The Luxembourg rider, Nina Berton has sealed a deal to join EF-Oatly-Cannondale beginning in 2025. Having raced professionally for just two years, 23-year-old Nina is still an emerging rider, but she clearly already knows where her passions lie.
“The classics are the races that I enjoy the most. I really enjoy a long, hard day of racing, especially if the weather is not so good,” Nina said. “I still need to learn a lot, but my goal for the classics season is to be of use to my teammates so we can get a good result.”
Nina’s drive and potential appealed to EF-Oatly-Cannondale general manager Esra Tromp.
“Nina is super passionate and determined. She wants a long career and to develop step by step. Nina is a rider that doesn’t give up easily, wants to work really hard, and can be super versatile. That makes her a great addition to our roster,” Esra said.
Signing with EF-Oatly-Cannondale was an easy decision for the young talent.
“The team’s culture and vision matched what I was looking for,” Nina said. “There’s a lot of focus on being a person and not just an athlete. If your mind is happy, then performance can follow. This really appealed to me. I think there are a lot of areas where I can still grow and improve and I’m excited to work on these with the team. Plus, the idea of building up this team so we can win big races is quite an exciting adventure.”
Apart from racing and training, Nina spends her free time outside. “I love to go out in nature. I go for walks or for adventures like backpacking or bikepacking. For the offseason, I’m thinking of going to one of the Scandinavian countries and either bike-packing or hiking. When I was young, I did a lot of camping and I still love it,” she said.
In addition to camping, Nina grew up taking family trips to watch the men’s Tour de France, which inspired her future.
“With the camper van, we sometimes travelled to mountain stages like Alpe d’Huez and we watched the men racing up. This really gave me the push to try it myself because I just wanted to see how fast I could ride up these climbs. Then when I started to do my first races, I really enjoyed it,” Nina reflected.
Nina constantly looks for opportunities to push herself, both on and off the bike. She has just started her second year of studying psychology, a program she said has helped her learn about herself as a rider.
“Cycling has taught me to be more patient,” she said. “As a young athlete, you always want to reach the top of the sport as fast as possible but it doesn’t work that way, so I’ve learned to be patient and to go one step at a time.”
That does not mean Nina has swapped patience for passivity.
“I’m quite an aggressive rider. If I get the chance to go into breakaways, I love to do this. I also love the hard races where you have to push through and where it’s a real effort to survive. I love this aspect of fighting against yourself but also the team aspect that you race together and so you push each other.”
There is no doubt Nina will continue to push herself and to be a motivating presence among her new teammates when the 2025 season opens.
