Noemi Rüegg
Noemi Rüegg (born 19 April 2001 in Switzerland) is a Swiss road racing cyclist and one of the most exciting young talents in the women's peloton. Riding for EF Education-Oatly, she is a former Swiss national road race champion and the back-to-back overall winner of the Women's Tour Down Under in 2025 and 2026. A punchy, attacking rider who is equally comfortable on a short climb or in a fast finish, she has become the standard-bearer for her American team's rise. Find Noemi Rüegg's latest results, stats and race calendar on this page.
Biography of pro cyclist Noemi Rüegg
Noemi Rüegg has built a reputation as a fearless, opportunistic racer who thrives on hilly, aggressive terrain. Her two overall victories at the Women's Tour Down Under announced her as a genuine WorldTour winner and gave EF Education-Oatly its biggest results to date.
Still in her mid-twenties, Rüegg combines explosive power with cool racing sense, a combination that has already delivered some of the most memorable wins of the early seasons.
Early life and rise in Swiss cycling
Rüegg came to cycling through her family, chasing an older brother and following a father who was involved with a local cycling club. She rode her first cyclo-cross race aged 13 and was quickly hooked. That off-road grounding gave her the bike-handling and grit that mark her racing today.
Before committing to the sport full-time, she balanced training with a job caring for people with disabilities, turning professional on the road as a 19-year-old. She built her early palmares with strong under-23 results, including two Swiss under-23 time-trial titles, before winning the elite Swiss national road race title in 2023, the result that earned her a move to the EF Education set-up from 2024.
Tour Down Under breakthrough and title defence
Rüegg's defining moment came in January 2025 at the Women's Tour Down Under. She soloed to victory on the queen stage and held the leader's jersey to the finish, claiming the overall and giving the young EF Education-Oatly squad its first WorldTour stage-race title. She also took the points classification along the way.
A year later she did it again. At the 2026 edition she fought off a concerted three-against-one attack from UAE Team ADQ on the brutal Corkscrew climb and won the decisive final stage in Campbelltown to seal back-to-back overall titles, confirming the first win was no fluke. Around those victories she has added podiums and top-ten results at races including the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Strade Bianche and Trofeo Alfredo Binda.
Rider profile: strengths, style and characteristics
Rüegg is a punchy all-rounder who excels on short, sharp climbs and undulating finishes. She has the explosiveness to win from a small group, the tactical nerve to make and follow decisive moves, and the bike-handling honed in cyclo-cross. She is at her best in aggressive, hilly racing where attacks fly and she can use her finishing speed.
Personal life
Proud of her Swiss roots, Rüegg came to professional cycling via cyclo-cross and a background outside the sport, having worked in care before turning pro. She is known as a hard-working and grounded rider whose rise has been built on steady progression rather than hype.
Records and milestones
- Overall winner, Women's Tour Down Under (2025 and 2026)
- Points classification, Women's Tour Down Under (2025)
- Swiss national road race champion (2023)
- Two-time Swiss under-23 time-trial champion
- Podium and top-ten finishes at Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Strade Bianche and Trofeo Alfredo Binda
What's next for Noemi Rüegg?
Under contract with EF Education-Oatly, Rüegg's trajectory points firmly upward. With two WorldTour overall titles already secured, the next steps are to translate that form into the hilly Ardennes Classics and the World Championships, and to keep developing into a genuine one-day and stage-race contender on the biggest stages.
