Former U23 World Champion hopes to reset career at EF Education-EasyPost over the next two years
Cycling
Samuele Battistella becomes EF Education-EasyPost's latest acquistion. The American WT team is yet to unveil most of their cards for 2025, with ten spots still virtually available. With Battistella, the team gains a rider who can fight for result in smaller one-day races and stage races alike over the next two years.
"I’ve seen this team race every year since I turned professional and they’ve always raced in the right way. They’re always attacking, never surrender and provide all their riders with opportunities. It always feels like there’s space for every rider on the team and that was very attractive to me. In modern-day cycling, it’s hard to find teams that will give you opportunities. EF Education-EasyPost is one of those teams," Battistella said in a press release.
"I talked to a few friends before joining. Everyone I spoke to said the same thing, that EF Education-EasyPost is an amazing team and is super professional. Once I heard that I talked to my agent because I wanted to sign for this team immediately," he said.
Battistella's professional career was off to a good start when the Italian rider became the U23 world champion in 2019. The next year, he turned pro with NTT, but moved to Astana for the very next season. In 2022, the Italian came close to winning a Vuelta stage (finished second twice). However in years to come, Battistella wasn't able to build on these performances and, in the team scrambling for results, couldn't find his own pace with only a handful of top-10 results.
Battistella confirms he won't settle down for "just" another mediocre year: "The most important aim for me is to find myself next year. In the last few years, I lost myself a little bit and I want to get back to winning and racing at a high level. At the same time I want to improve and help the team and my new teammates as much as possible."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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Adding some more power to the squad in '25 💪Join us in welcoming Samuele Battistella to the pink team. 🇮🇹 Get to know our new Italian rider: efprocycling.com/racing/samuele…
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