Richard Carapaz eyes Vuelta a Espana podium as EF Education-EasyPost confirm a rather inexperienced selection
Cycling
Unlike in the past, EF Education-EasyPost are no longer among last teams to announce their Grand Tour selections! The American team confirmed its eight riders for the 2026 Vuelta a Espana with all attention focused on their GC ambition; Richard Carapaz.
Carapaz aims for podium!
The 2026 season of EF Education-EasyPost has not been going great, mostly due to the incredible amount of bad luck with injuries and illness that not even their biggest stars Richard Carapaz and Ben Healy were not spared of.
Unlike the Irishman though, Carapaz was able to bounce back just in time for the Tour de France where he claimed the crown for King of Mountains, Supercombativity award, two stage wins, and 8th place overall.
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Heading to Vuelta a Espana, the Ecuadorian does not set small goals for himself as he looks to further improve his 2026 GC record. Tadej Pogacar emerges to be an unsurpassable obstacle in chase for overall victory; but podium battle is as open as ever. And Carapaz aims very high.
"We're aiming for the general classification," Carapaz declares ambitiously. "This is important to me because it's a different approach compared to the Tour. I believe we have a great opportunity in the Vuelta a España; we know what the race is like and we're familiar with most of the route. Ultimately, this is what motivates me the most."
Richard Carapaz at the 2026 Tour de France
"It's a very mountainous race and it will be difficult, but difficult in the sense that we can actually contend for the general classification. Seeing myself fighting up there for three weeks will be important. It's a mentality I've always had, and it motivates me a lot for this Vuelta."
Besides Carapaz, Vincenzo Albanese will be EF's card for bunch finishes - especially in harder hilly stages. Young talent Markel Beloki will be a key helper in the mountains while looking for his own opportunity, and the same applies to Georg Steinhauser. Finally, the GrandTour debut of recently promoted Colombian climber Juan Felipe Rodriguez will be interesting to follow.
EF Education-EasyPost for 2026 Vuelta a España:
| Rider |
| Richard Carapaz |
| Vincenzo Albanese |
| Markel Beloki |
| Alastair MacKellar |
| Darren Rafferty |
| James Shaw |
| Georg Steinhauser |
| Juan Felipe Rodriguez |
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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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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