EF Pro Cycling announced Thursday that it will launch a women's team that will race as EF Education Cannondale next season.

The press release is vague and does not mention how this will affect the current women's world team, which includes Paris-Roubaix winner Allison Jackson and junior time trial world champion Zoe Beckstedt. The two companies have supported the women's team run by Linda Jackson since 2008.

EF Education joined the team in 2022 as a co-title sponsor, but Jackson owns and operates the team; calls to EF Pro Cycling did not yield any clarification, nor could Linda Jackson be reached for comment.

EF Education-Easy Post has Alpecin Deceuninck/Phoenix Deceuninck, Cofidis, Movistar Team, Team DSM, Jayco Aloura, Jumbo Visma, Lidl Trek, UAE Team Emirates/UAE Team ADQ and It is currently unknown if this will be the ninth world team to own a women's equivalent team, along with the women's team.

It may create a sub-organization like Soudal Quickstep with AG Insurance Soudal Quickstep competing against Women's Continental.

This is not the first time a former Slipstream has entered women's cycling. Jonathan Vaughters and Slipstream launched the Cervélo women's team in 2011 as part of a deal with bicycle sponsors. The women's team includes seven riders from the men's Cervélo test team.

Team Garmin-Cervélo included top riders such as Emma Pooley and young Lizzie Deignan. However, at the end of 2011, the co-title sponsorship deal with BigMat was broken, and Vaughters scrambled to save the entire team.

The collapse could have been devastating to the riders' hopes of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics, but the team found salvation through a partnership with Michal Sieglerd's AA Drink/Leontien.nl. This team also ended after one season.