Liv AlUla Jayco’s Continental Team strengthens its ranks with three rough diamonds

Liv AlUla Jayco’s Continental Team has signed three talented riders for 2026. Alli Anderson, Talia Appleton and Sidney Swierenga will be riding in the Australian team’s jersey from January onwards with the aim of taking the next steps in their cycling careers.

Identifying talent and helping them develop further through a professional coaching programme is the goal of the Liv AlUla Jayco Continental Team. The team offers up-and-coming talent a pathway to the top of women’s cycling.

The team has been extremely successful in this regard, as evidenced by recent successes in the Giro Mediterraneo in Rosa, where the team took the overall win.

Next season, three riders will make the transition from the Continental Team to the Liv AlUla Jayco WorldTeam. Australian Mackenzie Coupland, Dutch rider Noä Jansen and Italian Matilde Vitillo have been prepared over two years for the highest stage of the women’s peloton. 

Their promotion means that there is room for mentoring new talents. The team has found them with Anderson, Appleton and Swierenga.

The 19-year-old Australian Appleton recently made a big impression in the Tour de l’Avenir Femmes, finishing in the top 10 four times, coming third in the overall classification, and second in the youth classification. In total, she has already achieved four resounding victories this season in the jersey of her current team, which is now running a crowdfunding campaign to create a stable financial foundation – GreenEDGE wishes the Praties Cycling Team every success in this endeavour, so that it can continue to develop talented Australian riders.  

Talia Appleton
“From my first talks with the team, it is clear there is a strong focus on development and a clear pathway for young riders like myself to bridge the gap to the professional peloton. I believe Liv AlUla Jayco will be the perfect environment to further develop myself in Europe and gain experience and knowledge. As an Australian who has never done a full European season, this is a big step in my career, and I am looking forward to making the most of this opportunity. I have always looked up to this team and the GreenEDGE family since I was young, so it feels quite special to be joining an Australian team. Next year, I hope to gain experience in a wide variety of races and become both a stronger and more complete rider.”

New Contract: 2026 & 2027
Nationality: Australian
Age: 19
 
Key results
3^rd GC Tour de l’Avenir Femmes (2025)
1^st UCI Gravel World Series WE – The Devils Cardigan (2025)
1^st Q Tour, stage 4 (2025)
1^st GC SA Kick It (2025)
1^st SA Kick It, stage 1 (2025)
1^st Tour of Bright, stage 1 (2024)
1^st Oceania Continental Championships WJ – Road Race (2023)

Sidney Swierenga is the youngest of the three newcomers. The 18-year-old Canadian has already achieved six victories this season and put herself in the spotlight with, among other things, the overall victory in the Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie Femmes. There she showed that she could be a strong future GC rider.

Sidney Swierenga
“I chose to join Liv AlUla Jayco because I thought it looked like a great environment with lots of opportunities for me to grow and improve. I also liked the idea of being on an English-speaking team. This step is really important to me because it has always been my dream to ride as a professional and joining the Liv AlUla Jayco Continental Team gives me a clear pathway to make that dream a reality. I’m hoping that next year I can gain experience as much as possible and improve on my weaknesses.”

New Contract: 2026 & 2027
Nationality: Canadian
Age: 18

Key results
1^st National Championships Canada WJ – ITT (2025)
1^st KNWU Toekomstcup – Bergomloop Simpelveld (2025)
1^st GC Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie Femmes (2025)
1^st Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie Femmes, stage 2 (2025)
2^nd GC Tour of the Gila Women (2025)
1^st Youth Classification Tour of the Gila Women (2025)
1^st KNWU Toekomstcup Philippine (2025)
1^st National Championships Canada WJ – ITT (2024)
1^st Youth Classification Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie Femmes (2024)

The 22-year-old Australian Alli Anderson caught the eye of Liv AlUla Jayco’s scouting team with her strong performances in La Classique Morbihan and the Grand Prix du Morbihan Femmes, two highly competitive one-day races in France. She has also achieved victories in Australian stage races this season and has proven to be an excellent time trialist, becoming national time trial champion in the U23 category.

Alli Anderson
“I have seen the progress of the development framework Liv AlUla Jayco has built, and it has been very successful. It shows that the team care about their riders’ growth and development regardless of where they are starting from. To have the support and belief from such a team I feel very fortunate and cannot wait to see what the team can achieve.

This contract means the world to me it’s been my dream to be a professional and to be given a chance to step up and have this as the start of my career is something I never thought would come true. To be able to train and race under the guidance of people I have looked up to is a privilege that I will not take for granted.”

New Contract: 2026 & 2027
Nationality: Australian
Age: 22

Key results
7^th La Classique Morbihan (2025)
5^th GC Gracia (2025)
1^st South Australia Time Trial Championships (2025)
1^st GC Q Tour (2025)
1^st GC Harbour City GP (2025)
1^st Harbour City GP, stage 3 (2025)
1^st Tour of Tasmania, stage 3 (2025)
1^st National Championships Australia WU – ITT (2025)
1^st GC Tour of Bright (2024)
1^st Tour of Bright, stage 2 (2024)

Eric van den Boom – Team Manager Continental Team 
“We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved so far with the Continental Team and now want to help more talented riders take the next step in their careers. Anderson, Appleton, and Swierenga have repeatedly proven that they have great potential. With our development programme, we hope to polish these rough diamonds into beautiful jewels of international women’s cycling.”