EF Education-EasyPost extended contracts with Alexander Cepeda, Esteban Chaves, James Shaw, each for one more year, to complete a 29-rider roster for 2025.
Seven new riders make up the WorldTour squad, with “blue-chip signing” of Tour of Flanders winner Kasper Asgreen and Vincenzo Albanese, moving from Soudal-QuickStep and Arkéa-B&B Hotels, respectively. The two riders had multiple top 10s last year, 21 combined, and team CEO Jonathan Vaughters expects them to spark the team’s objectives in the Spring Classics.
“He’s our blue-chip signing,” Vaughters said. “With Kasper, our job is to help him get back to the level he was at in 2021 when he won Flanders and recapture that magic. He’s a really intelligent rider and has already adjusted to making improvements. You could see that with his sixth place at the Worlds.
“Vincenzo, like all our signings, is a key component in terms of how we’ve strengthened the team. He’s consistently in the top ten. When you’re scouting for talent, he’s the sort of rider who delivers all year long. He’s so versatile.”
Samuele Battistella and Madis Mihkels add power in the sprints, while Alex Baudin, Australian U23 standout Alastair MacKellar and noe-pro Max Walker add valuable depth to an established roster.
In 2024 the boys in pink collected 24 pro road victories, including five national titles, a Giro d’Italia stage win by Georg Steinhauser, a victory at Gran Piemonte by Neilson Powless and a standout Tour de France performance by team leader Richard Carapaz, who earned his first Tour stage win and the mountains classification jersey. The race calendar for Carapaz will be announced later this winter.
The team also celebrated a signature off-road win for Lachlan Morton, who earned his first Unbound Gravel 200 title.
“We always race the Tour de France as best we can because that’s our responsibility to our sponsors, our fans, and ourselves. The classics are beautiful races and while they’re not as commercially impactful as the Tour, they’re races that core fans of the sport truly love. They’re races that we want to be successful in because they’re some of the coolest races in the year,” said Vaughters.
Half of the riders on the 29-man roster are 25 years of age or younger. Even the returning veterans are not that old, with Neilson Powless just 28 years old and Carapaz 31. Along with that duo, other core riders who turned out impressive results last year include Giro d’Italia stage winner Georg Steinhauser, Tour of Slovenia stage winner Ben Healy and both Sean Quinn and Rui Costa winning national road race titles.
From the youngsters added to the roster, Vaughters saw great potential in 21-year-old Mihkels and 23-year-old Baudin.
“I think that Alex will be our breakout rider next year. His style is super aggressive, he doesn’t hold back, and he’s a GC rider who isn’t afraid to attack and put it all on the line,” he said about the former Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider who won the GC at last year’s Tour du Limousin and finished fourth on the opening stage at the Giro.
“With Madis, I honestly think he can win Paris-Roubaix one year. He’s been great in the spring classics and he’s taken a few top-tens in the field sprints. He’s not pulled off a big win yet, but he’s shown that he can compete in long races and that he can freelance in field sprints. He’s the perfect rider for us.”
Six riders departed EF Education-EasyPost after this season, with Alberto Bettiol, Stefan Bissegger, Simon Carr and Jonas Rutsch leaving for other WorldTour teams. Both Rigoberto Urán and Andrey Amador announced retirements. Stefan de Bod was with EF Education for two seasons and his contract was not renewed.
