Despite not being a mountainous country, Great Britain's top pro riders who are still active are in their grand majority Grand Tour specialists: Chris Froome, Oscar Onley, the Yates twins, Tao Geoghegan Hart, even Tom Pidcock now... Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas who are hanging up their wheels soon... But not many top sprinters, since the retirement of Mark Cavendish. Noah Hobbs could be the next big thing, and he is making his World Tour debut next season with EF Education-EasyPost.
Part of the American team's development program over the 2025 season, this move didn't come as a surprise for the 21-year old. Hobbs is a sprinter of great quality and amongst his peers, one of the very best, as proved by a stage win at the Tour de l'Avenir's first sprint stage this year.
This came as a result of a natural progression (after two years with Groupama-FDJ's continental development team. “Obviously I had no pressure, and I feel like that’s the best way to race, on instinct. I did a lot of things I wanted to do in the under-23 season throughout the first and second year, so it’s quite nice in the third year to get it all right, and it all to come together," Hobbs shared in words to CyclingWeekly.
He could've made the jump to the World Tour structure of EF already in 2025 and would've had space in its modest lineup, but instead wanted to gain confidence and race amongst the under-23 field. He did so with great success, taking eight wins including the overall classification at the Portuguese Volta ao Alentejo.
“I want to show myself as a sprinter, a guy who can win races. Having the opportunity to do that helps in the long term, instead of going to the WorldTour and not being ready, maybe slipping back a bit. It’s good to be able to know you can win.”
Pressure and ambition
Now with a two-year contract, his first at pro level, he is ready to begin fighting for results amongst the World Tour pros. "Get stuck in, really, show myself and prove to myself that obviously doing all this under-23 is carried over into the WorldTour, and that I’ve taken all that experience and actually used it".
Alongside him will be other sprinters such as Marijn van den Berg, Madis Mihkels and fellow signing Luke Lamperti, but none should relegate him to leadout level in on a consistent basis. “Obviously, there’s a bit of pressure on yourself, but if I can get stuck in there, get some top-threes – ideally, I want to win a race. That’s probably the goal.”
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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