“We’re going to rip up the script again and again” - Richard Carapaz and Ben Healy lead EF Education-EasyPost’s attacking Tour de France squad

EF Education-EasyPost have confirmed their eight-rider lineup for the 2026 Tour de France, with Richard Carapaz and Ben Healy heading a squad built for breakaways, mountain raids and aggressive racing across the three weeks.

The American team will start in Barcelona with Carapaz back in form after finishing second at the Tour de Suisse, while Healy returns to the race where he won stage 6 and spent two days in the yellow jersey last year. EF describe their selection as an “attacking, opportunistic squad”, and few teams arrive with as many riders suited to days when the race breaks open.

Carapaz gives EF their strongest high-mountain weapon. The Olympic champion and 2024 Tour de France polka-dot jersey winner has come through a long altitude block and heads to the Grand Depart with stage wins and the mountains classification both on the table.

“I’m very motivated for this Tour,” said Carapaz in EF’s announcement. “After a long period at home training at altitude, things have gone really, really well. I’m coming in with high motivation and, above all, high morale, which I think is crucial for starting this great race.”

EF are not presenting Carapaz as a rider tied to one rigid GC plan. The Ecuadorian’s own wording leaves room for the race to decide whether he chases mountain stages, the polka-dot jersey or a broader classification result.

“The general classification will depend heavily on how the race circumstances unfold,” he said. “I want to go after stage wins and could try to repeat winning the mountains jersey. That would be beautiful for me, and it’s what I desire most for this Tour.”

Healy gives EF another proven Tour card after his breakout performance last year. The Irishman says he is in good shape despite a spring disrupted by bad luck, and sees the route as one with enough hard transitional stages to suit breakaway racing.

“Last year was a standout year and it would be amazing to replicate it, but even half that success would still be a successful Tour in my eyes,” said Healy. “There’s not too much pressure — I just want to be up front and in a fight for a stage win, maybe even two.”

Healy does not expect to change much, even if rivals now know what is coming. His 2025 Tour was built on long-range aggression and awkward race situations, and he plans to lean into the same approach again.

“I will just have to race the same way, with an air of unpredictability,” he added. “Even if they know how I’m going to race, if it’s still unpredictable then it’s still hard to predict.”

Alex Baudin arrives after winning stage 1 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes with a 28-kilometre solo attack and defending yellow until the final stage. The Frenchman gives EF another option in the Alps, while Georg Steinhauser makes his Tour debut after finishing third overall at Paris-Nice and winning the white jersey earlier this year.

Kasper Asgreen and Michael Valgren bring the clearest breakaway pedigree. Asgreen is already a Tour stage winner and former Tour of Flanders champion, while Valgren arrives after taking a Giro d’Italia stage win this season.

Max Walker will also make his Tour debut, giving EF a powerful support rider across varied terrain. Sean Quinn completes the selection after returning from a career-threatening knee injury, adding another strong engine to a squad designed to keep attacking rather than wait for one perfect day.

With Carapaz for the mountains, Healy for hard transition stages, and several riders capable of surviving deep breakaways, EF arrive at the Tour with a lineup built to make the race awkward from the moment control starts to slip.