Ready to ride 💪 ✨ Welcome to the squad, Madis! Our new signee is ready for classics season. Read about Madis’ goals for 2025: efprocycling.com/racing/madis-m…
OFFICIAL: EF Education-EasyPost announce signing of European Championship podium finisher from Intermarché
CyclingThursday, 07 November 2024 at 16:30
The EF Education-EasyPost team has made official the signing of young Estonian prospect Madis Mihkels. The 21-year-old, who rode for Intermarché - Wanty for the last few season, arrives after finishing on the podium at the last European Championships and making a good impression at Paris-Roubaix.
“I am super happy with this move,” a delighted Mihkels tells his new employers' official website after the announcement of the deal. “It is the right next step for me to make as a cyclist. EF Education-EasyPost looks like a team with a great environment and atmosphere between the riders and the staff. I'm really looking forward to next season.”
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“At 21, Madis has already gone top ten at Paris-Roubaix and finished third at the European championships,” adds EF Education-EasyPost boss Jonathan Vaughters. “He is a proven pro race winner with the strength to go toe to toe with the best in the cobbled classics and the sprint to finish the job. He is only going to get better from here. It is going to be fun to see what Madis can do with our team in the coming years.”
In terms of targets for his debut campaign in pink, Mihkels is keeping his options open for the time being. “It's not that I just have one race in mind,” he explains. “I want to win next year. I just want to get into a winning mode. I love hard races. I'm never the fastest guy in pure, pure bunch sprints when everybody there is fresh. That's why I love harder racing, where I can go for the sprint in the end.”
Given he's flying the flag for the next generation of Estonian cyclists, Mihkels can also carry the pride of a nation of his shoulders. “For me, Estonia is such a good country, except for the winter,” he says of his homeland. “It's a really good place to train, maybe not for a climber, but for a rider like me. We don't have big climbs, but we do have super good roads with no traffic. It's all rolling hills and rivers and lakes.”
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- agreed. and in spite of his doping, his TDF win was validated by the UCI with the mere addition of an asterisk.OCexile07-11-2024
- He was always a great tactician. But he pushed doping on his riders from back in the CSC days big time. I read Tyler's book, it was dark...awp07-11-2024
- wow, this is a shock. this guy is a major talent on the MTB, and he just won the WC. I'm surprised he doesn't want to spend a year enjoying the rainbow jersey.mij07-11-2024
- This is true. But also, for some reason the amount of Athletes who are getting asthma related to sports is on a steady climb. Not in just cycling but around the world in seemingly every single sport. I don’t have any explanation for this. Could it be the changes in weather conditions and such compared to 20yrs ago? Or is something going on in relation to doping? I have not read enough on this to have a solid understanding or opinionmd197507-11-2024
- "Armstrong won his 7 wins. Fair and square. Doping was rampant during his time. He did was just to level the playing field" comment from KHWong. He cheated, he enticed/forced teammates to cheat, he affected other's families and tainted other's reputations, he sued those who factually accused him of cheating in their attempt to prove breach of contract, he got paid to admit to his lies. Nice guy; right? Anyone who has not been prosecuted for cheating per THEIR OWN SPORT'S RULES THAT THEY AGREE TO ABIDE BY and continues to deny in public or to themselves, and rationalizes the reasons for doing so is weak of mind and body, has no integrity or ethics and ahould find another job or form their own cycling federation where anything goes. The fans will not care if you screw up your bodies for their entertainment. Just take look at boxing and American football. Even worse when fans of the sport themselves make those rationalizations for the cheaters. There has been cheating of all types throughout the history of many sports; nearly 150 years in cycling itself since competitions started, and the gambling and revenue that came along with them. Cheat if you want, but lack any personal integrity. If that is what you to be, or want to emulate fine; but no one should expect or receive pity for a premeditated decision to cheat in any manner. You are deceiving yourself if competing, and also deceiving the fans. Cycling will soon be like "professional wrestling": choreographed and with the winner being known in advance. Oh wait; that is what already has happened this year. It has been found that many of cycling's "greats" (i.e. Coppi, Merckx, et al.) were cheating and possibly caused (did cause) one or more premature deaths in cycling. Go ahead and enjoy a sport that you cannot trust; I will not.BraneDed07-11-2024
- Remco's public pronouncements are careful and deliberate. He is laying the groundwork for an exit a year from now if his 2025 results don't match his ambition.Renz07-11-2024
- yeah, riis has been a team manager for about 20 years now. he never left the sport. most of those who got caught never did either, except for the periods of their suspensions. that includes merckx and hinault and kelly and blah blah blah, ad infinitum…OCexile07-11-2024
- Hubris. Does funny things to people.Sweep07-11-2024
- So all the old dopers are feeling like it's time to come back to pro cycling. I wonder why.Sweep07-11-2024
- Mainly things like you just listed didn't have a true "test" available to the UCI/ASO. Doping has been around as long as the TDF for the most part. Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond, Miguel Induráin and more all used something. Most of the time the UCI didn't have a test for it. I remember EPO being talked about 10yrs before anyone was tested in a major cycling event. Riders at times had to set alarms to wake up and ride for an hour or so at night. Why? So there blood didn't thicken and cause it to not flow correctly and kill them. Riding a bike on rollers every few hours was the only thing that they knew worked. Cycling is a dirty sport. But, we love it and the drama and amazing rides. And the riders are willing to risk everything to win. To be the best at the sportmd197507-11-2024