First season in the peloton, first wins in our inaugural U23 kit, and of course, our first two riders to receive permanent call-ups to the EF Education-EasyPost WorldTour roster in Noah Hobbs and Colby Simmons.

We ended the year with ten victories in total, from stage wins at the Volta ao Alentejo and the West Bohemia Tour, to overall success at the Tour Alsace, and KOM jerseys and points classifications across the board. We also took home the highly coveted Stars and Stripes jersey with victory in the U23 men’s road race at the US National Championships.

Noah Hobbs, who ended the season with a WorldTour contract for 2026, picked up eight wins in total, taking victories at a consistent rate throughout the year, along with points jerseys in the Volta ao Alentejo, Le Tour de Bretagne Cycliste, and the Tour de l’Avenir. Gavin Hlady capped an excellent performance at the US National Championships to win the U23 race, while Alfredo Bueno joined mid-season and won his first race in team colors within just a couple of months.

It wasn’t all about the wins, though, with the entire roster developing and improving with every passing race and experience.

“2025 was our first year, and we can all look back and be proud of what we achieved as a team,” said Head Sports Director Mike Creed.

“Noah played a large part in that by showing everyone what a good sprinter he is, but it was also a collective effort from the riders and the staff. Noah made us look good and smart, but I was happy that we also secured victories elsewhere. Alfredo and Gavin recorded wins, and we were close on many occasions, with Joshua Golliker also coming close a few times throughout the year, including taking a third-place finish at Gent-Wevelgem. Colby Simmons was super close a few times too at the start of the season, before moving to the WorldTour, where he’s made an excellent first impression,” Creed said.

With every new team, there are challenges and obstacles, but what stood out to Creed was how the team bonded on and off the bike, through both the hard times and the good. The unique DNA shared by both EF Education-EasyPost and EF Education-Oatly was consistently evident in the U23 team.

“The 2025 season was new for all of us. It was new for me to do those races and for this organization to have a development team, so it’s fair to say that it was a new experience for everyone. Getting those first wins under our belt was really nice. Winning our first race in mainland Europe with Noah was huge, and every rider can be proud of what they achieved,” he added.

For our Head of Scouting, Sebastian Langeveld, 2025 was a resounding success. The former EF Education-EasyPost rider was instrumental in laying the foundation for our U23 team and recruiting riders. He followed their progress throughout the year, offering advice and experience at every turn.

“Two young guys from the team made the next step and developed into the WorldTour, so from that side, I think that we can be really happy with the progress that the team made in our first season. We had a single racing program, which worked well because it allowed us to focus on our riders and their progress, rather than throwing them into races without proper preparation. On the staff side, the sports directors performed very well, so overall we ticked many of the boxes we set at the start of 2025. Of course, you learn a lot from the first season, so we know there are improvements we can make next year as well. For me, the riders all finished the year super happy, and that just adds to the success,” he said.

The team is already putting plans in place for 2026, with the second-year roster attending a team camp alongside the elite men’s and women’s teams in November in Girona, Spain. The camp was a chance for the riders and the management to sit down and assess the year’s achievements, but most importantly, look to the future.

And it’s the upcoming season that has everyone excited, not least EF Pro Cycling CEO Jonathan Vaughters.

“From a performance point of view, we had an exceptional season, with a number of wins. Many of them came from Noah, but we also had Alfredo and Gavin taking victories. It was still a first-year organization, and that meant lots of learning and progress to be made as we went through the year and now head into 2026. As far as what EF Education-Aevolo brought us, we developed talent that we could bring into the WorldTour team, and secondly, we demonstrated to the world that we’re entirely serious about young riders and developing them into pro-level athletes. I firmly believe that young riders out there see us as a real home and a team where they have a genuine chance to make it to the very top,” Vaughters said.