The "next Mathieu van der Poel" leaps from junior category straight to WorldTour with EF Education-EasyPost
Cycling
The elite cycling scene is about to welcome a new rising star. Young Italian Mattia Agostinacchio, junior cyclo-cross world champion, has signed a long-term contract with the EF Education-EasyPost. The American WorldTour team will welcome the talented youngster already in a few weeks from now, joining the team for early field events of this winter with team's new cyclocross project and officially on road from 2026 onwards.
At just 18 years old, Mattia Agostinacchio is already considered one of the most promising talents in world cycling. His career began in the world of mountain biking, then moved to cyclocross and, more recently, has ventured into road racing.
In his own words, Mattia is very satisfied with what he has achieved so far, especially with his win at the Cyclocross World Championships. "This year has been amazing. I'm happy with how I've raced and with some of my victories. I came into this season after winning the World Championship in cyclocross, a title I worked hard for," he said in a press communication.
The young cyclist sees EF Education-EasyPost as the ideal opportunity to further develop his career. "I think EF Education-EasyPost is the perfect team for me. It's an ideal team for young people, because they are very strong in developing cyclists," he said, also stressing the importance of enjoying the process while learning and improving as a professional.
What is most surprising about Mattia, in addition to his natural talent, is his ability to learn in a self-taught manner. The cyclist has taught himself English through YouTube and TikTok videos, which shows his dedication and adaptability.
"My dad raced some races as an amateur, so I've been on the bike since I was little. I started with mountain biking and then about four or five years ago I got into cyclocross. Four years ago I did my first race, and from 2024 I started taking road racing more seriously," explained Mattia, who considers himself a versatile cyclist, especially in one-day events and shorter climbs.
EF Education has added a new talent to its ranks.
Comparisons with Van der Poel
Comparisons between Mattia Agostinacchio and Mathieu van der Poel, one of today's most complete and successful cyclists, have not been slow to emerge. Although Mattia is grateful for the comparisons, he keeps his feet on the ground and focuses on his own development.
"I grew up a big fan of Mathieu van der Poel. A lot of people say I look like him, but honestly, I don't think so. If I could be anything like him as a cyclist, I would be very happy," the young Italian said.,
The future looks bright for Mattia, and EF Pro Cycling CEO Jonathan Vaughters himself is quick to highlight the rider's exceptional qualities.
"This kid is incredibly smart. He learned English by watching YouTube and TikTok, and that impressed me," commented Vaughters, who also highlighted the story of Mattia, whose father, a policeman, and mother, a teacher, had no experience in professional cycling, but knew how to support their son in a self-taught and passionate way.
One of Mattia's most outstanding characteristics is his explosiveness in competition. In cyclocross, he has proven to be able to create decisive differences in short time intervals, which has been key to his success.
According to Vaughters, this ability to generate bursts of power at key moments is a natural talent that not many riders possess. "In cyclocross, his ability is that he can pick a climb or a specific moment and be extremely explosive for two minutes, creating a gap that then doesn't close," the team CEO explained.
Mattia's roadmap in road cycling will be defined at a later date, but what is clear is that the young Italian will be part of the EF Education-EasyPost WorldTour team in 2026, although he will start competing in some lower ranking events with the EF Education-Aevolo development team.
Vaughters has indicated that he will not be pushed too hard at first, but the intention is to introduce him to some WorldTour races to gain experience in high-level competition.
"We're not going to push him too hard, but when we can, we'll put him in some WorldTour races so he can start learning. The sooner he understands how races like the Tour of Flanders or the Amstel Gold Race work, the sooner he can start to be successful in them," Vaughters explained.
Mattia might not be the only Agostinacchio family member racing in pink colours next year as his older brother Filippo Agostinacchio (currently racing for Biesse-Carrera) has been strongly linked with the American formation. The 22-year-old has been a runner-up at the under-23 cyclocross European Championships last winter and impressed with breakaway ability on road this year, winning stages at the Giro Next Gen and Valle d'Aosta.
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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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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