A roster of 11 riders, led by USA's Colby Simmons (from Visma-Lease a Bike Development) and Great Britain's Noah Hobbs (Groupama-FDJ Continental), were announced today for the debut of the newest U23 Continental team in 2025, EF Education-Aevolo.
The partnership between EF Education-EasyPost and the longstanding Aevolo programme, both registered in the US, was announced last spring as a way to provide a development structure to the WorldTour squad.
Mike Creed, a former 12-year racing pro who won a US time trial title as a U23 rider, started Aevolo in 2017 and will continue as the development team's main sports director.
Sebastian Langeveld, an accomplished one-day racer who has transitioned as an assistant sports director with EF Education-EasyPost, will serve as head of scouting.
"It’s a super strong roster and we’re excited about the development and success for the future. On paper, Colby Simmons from the US and Noah Hobbs from Great Britain will be the riders we’ll lean on in the Classics and flatter races. They’re our team captains, but we also have a strong climbing contingent," Creed said.
"We’ve signed Miguel Ángel Marin who won the junior Tour of Colombia. I’m incredibly hopeful about him, and the rest of the team will give us major depth and scope for improvement."
The first-ever roster includes five riders from the United States, five Europeans, and one representative from Colombia, Ángel Marin.
Gavin Hlady and multi-discipline rider Ian López are the two riders moving across from Aevolo Cycling. The other US riders are Noah Streif, who graduated from the EF Education-ONTO junior team, and Kellen Caldwell, moving from Team California.
Last year, Hlady carried the green and yellow colours of Aevolo to victory in both the men's U23 road race and U23 criterium at US Pro Road National Championships in Charleston, West Virginia. In the men's elite road race he finished sixth, just four seconds and one spot ahead of new teammate Simmons.
Joshua Golliker, a three-time stage winner at the Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta-Mont Blanc, follows compatriot Hobbs from Groupama. The roster is completed by a trio of 18-year-olds - Magnus Carstensen of Denmark, Linus Larsson of Sweden and Jenthe Verstraete of Belgium.
“It’s a first-year team and we’ve been opportunistic with our approach but we’re very much looking at the long-term vision,' said EF Pro Cycling CEO Jonathan Vaughters.
"Someone like Noah has something of Mark Cavendish about him, especially in terms of his mindset and we’re going to try and develop him into the first pure sprinter we’ve had in this organisation in a long time. Then Colby is a great and respectful kid who will be part of the foundations of the team. He’ll be one of our leadership figures."
Hobbs had stage wins at the Alpes Isère Tour and Tour Alsace, and also secured the points classification both races. Simmons, the younger brother of Lidl-Trek's Quinn Simmons, was the bronze medalist at both the US U23 road race nationals and US elite men's gravel nationals.
The ability to mix the U23 riders with the WorldTour squad, and also have the flexibility to move a WorldTour rider down for a period of recovery from injury or regain form, is what Vaughters calls "transformative".
"I think it’s a critical part of the organization, and having the U23 team will be incredibly valuable to us on several fronts. You can pull up a couple of hyper-performing U23 riders to try out what the WorldTour is like and then conversely if you have an injured rider who needs a longer time to come back you can give them a few rides to find their legs again.
"Overall, I’m confident that EF Education–Aevolo will win races in 2025 and help these young riders strive to fulfil their potential,” Vaughters said.
The new team will be based in Spain, and focused on racing a European calendar.
The EF Education-ONTO junior team will continue to operate out of South Carolina in the US.
EF Education–Aevolo 2025 roster
- Miguel Ángel Marín (COL)
- Kellen Caldwell (USA)
- Magnus Carstensen (DEN)
- Joshua Golliker (GBr)
- Gavin Hlady (USA)
- Noah Hobbs (GBr)
- Linus Larsson (SWE)
- Ian López (USA)
- Colby Simmons (USA)
- Noah Streif (USA)
- Jenthe Verstraete (BEL)
