Alexander Cepeda has been riding bikes since he was a child, growing up in the high mountains of Ecuador, where he was clubmates with his now EF Education-EasyPost teammate Richard Carapaz. He got his start racing as a 13-year-old and just three years later won his first race.

The 25-year-old brings a wealth of climbing talent and recent results to the team. He was the best young rider and fourth overall at the Tour of the Alps in 2021. He went on to win the Ecuadorian road race national championship that season. At Le Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc, Alexander won stage two, which featured a summit finish on the Col du Galibier, as well as the general classification win and the points jersey. In 2022, he placed second overall at the Tour of Sicily and also earned the title of best young rider.

Alexander turned professional in 2017 and joined EF Education-EasyPost in August 2022, marking his WorldTour debut. His dedication to his teammates makes him an essential member of our squad.

There is now a Colombian TV show about Rigoberto Urán’s life. It is about more than Olympic medals and grand tour podiums, fashion shoots, and appearances in the celebrity pages of newspapers.

Rigoberto’s dad was killed by a paramilitary group three months after he introduced Rigo to cycling. Rigo was 14. All of a sudden, he had to work to support his mom and his sister. He took over his dad’s job, selling lottery tickets to support his family, while going to school and trying to race. He still won a lot.

At 16, it was too much. Rigo told his cycling team that he would either have to turn pro or quit and go back to selling lottery tickets. Technically, he was too young to become a professional. To get around that fact, the team offered his mother the contract. Three years later, Rigo traveled to Europe for the first time to race for a small Italian team.

He has never looked back. An Olympic silver medal and podium finishes at the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France are highlights from his illustrious career. Rigo is still a contender. In 2022, he won stage 17 of the Vuelta, completing his trifecta of stage wins in each of the grand tours, and was a force in the autumn classics.

Rigo continues to inspire his teammates and a whole generation of cyclists with his laid-back, fun-loving approach to the sport.

James loves the places that his bike has taken him, the people he has met because of cycling, and the life lessons he’s learned through the sport. But what does he love most about cycling? Racing.

While James has achieved strong results as a GC rider, especially in 2021 at the Tour of Slovenia and the Tour of Norway, his favorite races are the Ardennes Classics. He is also a keen student of cycling history and finds pride and motivation in thinking about the riders who have come before him. James finished his first grand tour at the 2022 Vuelta and is excited for more.

Through the year, he lives in England’s Peak District. When he is home, James resets by taking his dogs for long walks on the moors and riding with old clubmates. His racing and training schedule is very busy, but whenever he has time, James hitches a trailer to his bike and goes bike packing.

Harry Sweeny is excited to broaden his horizons with EF Education-EasyPost. The 25-year-old Australian joins our team in 2024. It will be his fourth season as a pro. Harry is still discovering his limits as a racer. As a U23, he won Il Piccolo Lombardia and has since ridden the Tour de France, where, as a rookie, he finished third on a stage and rode onto the Champs-Élysées in the break, as jets trailed red, white, and blue streaks into the sky overhead. He has raced Paris-Roubaix in the wet and Liège-Bastogne-Liège alongside his friend, the former winner and local legend, Philippe Gilbert. This year, he finished fourth on GC at the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon. Harry believes that his best is yet to come.

He came to cycling late. As a kid growing up in Brisbane, where his family moved when he was a child, he played soccer and rugby and did gymnastics and swam. He took up triathlon as a schoolboy, but focused on cycling when he was a junior and was recovering from a running injury. He started out racing local crits. His athleticism soon shone and he was picked to race the world championships in Richmond, Virginia for the Australian national team.

He moved to Europe to race, first for a small junior team in Belgium, and then for two years with the Australian Institute of Sport squad, which was then based in Italy, before moving back to Belgium for his final year as an U23. Those years opened up new worlds for Harry.

EF Education-EasyPost’s open-minded international character is a big draw for him. On the teams he has raced for in the past, he has often been one of the few foreigners. Our team is made up of riders and staff from dozens of nationalities. Most of them know what it is like to build a life far from home and can help with all of the little difficulties that come with that. Our multicultural make up helps us to expand our outlook and think beyond traditional ways of doing things too.

Harry is a lot more than a bike racer. He is a keen cook and he loves to go camping and hiking with his girlfriend, an environmental scientist, near their adopted home in Andorra. In the winters, he loves to ski. And he is a YouTuber.

Watch out for Harry on RaceTV. He is going to bring an exciting perspective to our team this year.

Darren Rafferty makes his WorldTour debut in 2024. Last season, the talented Irish climber won the Giro Ciclistico della Valle d’Aosta-Mont Blanc, finished second at the Giro d'Italia Giovani Under 23, affectionately known as the Baby Giro, and came fifth in the U23 edition of Liége-Bastogne-Liége. This year, he will focus on finding his feet in the pro peloton and try to learn all that he can from his teammates and our staff. Darren’s future knows no bounds.

He doesn’t just fly up mountains. Darren is also a strong time trialist, with two Irish U23 titles to his name. He might become a GC contender or find that he is better suited to the hilly classics. In his first year, he will ride a mix of races and make the most of every opportunity that comes his way.

That is what he has been doing ever since he was a little kid. Darren started out racing U-10 cyclocross races back in Ireland. As he got bigger and faster, cycling became more and more of a priority. In his late teens, Darren decided to go to France to race and pursue his dream of turning pro, instead of accepting a place at university, where he had applied to become an accountant. It wasn’t an easy choice, but Darren’s bravery paid off, and now he has the chance to show the whole world what he can do on a bike.

Darren is excited. He now lives in Girona and has seen his friends from the local riding crew take off in the WorldTour. His good buddy Ben Healy is an inspiration. Darren would like to match their success and even go better. Hardly anyone can beat him in a town-sign sprint.

Just wait till you see him sprint to the top of a mountain.

Portuguese veteran Rui Costa brings a wealth of experience and racing savvy to EF Education-EasyPost. The former world champion and three-time Tour de France stage winner will be a great mentor for our younger riders. With his cool head and tactical wits, he will show them how to turn opportunities into victories on the road. The best way to do so will be by winning himself.

Rui had a great season in 2023. He won the Japan Cup and a stage of the Vuelta España, as well as a stage and the general classification at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. In total, Rui has crossed finish lines first 32 times during his 18-year career.

It all started when he was a kid, heading out for his first rides with his dad, who was also a cyclist, near their hometown of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal. That’s where Rui first learned the tricks that brought him success in the biggest races, including his rainbow world-champion’s jersey.

Nowadays, Rui still lives in Portugal, with his wife who is from the island of Madeira. That’s where Rui and his family like to head when they have time to relax. Rui brings his bike and goes training on the quiet roads through the semi-tropical forest by the seaside. He is grateful that he has had the chance to make his living doing the sport he loves most.

Always a fierce competitor, he is excited to do his favorite thing of all this year: win bike races.

Owain is one of just two Welsh speakers in the peloton and became the first Welsh-speaking athlete to win a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

While he loves to explore new places on long rides, his favorite place to ride is in the Peak District — preferably on a sunny day. For Owain, setting goals and giving his all in their pursuit is deeply satisfying. In the moment that a race kicks it up a notch, he finds motivation in reminding himself that the outcome will be worth the effort. Owain, the runner-up in the 2019 edition of Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, loves racing the Classics and Grand Tours. When Owain is not on his bike, you’ll find him overseeing 5 Rings, his coffee company named for the Olympic rings.