile phones, cheering her on as she soloed up the cobbles through thunder from the barriers.

“I was in the middle of the street, going, ‘I can’t believe it; she will be top 10,’ and then, ‘Podium?’ and then, ‘Wow! She is going to win,’” Anna said. “She was so strong. To me, it just looked like pure strength and how female athletes should look. I was so proud. Her final push at the end was just incredible.”

Jonathan and Esra were brimming with pride as they watched the rider they had believed in and invested in come into her own on the world stage. Esra wasn’t going to let Jonathan celebrate too soon, though.

“With about 800 meters to go, I was like, ‘She’s got it,’” Jonathan said. “And Esra said, ‘Shut up! Don’t jinx it, man.’”

Mags powered up the cobbles and crossed the finish line as new world champion into the arms of her Canadian teammate Alison Jackson, who was jumping up and down with tears of joy streaming down her face.

“Never in my lifetime did I ever think that I could be on a world championship winning team,” Alison said. “In all of the years that cycling has ever existed as a sport, this has never happened before to a Canadian team. And it’s Mags! She was phenomenal. She did it. Mags is world champion. I could not be more proud.”

Cédrine rolled across the line in tears.

“What makes me cry—and I am crying with joy—is that my teammate is the champion of the world,” she said. “Magdeleine is an exemplary teammate. Magdeleine is a great person who would give everything to help someone else. And today, it is her day. It is the most beautiful victory in the world. I hope she enjoys it to the fullest. I can’t believe it. I have the world champion on my team.”

It will be an honor for EF Education–Oatly to race with the rainbow jersey—and a very special joy to see it on Mags’ shoulders.

“Mags is a quintessential professional rider,” Jonathan said. “She’s polite. She’s great with all of our partners and sponsors. She’s a very calm presence in the women’s team. She proves that nice gals don’t finish last. It is really great to see somebody who has spent most of her career helping other people succeed get a chance and take it and show the world that she’s the world’s best.”

Esra could not agree more.

“This is a really, really important victory,” Esra said. “Mags is an example to everyone on our team. She is extremely professional. She is an excellent teammate. And what she showed in the race—that she who dares, wins—is how we want to race as a team. Mags’ jersey will remind our riders all year long that what you need to do day-to-day is get out of your comfort zone and really dare, and if you do that, you can win. That’s in the DNA of our team, and it is super cool that Mags was rewarded for it with the rainbow jersey.”

As for Mags, she is just excited to go race her bike again. The world champion will debut her rainbow jersey on Saturday, October 4, at the Italian classic Giro dell’Emilia. Then, she will race Tre Valli Varesine on October 7, also in Italy.

“I am really looking forward to seeing the jersey the team will design for me and the bike from Cannondale and all of the custom things,” Mags said. “It still doesn’t feel real. If there was one race to win, I think it was this one, but I think I probably showed that I can try again at some other races. Being with the team, with the jersey, will be so cool. I am excited for the Giro dell’Emilia and Tre Valli Varesine to see what we can do.”

Mags, your rainbow jersey is going to give you wings. We are so proud of you.