Cycling: The EF Education – EasyPost team is now one of the constants in the WorldTour. In the mountains with Richard Carapaz, in the sprint with Marijn van den Berg and in the classics with Alberto Bettiol, the team from the USA has always been able to impress.
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EF Education – EasyPost 2024: Many drivers convinced
“We don’t want to be the best team in the world, but the coolest.” Those were the words of management a few years ago. In the meantime, EF Education - EasyPost has developed into one of the strongest teams in road cycling. There is no longer any need to worry about participating in the WorldTour. Lying in twelfth place in the UCI team rankings, the team has been consistently in the top ten for some time now - even though it is almost impossible to field any real favorites in almost any race. The secret of the team's success is the breadth of the squad. Richard Carapaz won a stage in the Tour de France and the Tour de Romandie, and finished fourth overall in the Vuelta a Espana. Alberto Bettiol was able to wear the Italian champion jersey and was also successful at Milan-Turin. The up-and-comer of the year, however, is Marijn van den Berg. The Dutchman won two stages and the overall ranking of the Région Pays de la Loire Tour as well as a section in Catalonia and rode with the best in important one-day races – without a top result yet. From a German perspective, however, we are particularly pleased about Georg Steinhauser. Tobias Steinhauser's son sensationally won a stage of the Giro d'Italia and with a little more luck it could have been two.
Names go, potential comes
Our preview of Rigoberto Urán A true cycling legend will end his career this winter. The Colombian is revered as a national hero in his country and will certainly be missed by the team. But as a top performer – you have to be tough like that – he is no longer needed. Andrew Amador hangs up his bike. Alberto Bettiol moved to Astana in October and will now be missing from the team, especially in the classics. The same applies to the German Jonas slip. And the Swiss Stephen Bissegger is leaving the team. Nevertheless, the team is more likely to get stronger than worse in this transfer period, as several drivers with a lot of potential are joining the team. Alex Baudin for example, is only 23 years old and has shown this season that he could be a future GC rider. Madis Mihkels is considered an absolute sprinter talent, having already won a stage in the Deutschland Tour last year. And the two Italians Samuele Battistella and Vincenzo Albanese, and Denmark Kasper Asgreen, are no longer youngsters, but at under 30 years of age they have not yet reached their peak. So we can assume that EF Education – EasyPost will also achieve some good results in the coming season.