Fire and hearts: EF Education-Cannondale are going to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift

Team chat awash with excitement and emojis as Tour wildcard is confirmed

On Wednesday morning general manager Esra Tromp and the rest of her EF Education-Cannondale staff gathered for their weekly planning meeting. Unlike normal, it was a relatively short affair, especially given that the Vuelta Femenina squad had already been picked. Nevertheless, with the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift wildcards set to be announced at some in the week, everything else within the team felt like it was on hold. The message on the call was simple; let’s see what happens with the wildcards and go from there.

And then it happened. In the blink of an eye Tour organisers ASO posted to Twitter and announced that the second-tier American team had secured a spot in the biggest race in the world. Cue senses of relief, joy, and unadulterated happiness as the team’s Whatsapp groups blew up in excitement.

“The riders are really, really happy,” Tromp told us on Wednesday evening once the news was public.

“I’ve had a lot of emojis, like the celebrating one, and the fire and hearts, and t…