Our men’s and women’s squads are in Adelaide, Australia ready to take on the Tour Down Under. EF Education-Oatly’s riders are keen to support Noemi Rüegg’s quest to defend her 2025 title, while the EF Education-EasyPost squad is ready for stage hunting and aggressive racing.

Alice Towers and Stina Kagevi will race in pink for the first time and they’re thrilled to help defend Noemi’s status as the reigning champion. Magdeleine Vallieres brings the strength and racing savvy that won her the rainbow stripes to Australia. Henrietta Christie returns, ready to be Noemi’s right hand in the peloton. Noemi herself is prepared to do everything she can to earn a second title at the first race of the season.

Harry Sweeny, Max Walker, Jardi van der Lee, and Alastair MacKellar return to the Tour Down Under with valuable experience having raced here before. Alexander Cepeda will race in Australia for his first time, while Michael Leonard and Luke Lamperti are eager to make their debuts with the squad.

Our riders share their impressions and goals for the upcoming days of racing.

Alice Towers
I love being back in Adelaide. I feel like when you’re here, it’s like you never left. Straight back into the routine of getting coffees in the morning, going to the team tent. It’s a good vibe. It’s nice to see everyone in the same place as well. Friendly faces.

It’s my first race in pink! I was really excited to get together with everyone. I feel like you really bond well once you’ve raced so I’m really excited to get this first race under the belt as well. We’ve got a really strong team here which is even more exciting because it means we can really go in with a bit of pressure but I guess we can also enjoy that and be confident with it. I’m feeling good and I think my teammates are also going well so we’ll definitely be looking to do the same this year.

Henrietta Christie
I think it's quite special coming back here as defending champion. Last year was really special. Just on and off the bike it was really quite cool. It was my first race with the team and now coming back as my second year with the team, it’s really cool.

I really like racing on this side of the world. It’s pretty close to home but also it’s a really nice area to start the season. I haven’t really done a European winter until this year so now I understand why the Europeans like coming here so much! So now I really want to come back here every year that I can.

Magdeleine Vallieres
We’re coming back with the reigning champ so we have to try to get the title again this year. I think it will be an exciting one. It’s racing and you always want to do well so we have big goals for the team. For sure it comes with a lot of pressure and I'm already feeling it a bit but I’m also excited to race with this team. I think we have a good group. We’ll make it less pressure just by being in a good group and a good atmosphere. I’m excited.

I’m really excited because we have two new girls with us so I’m excited to start the season with them. It’s always a different atmosphere when you start with two new girls so I’m really excited to see how we do. At camp it was super good so I think it will be good chemistry. Having Noemi as last year’s winner, we come with a lot of confidence into the race and that will be super nice. I watched the girls do so well last year. Henrietta was also on the team last year and I saw her do a crazy bike change and so much good work so I’m excited to be there this year and to be a part of the success of the team.

I have a lot of confidence in Noemi. She's someone I’ve always loved to work for so I think it's a bit less pressure [for me] to start the season like this, to be able to be a support rider for Tour Down Under so for sure it’s a good way to start the season.

Noemi Rüegg
All the memories are coming up again. It feels very familiar to be back here. I recognize everything: the race village and the roads we were training on, and just the vibe is so nice. Just relaxed and I’m super happy to be back.

We have a bit of a different team than last year but we still have a very strong squad with our two new riders and I’m really excited. I think we have a really strong team. It’s very diverse so we have a lot of different qualities and strengths within the team and I’m sure that together we are super strong. Every individual is super strong and we can play different cards and use our own strengths and we’ll do the best that we can.

It’s the first time I will actually wear bib number one so that’s really special. To defend something will be a new situation for me but I try to take it as I did last year, just to take this as a motivation that I'm the defending champion and not putting too much pressure on myself because I know I work better if I’m relaxed and just enjoy the race. In the end, I cannot do more than just racing my bike and we have a super strong team that I can trust. It will be good.

Stina Kagevi
It’s going to be fun to race with the team. It’s a nice experience just to be here. It’s a lot of new things at once – first race of the year, new team, new kit – but I think it’s going to be fun. My role will be a bit of an all-arounder this week, just being around to help. I’m really excited to race with the girls and to get new experiences.

In Sweden it’s cold now. It’s about -10C with a lot of snow but I’ve spent a lot of the winter in Spain so the warm weather here isn’t too bad for me. I was here two years ago for the same race and I really liked it. It’s so nice here. It’s warm.

Alastair MacKellar
I love racing TDU because it’s the only WorldTour race on the calendar in Australia. It's special to be able to race in your home country and have friends and family come and watch. I grew up watching this race in person with my dad and his friends, so to be here with them still coming to watch me is special.

I'm excited and nervous for the third stage. Two times up the corkscrew is really solid and will be a big test. It’s arguably the hardest stage Tour Down Under has had in the last few years, so I think there will be fireworks.

I’m excited for this year's TDU. Last year was my first time racing the WorldTour edition, so it’s nice coming with an idea of what to expect. We’ve got an aggressive and strong team, so it’ll be great to support them and enjoy racing on home roads – well I’m still 2,500 kilometers from home, but it’s as close as I’ll get – before heading back to Europe.

Alexander Cepeda
I’m really pleased to be starting the season early here in good weather, in the heat – it’s just like at home. The time change is a little difficult but I’m happy to be here in Australia for my first time.

It’s a pretty nice race route. I’ve looked at the stages and I like them because it opens up a couple of opportunities for me. I think there are two stages that could go well. We’re here and we’re ready to enjoy Australia.

I usually start my season in February so it feels a little odd to be racing so early but I’m happy. In the end, the national championships in Ecuador are in June so I’m happy to be in Australia and to enjoy it. It’s a new experience for me and I’m going to take advantage of it. I hope we all go well.

Harry Sweeny
I haven’t changed anything for Tour Down Under in my preparations as the biggest goals of the season are coming in the spring. I’ll still be racing TDU with everything I’ve got, but this will be a few percent less than my peak.

I’m not from Adelaide but it’s always special to race in Australia since it's so rare during the year and to top it off, I actually have a huge amount of family that’s from and lives in Adelaide who always come to the start. That makes things extra special.

It would be nice to take home a stage with one of our fast men. There are a lot of stages that should be to our advantage, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do.

Jardi van der Lee
This will be my third year in a row racing at TDU so I know now how it works a little bit. It’s super nice to be back here and start the season early and get some racing in the legs. I think the race added a little bit of extra climbing this year which I’m really happy with. The more climbing the better. Let’s see how far we can get.

We have a few riders that are doing this race for the first time. For these riders it’s important to not do too much at the very beginning and get the feeling for the race. For the guys that have more experience with the race, it’s quite useful to share that experience with the others.

I’m really excited for most of the stages. Stages 2, 4, and 5 look good for me and the team. The only tricky stage is stage 3 where it’s a little bit of climbing but we might want to go for the sprint with Luke so let’s see if we can get that to a sprint. And the first stage is also nice but a little more tricky in my eyes. The prologue is new. It’s a nice set up especially since we don’t have the crit this year.

Luke Lamperti
I’m sprinting here and I’ll also do that in the two one-day races after. There aren’t too many sprints at Down Under, I think maybe the first day and the last day, but I’m feeling optimistic. I’ve had a decent winter.

This is a race that’s super early in the season so it’s always difficult as far as knowing where everybody’s at but at the same time it’s always nice to hit the ground running. If we can ride well as a team and get some results, it’s always nice for the rest of the season. Just to have that confidence which makes everything easier going towards UAE, the classics, and the rest of the year so I think it’s a good opportunity to get everybody together and enjoy the time and keep it relaxed but at the same time go for results.

Max Walker
I’m really looking forward to racing TDU again this year. I had a fantastic time at the race in 2025 and thoroughly enjoyed getting to experience Australia. There couldn’t have been a better way to start my professional career with EF Education-EasyPost. I am delighted with my first pro season. I gained a lot of experience and was fortunate enough to learn how to be a good teammate in a variety of different races. I can’t wait to start racing this year. My program is fairly similar to last year and I’m eager to build on everything I’ve learned and become a better rider.

Returning to TDU, I feel like I have a better understanding of how the racing will play out and when to use my energy. I also find it useful for positioning to have a general grasp on the road layouts as they differ across the world.

We are coming to the race with a solid team and looking for a strong start to the season. I believe we have a decent chance to take some wins and can’t wait to get started.

Michael Leonard
It’s really nice so far being in Australia. The weather’s been perfect, the travel wasn’t all that bad, and the roads are good for riding. It's really nice being here.

This will be my first time actually wearing the pink jersey. I couldn't wear it before because the weather was so cold in Europe so it’s been nice training in real team colors. It’s a really good environment in the team so I’m really motivated to start racing.

I’m not sure about my expectations for the race. For me, it’s just about getting started with the season and doing as well as I can, helping the team as much as I can.