In her eight years as a professional triathlete, Maya competed in two Olympic Games, earned a gold medal at the World Triathlon Series, and finished in the top ten at the world championships three times. But this is not enough for the 29-year-old who is ready for a new challenge.

“I’ve been doing triathlon for quite a long time now,” Maya said. “Moving to road cycling has always been in the back of my mind. I would like to have more hills and changing dynamics. In road cycling, there are so many different types of races and tactics play a much bigger role. Those are the parts of racing that I really love.”

Maya won’t have to wait long to get a taste of hills and tactics. Her first race with EF Education-Oatly will be the Giro d’Italia Women, an eight-stage grand tour that rarely strays from the mountains this year.

“There’s no pressure,” she said about making her professional road cycling debut at the Giro. “Execute. Just go into it. I’m used to big events; I’ve been to two Olympic Games. Having the trust of the team is a big boost. And that makes me really excited.”

EF Education-Oatly general manager Esra Tromp is also excited about what Maya brings to the squad.

“I invited her to attend our training camp in January, and she immediately made a really great impression on me. I got a clear picture of who she is, what her mentality is, and what she can bring to the team,” Esra said.

“We have a young squad and we have riders that can learn a lot about being a professional from an athlete like Maya, even though she comes from a different sport. Beyond that, I think this year will be a big adventure for both of us. Her level of fitness is super high and I’m really curious what we can discover in each other.”

Maya has shown that she’s willing to put in the work to make the most out of this opportunity. In January, she attended an early season camp in Mallorca with EF Education-Oatly, where she participated in a series of race simulations which included a team time trial, lead out sprints, and an uphill finish.

The combination of her strength, competitive drive, and teamwork proved to be unbeatable and Maya – a triathlete invited to a road camp – won the series. Since then, she’s continued to work on key skills by competing in road races in the Netherlands, where she’s focused on tactics, cornering, and racing in a larger peloton.

Maya realizes that stage racing will be a drastic change from the triathlon calendar she’s used to.

“In cycling, you have multiple days of racing back to back and in triathlon, we don’t have that. We have one big race day and sometimes you have a second race day where you do a much shorter distance as a team relay. I think that’s the biggest difference but I’m an endurance athlete so I should be ok,” she said. “And of course, unlike a triathlon, the Giro won’t end with a run. So that’s a change in my mental game.”

With a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in cognitive neuroscience, Maya fully understands what it takes to change her mental game.

Maya may be jumping into the thick of the road season, but she already knows how she’ll spend her time in the offseason: hiking in the Netherlands, traveling across Europe to spend time in the mountains, and visiting local youth sports clubs where she enjoys putting on swim clinics and handing out medals.

After her positive experience at team camp earlier this year, Maya can’t wait to get racing with her new teammates at the Giro next weekend.

“You can really feel the atmosphere within the team,” Maya said. “I went into the camp feeling nervous and came out convinced I wanted to race for EF Education-Oatly. It’s a great match of personalities in both the riders and staff. I really love how this team races. And of course they believe in me. It all just fits, all parts of the puzzle.”

Welcome to the squad, Maya!