EF Education-EasyPost is Riding into 2025 on a High
A Successful 2024 Season Sets the Stage for Ambition
After a successful 2024, EF Education-EasyPost is set to launch into the coming racing season with renewed ambition and a crew of new recruits eager to make their mark in the biggest races.
In 2024, the team enjoyed another successful campaign, securing 24 pro victories, including five national titles, two grand tour stages, and their first King of the Mountains jersey at the Tour de France. The squad raced aggressively throughout the season, capitalizing on opportunities, entertaining fans, and bouncing back from setbacks. The team takes great pride in their achievements.
New Recruits Ready to Shine
Seven new arrivals attended the first camp of the new season to meet their teammates and the support staff who will propel them to success in 2025. The new recruits include Vincenzo Albanese, Kasper Asgreen, Samuele Battistella, Alex Baudin, Alastair MacKellar, Madis Mihkels, and Max Walker.
- Kasper Asgreen and Vincenzo Albanese will strengthen the classics team.
- Samuele Battistella and Madis Mihkels bring speed and potential for development.
- Max Walker adds versatility across the season.
- Alastair MacKellar, the team’s new neo-pro, has already begun making an impact.
- Alex Baudin shows promise as a future GC contender with an aggressive style.
Leadership Insights
Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of EF Pro Cycling, shared his thoughts on the team’s prospects. “I think that Alex will be our breakout rider next year,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of EF Pro Cycling, during the recent camp. “I’m confident that he’ll produce some very surprising results. 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’s built in more robustness with another grand tour under his belt in 2024, so next season he could take that to the next level.”
Kasper Asgreen, a former Tour of Flanders winner, is another key signing. “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. He’s very quickly coming back to that highest level and the indications are that he fit in nicely at team camp.”
Rising Stars and Continued Growth
The future looks bright for Madis Mihkels, who demonstrated significant promise in 2024. “With Madis, I honestly think he can win Paris-Roubaix one year,” Vaughters said. “At this point, it’s a little bit undefined as to what sort of rider he is, but he’s only 21 years old. 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. He can mix it with the best in the classics and the reduced bunch sprints. He can be a productive member of a multi-pronged approach in the classics, for sure.”
Vincenzo Albanese brings consistency and versatility, with over 15 top-ten finishes in 2024. “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. I’ve been following him for a while and he was in the group that sprinted for second at Flanders. He crashed out of the group but wasn’t going to get dropped. When you’re scouting for talent, he’s the sort of rider who delivers all year long. He’s so versatile,” Vaughters remarked.
Building on a Solid Foundation
In 2024, EF Education-EasyPost’s neo-pros adapted to the WorldTour, and in 2025, riders like Lukas Nerurkar, Darren Rafferty, and Archie Ryan will aim to take the next step in their progression.
“We’ve got lots of upside riders I’m looking forward to seeing next season, riders like Lukas Nerurkar, Darren Rafferty, Archie Ryan and others who used this year to adapt to the needs of the WorldTour. Next year, it’s time for them to start producing. I think they’re all ready to do that,” said Vaughters.
“The existing core of the team, riders like Richie, Neilson, Ben, Georg, Sean, and Rui all had their moments this year. They’ll be just as important to us in 2025,” he added.
“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.
Aiming High for 2025
The team’s objectives for 2025 are clear:
- Grand Tours: Building on successes like Richard Carapaz’s Tour de France KOM jersey and Georg Steinhauser’s Giro stage win.
- Classics: Competing aggressively in iconic races like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
- Consistency: Racing with defined goals and stronger foundations in every event.
Upcoming Preparations
In the coming weeks, EF Education-EasyPost riders will train hard and refine their goals before heading to the second camp in January and kicking off the season at the Tour Down Under in Australia.
“This year we’ve demonstrated that the team is in a stable place and from that position we can now jump forward another notch. We’ve pulled off some pretty impressive results in 2024 and made big splashes. We had peaks here and there but there wasn’t that consistent foundation going into each race. In 2025 we’re going to go into a lot more races with defined goals and realistic aims because our foundations are stronger,” added Vaughters.
2025 EF Education-EasyPost Roster
- Vincenzo Albanese (28)
- Kasper Asgreen (29)
- Samuele Battistella (26)
- Alex Baudin (23)
- Markel Beloki (19)
- Richard Carapaz (31)
- Hugh Carthy (30)
- Alexander Cepeda (26)
- Esteban Chaves (34)
- Rui Costa (38)
- Owain Doull (31)
- Ben Healy (24)
- Mikkel Honoré (27)
- Alastair MacKellar (22)
- Madis Mihkels (21)
- Lukas Nerurkar (21)
- Neilson Powless (28)
- Sean Quinn (24)
- Darren Rafferty (21)
- Jack Rootkin-Gray (22)
- Archie Ryan (23)
- James Shaw (28)
- Georg Steinhauser (23)
- Harry Sweeny (26)
- Yuhi Todome (22)
- Michael Valgren (32)
- Marijn van den Berg (25)
- Jardi van der Lee (23)
- Max Walker (23)
Photo credit – Jered Gruber & Ashley Gruber | Gruber Images
