"We have no interest in winning 100 minor races": EF Manager Jonathan Vaughters puts naming rights on the market to challenge cycling’s superpowers

Professional cycling is currently dominated by a few exceptionally wealthy teams. For squads with smaller budgets, competing for the biggest prize in the sport - the yellow jersey at the Tour de France -often feels impossible. However, Jonathan Vaughters, the manager of EF Education-EasyPost, wants to change this dynamic. In a bold move, he has announced that his team's naming rights are officially on the market, hoping to attract the massive financial backing required to challenge cycling's superpowers.

When asked what it would take to win the overall race like Tadej Pogacar, Vaughters had a simple answer. "A lot of money," he replied bluntly in quotes gathered by bici.pro.

This made him speak with his main sponsor, EF Education. He proposed selling the team's naming rights to a co-sponsor. After all, an educational company cannot (most of the times) spend like an oil multinational. "We want enough money to win the Tour Femmes within 3 years and the men's Tour within a decade," Vaughters stated regarding his ultimate goals.

Vaughters has seen the financial gap in cycling grow for years. He recalled the 2008 and 2009 seasons, when his Garmin team achieved top-four finishes at the Tour with Christian Vande Velde and Bradley Wiggins. Then, the heavily funded Team Sky arrived and signed Wiggins away. Vaughters remembers what Wiggins told him: "To win the Champions League you have to play in Manchester United, and if I continue with Wigan I will never be able to do it...

While Vaughters noted that his Cannondale team almost caused a massive upset by finishing second with Rigoberto Urán in 2017 on the smallest budget in the WorldTour, he admits that is no longer possible today.

"Because the best talents are already taken when they are young and at very high prices," he explained. "You can't find a Rigoberto Uran on the market for less than a million dollars."

Currently, EF Education-EasyPost operates on a budget of roughly €21 million, while UAE Team Emirates spends around three times that amount. However, Vaughters believes he does not need to match them dollar for dollar. "I am convinced that even 75 percent of their budget is enough to win, if we spend every dollar well," he argued, emphasizing the need to focus entirely on specific goals like the Tour.

Vaughters was clear that he does not want to inflate his team's win count in minor races just to look good on paper, unlike other teams. "As an organization, we have no interest in winning 100 races a year in which cyclists are paid 3-4 million euros a year winning, with respect, the Trofeo Laigueglia against Italian professionals from much lower level teams," he noted.

Instead, the extra money would go toward building a world-class support structure. "We must equip ourselves with aerodynamics experts, sports scientists, nutritionists, finding the best there is around," Vaughters said. "You can't manage a roster of 30 riders with 3 coaches and 2 nutritionists, it's not enough."

The reality of the current market hits hard when trying to sign promising riders. Vaughters revealed that EF tried to sign Mexican sensation Isaac del Toro, but they were outbid by UAE Team Emirates. This makes him appreciate riders who choose to stay for reasons other than money, such as Ben Healy.

"He made a loyal and emotional choice rather than a financial one," Vaughters said of Healy. "He said he loves the detached way of working we have, without pressure, he wouldn't find it elsewhere. But it's an exception."

For years, Vaughters has operated under a specific mandate from his current sponsor. "They asked us to produce the most media value of any cycling team in relation to every dollar spent and this has always been my mantra," he explained.

Now, he is ready to take a bigger risk. Several companies have shown interest in the naming rights, and the team will evaluate offers as brands finalize their 2027 budgets. "Now, at 52, I can afford to go further and follow my dreams, get out of my comfort zone and try to build something bigger in the next decade," he concluded.