All images: Wikimedia Commons
2024, a season of continuity
In 2023, EF Education-EasyPost had their best season in ten years. This success continued in 2024 with a total of 24 wins for the American team, who confirmed their status as a team in the middle of World Tour.
The men in pink managed to raise their arms at two Grand Tours, first with an amazing raid from Georg Steinhauser at the Giro, who managed to triumph on one of the only mountainous stages not won by Tadej Pogačar, and then thanks to the Ecuadorian time-trial champion Richard Carapaz at the Tour de France. The latter also brought home the Polka dot jersey from the biggest race in the world, in a season that also saw him finishing fourth at La Vuelta.
Jonathan Vaughters’s team has been the most cosmopolitan in the peloton in the last few years, and this paid off during the National Championships period, with no less than four road race titles gained. One of the strongest men for EF Education-EasyPost in one-day races last year was Alberto Bettiol. Indeed, in addition to his Italian Championship title, the winner of the Boucles de la Mayenne managed to raise his arms at Milano-Torino, before finishing in the top 10 at the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Milano-Sanremo. With four wins throughout the season, the Italian was one of the most prolific riders for the American team, along with Richard Carapaz and the Dutch sprinter Marijn Van den Berg, who posted the first World Tour success of his career during the Volta a Catalunya.
These good performances all season long allowed EF Education-EasyPost to finish in the middle of the pack in the UCI ranking, at a decent 12th place.
A solid transfer window
EF Education-EasyPost is not the richest team in the World Tour peloton. However, Jonathan Vaughters and his staff managed to bring in some interesting riders that could perform well next season, at all types of races.
The biggest name on the list is undeniably Kasper Asgreen. At 29 years old, the Danish rider will replace Alberto Bettiol, who left in August, as the leader of the American team on the Flanders Classics. The former Danish champion has had many difficulties since his incredible campaign in 2021, when he raised his arms both at E3 and at the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Since then, the only victory the native of Kolding won at World Tour level was during the 2023 Tour de France, where he triumphed ahead of the sprinters after a long breakaway. After a complicated season in 2024 where he only finished once in the top ten of a non-ITT race, Kasper Asgreen will try to give a new boost to his career with his new formation.
Kasper Asgreen is the most significant signing for Vaughters' side (image credits: Filip Bossuyt; Martino Photos, WC)
Along with Kasper Asgreen, EF Education-EasyPost also brought in two very complete Italians riders with Vincenzo Albanese and Samuele Battistella. The former only won twice during his professional career but his good sprinting abilities and his capacity to climb well allow him to finish regularly in the top fifteen in the races where he takes part. The former rider of Arkéa B&B Hotels is also very good on the cobbles, as proven by his top ten at last season. His compatriot Battistella made a name for himself in 2019 when he triumphed at the World Championships U23, bringing home the rainbow jersey ahead of riders such as Stefan Bissegger and Tom Pidcock. Even if he doesn’t have the trophy cabinet to match these riders now, the native of Castelfranco Veneto has showed that he is able to perform amongst the best in the peloton on a few occasions, such as on the final stage of Paris-Nice in 2024, where he finished sixth after a crazy stage.
Vincenzo Albanese (on right in left image) and Samuele Battistella (right) - two Italians who will hope to make their mark at EF in 2025 (image credits: Città di Parma; Hoebele, WC)
To complete their 2024 roster, EF Education-EasyPost turned to young riders with great potential. The first of them, Alex Baudin, had a great season in 2024, which saw him raise his arms for the first time during the Tour du Limousin, where he also won the general classification. This great climber will be accompanied by the Estonian Madis Mihkels, a good sprinter who will also reinforce the Flanders squad, as proven by his top ten at Paris-Roubaix. Finally, the Brit Max Walker and the Australian Alastair Mackellar will discover the World Tour with the men in pink in 2025.
Richard Carapaz: the heart of the project
Since he joined the team in 2023, Richard Carapaz imposed himself as the main leader of EF Education-EasyPost. At 31 years old, he will have at heart the aim of proving that he is still one of the best climbers in the international peloton.
After a first season with the American team marred by a big crash on the first stage of the Tour de France, his main objective of the season, Richard Carapaz managed to prove to everyone that he was still able to perform on the biggest stages in the world, thanks to his offensive temperament. Indeed, after becoming the ITT champion of Ecuador for the second time of in his career, the former winner of the Giro d’Italia launched his season in Colombia, where he raised his arms at the top of the Alto del Vino.
Despite a complicated beginning of the season in Europe without great results in the Ardennes Classics, Carapaz returned to winning ways on the old continent during the Tour de Romandie, recording another win in an uphill finish. At the Tour de France, the Ecuadorian wrote history for his country by wearing the yellow jersey at the end of the third stage. His time losses in the Alps allowed the native of El Carmelo to be extremely offensive in the Pyrénées, where he raised his arms in Superdévoluy. His resilience and his panache made him the supercombative of the French Grand Tour, from which he also brought home the Polka dot jersey.
After his July exploits, Richard Carapaz took on La Vuelta, with the objective of performing well in the general classification. During the three weeks, the Ecuadorian did not raise his arms but was one of the most consistent and finished the race in fourth place overall, less than a minute behind Enric Mas.
At 31, Carapaz is entering in his final year of contract with EF. He will have the pressure to perform in order to secure a contract with the American team for the future and will be helped in that regard by the young climbers pushing behind. Indeed, Georg Steinhauser, Archie Ryan and Darren Rafferty all showed great climbing capabilities last season and the arrival of Alex Baudin will only reinforce this youngster squad for the mountains. More experienced teammates such as Esteban Chaves, Hugh Carthy or Neilson Powless could also be a great help for Carapaz, in his chase for general classifications.
Ready for the Classics?
In the past few years, EF Education-EasyPost never had a big armada for the Classics, with none of the main favourites within their ranks. Indeed, even when Alberto Bettiol raised his arms at the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2019, the Italian was not mentioned in the biggest names expected to play for the win. This season, that tradition will remain, with a strong collective but maybe not the leader who is capable of triumphing.
At the Flanders Classics, Kasper Asgreen is most likely to play the role of leader. However, the former Danish champion did not have a great campaign last year with Soudal-QuickStep and could lack confidence before taking on such big races. Aside from the winner of the 2021 Ronde, it is difficult to point out one rider who would be able to spar with the likes of van der Poel and Van Aert. Even though young recruit Madis Mihkels shows promise, the step seems a bit too high for the Estonian. Alongside him, Vincenzo Albanese and Owain Doull have had great results in the past but seem to occupy the role of domestique more than that of leader. Finally, Asgreen’s compatriot Michael Valgren has already performed well on the cobbled races with a win at Omloop in 2018. However, he seems to never have fully recovered the level he had before his big crash during the Route d’Occitanie 2022, where he fractured his pelvis.
For the Ardennes Classics, EF Education-EasyPost seem well armed, but maybe not enough to counter the armadas of the super teams. The major rider for the American team in this field is unquestionably Ben Healy. The former Irish champion burst onto the cycling scene in 2023, when he finished second at the Amstel Gold Race, beaten only by Tadej Pogačar. Since then, the native of Kingswinford confirmed his amazing endurance capacity with long breakaways, including some at the Tour de France last season.
Neilson Powless and Ben Healy are at the centre of the team's Classics campaign (image credits: Fukumoto; Hobele, WC)
In order to be primary actors in the race, the men in pink will have to count on Ben Healy, who could form a great pairing with Neilson Powless. At 28 years old, the American is entering the best years of his career and could be a man to watch at races such as the Ardennes. Indeed, the former winner of the Klasikoa has proven in the past that he loved hard one-day races, as proven by his recent eighth place at Il Lombardia. Alongside riders like Mikkel Honoré, Samuele Battistella or even the very experienced Rui Costa, this pair seem capable of doing great things for EF Education-EasyPost next year.
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