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"I’d love to see the team stay true to itself" - EF look to gain UCI points from 2023 onwards but try to keep spirit
CyclingWednesday, 09 November 2022 at 20:30
EF Education-EasyPost struggled through the closing half of 2022 but managed to retain their World Tour position, unlike Lotto Soudal and Israel - Premier Tech. Now, despite having succeeded, the American team will be wary and have that in mind right from the start of 2023.
“It’s clearly something that we’re happy to have got through in a positive way, but the clock starts again on January 1st," Charles Wegelius, DS at the American team, told Cyclingnews. "Another three year cycle starts, so the points will count until the next licence application round.”
EF Education finished the 3-season period in 13th place, however during large weeks they were circulating in and around the 18th spot, the final position for the teams that were to obtain the World Tour license. “I think quite a few teams got spooked this year. And our situation and those of other teams shows that if you have a rough patch in the wrong part of the season or you have a lean year because of injuries to key riders, it could quite quickly slide in the wrong direction," he continued.
EF changed their plans halfway through the season, chasing UCI points instead of their traditional exposure strategy. Wegelius is hoping that it will be possible to combine the two: “I’d love to see the team stay true to itself, of racing the way we’ve always raced and what we’ve always tried to do regardless of the points. Chasing points is not always the most entertaining way of racing, by a long shot. But it’s obviously something we have to keep chipping away at and from now on I think everybody will be at that.”
“Obviously, it remains to be seen if the teams are going to approach that question with the same intensity as they did over the last months of the 2022 season," the former pro rider continued. "Because there are other things that push teams in other directions, be it sponsor requirements or going for other goals. But the cat’s out of the bag, everybody knows how it [the UCI points battle] can create problems for you in the last months of a three year cycle.”
Whilst Arkéa Samsic and Alpecin-Deceuninck promoted to World Tour, the points system will now restart, and from 2023 onwards the points will be counting towards a new total that will be applied at the end of the 2025 season. With large years at the top level, the American team will certainly put some more focus onto their non-secure position.
Part of their hopes will rely on new signing, Grand Tour specialist and Olympic champion Richard Carapaz. “To state the obvious, he’s an extremely high level rider. But beyond when they’ve got someone like that to work for, he’ll galvanize riders across the team. I think that the combination of Rigoberto Urán in the last few years of his career with Richard is going to be a great one as well. I can see quite a lot of energy there," Wegelius said.
“I wouldn’t say Richard is the next generation because he’s in the prime of his career. But it’s a big step for us and the framework of a team to support someone like that has been there for quite a while. Now we can put it into action.” The Ecuadorian's calendar is far from decided, with his goals of GC chasing or stage wins also unclear according to Jonathan Vaughters.
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With it's climber-focused route, the Tour de France would be the obvious choice, for the rider who has focused and succeeded in the other two this year. “The Tour route is only just out, we’re still looking at that," Wegelius shared. "We haven’t got that far, to be honest. But Hugh’s a high quality rider and we’re going to keep trying to develop him and get the best results out of him that we can.”
“Modern cycling isn’t about putting all your eggs in one basket anyway, even if it’s clear that Richard’s going to be a figurehead for the team. I’m sure we can work it out, with all the races there are on the calendar.” The 2019-year old is an established stage-racer, and could be a key part of EF's plan to stay afloat in the World Tour.
“A team like ours has always enjoyed racing by taking chances and racing aggressively when we can. Signing a rider of this calibre doesn’t have to mean conservative racing. So it’ll be a good fit. He’s been competitive in all three Grand Tours, so in a sense we’re spoiled for choice. We have to sit down, go through our options together and make some decisions. It’s still a little bit early for that," he said of Carapaz.
Decisions for 2023 are not made yet, he adds: “At this point in the game, we’re going through the race calendar for the entire team, putting together what additional races we’re going to do alongside the obligatory WorldTour events."
“And alongside that we’ve got what you might call ’buckets’ of riders we’re trying to get ready for the main appointments of the WorldTour, a group around the Giro, say, and another for the Classics. As the race route information trickles in over the coming weeks, we’ll get a bit of clarity on that. Then hopefully by the time we meet up in early December in Girona, we’ll have a outline for everybody and what the plans are," Wegelius concluded.
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