“If you lined up all the teams in the men’s WorldTour, I’d choose EF Education-EasyPost every time,” says American rider
American Cyclist Gavin Hlady Earns EF Education-EasyPost WorldTour Promotion
EF Education-EasyPost has announced that Gavin Hlady will step up from our EF Education-Aevolo development team to join our WorldTour squad, EF Education-EasyPost, from next season.
The 23-year-old American rode with us as a stagiaire at the tail end of 2024, before spending the last two seasons successfully developing as a rider at EF Education-Aevolo.
“I’m excited to be stepping up and into the next phase of my career with this amazing team. Honestly, over the last few years, I always thought joining the WorldTour was possible, but I never thought it was guaranteed, so having this opportunity means so much to me. I truly believe that I have more to give and more room to develop as a rider,” Gavin said.
“I owe a lot to our team manager at EF Education-Aevolo, Michael Creed, and the team founder, Steven van der Zwan,” he added.
Two-Time U23 US National Road Champion Delivers Strong 2026 Season
A two-time US national road champion at U23 level, Gavin has enjoyed a super-consistent season in 2026. He’s not only picked up some impressive results, including a top ten in the ultra-competitive Le Tour de Bretagne Cycliste and Flèche du Sud races, but also enjoyed several key outings as part of our WorldTour roster at the Philadelphia Cycling Classic and the Vuelta a Burgos, where he rode as a solid domestique for his team leaders.
“The goal this year was to have a good spring, and after that the team came to me with an offer. It was nice to sign early, but I think that my top tens in Europe really helped my case. Then, when I was called up at various races earlier in the year, I tried to be as solid as possible as a teammate,” Gavin said.
Gavin Hlady Chooses EF Education-EasyPost for His WorldTour Career
Hlady said;
Obviously, EF Education-EasyPost has strong American roots, but even if you took that aspect out of the equation, this is the team that I’d want to join. If you lined up all the teams in the men’s WorldTour, I’d choose EF Education-EasyPost every time. I’m grateful, and I appreciate that we still have this cool international flavor and culture. I think we’re a really diverse team, and what sets us apart is that at the biggest races we always seem to punch above our weight. It’s an all-or-nothing and fun racing attitude. From the outside, they seem like the best team too because all the staff seem really cool too.
WorldTour Opportunity Focuses on Experience, Teamwork and Development
With a well-deserved WorldTour contract in his back pocket, Gavin wants to use this opportunity to gain as much experience as possible in the toughest races, ride as a loyal teammate and develop his own skills as a punchy rider with a good eye for an opportunity.
I want to get stronger, better and faster in every possible way and then see where that takes me. From there, I’ll sit down with the team in November at our next camp, and that’s when we’ll formulate a plan in terms of expectations and race calendar.
EF Education-EasyPost Scouting Team Sees Potential in Gavin Hlady
Head of scouting, Sebastian Langeveld, has seen firsthand that Gavin deserves a spot on the WorldTour, having watched the rider’s development over the last two seasons.
“Gavin came with Aevolo, and he’s shown throughout the last couple of years, with his national titles, that he has a lot of upward potential. He raced with the WorldTour team this year, and he did really well as a teammate, and he’s ticked a lot of boxes for us this year. We’re really excited to have him on board for next season,” Langeveld said.
“The way he rode in Bretagne, where elements and skills like positioning and race craft are important, really stood out to me. If you can perform there, it’s a good sign for the future. It’s a bit early to determine where he will end up as a rider, but he still has a lot of untapped potential, and we’re going to work with him on getting the best out of himself in the coming season. He can climb, and he might even go in the direction of the classics, but really, it’s about taking our time with the young riders and not rushing them,” he added.
Photo – Frank Sarate / SoCalCycling.com
