The kick-off of the 2024 road season is almost upon us in Australia at the Tour Down Under. EF Education-EasyPost will be sending a youthful team, with a keen eye towards the future.
A youthful team, led by transfer window acquisition, Archie Ryan will take to the Aussie stage race. “We’ve got a pretty fresh roster. Only one rider has done this race with us before, Jonas Rutsch. Owain Doull and Stefan de Bod have both raced it but on different teams. It’s all quite fresh. We’ve got three neo-pros – Jack, Jardi, and Archie – which is exciting," assesses sports director, Tom Southam.
"It’s a really good race for them to start at. It’s quite an exciting race and they should be able to be competitive, even the neo-pros. It’s not overly complex technically-speaking so there’s quite a bit of space for them to have a chance to develop and grow," Southam continues. "Mixed in with those guys, we’ve got riders like Owain and Harry Sweeny – even though Harry’s never done the race before – tons of experience, stable hands, very strong riders. It’s a really good mix. I want the guys to have the freedom to race hard and to enjoy the first race."
"I’m really excited, really, really excited. I’m super happy to be here, starting the season, starting my first race with the team. Like I said, super excited. We’ve got a good bunch of boys this year as well so it should be good fun," adds Ryan, who joined the team from Jumbo-Visma. "There are four of us that are new here on the team but we all gelled together already. It feels natural already and we’re only a couple of days in. I’m having a good time. I’m really excited to get the season started. I can’t wait. If I could fast forward to stage one, I would. I just want to race!"
EF Education-EasyPost for the Tour Down Under:
Archie Ryan, Stefan de Bod, Owain Doull, Jack Rootkin-Gray, Jonas Rutsch, Harry Sweeny, and Jardi van der Lee.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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We're kicking-off the 2024 season at the @tourdownunder 🇦🇺! Our roster is set to tackle six stages of this iconic Australian race. Here's what our riders have to say: efprocycling.com/racing/2024-st… #TourDownUnder #EFProCyling
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