Richard Carapaz and Ben Healy were confirmed today to lead EF Education-EasyPost at this year’s Tour de France, stacked with ample climbing and difficult transitional stages which hit the bull’s-eye for the squad’s objectives for stage victories.
Danes Kasper Asgreen and Michael Valgren, who both have stage wins at Grand Tours, young Frenchman Alex Baudin, former USPro road champion Sean Quinn and first-time Tour riders Max Walker and Georg Steinhauser round out the eight-rider roster for EF Education-EasyPost.
Healy looks to be aggressive again this year in pursuit of stage victories, where the Irishman succeeded last year on a prosperous breakaway ride that netted the yellow jersey for two days and a top 10 overall. Carapaz, who has stage wins at all three Grand Tours, said his ambition was to focus on individual stages and a second KOM title. Both riders will face ample competition from rival teams during the three-week race.
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“We have a versatile team, and that ultimately helps a lot with the team’s ambitions. The general classification will depend heavily on how the race circumstances unfold. I want to go after stage wins and could try to repeat winning the mountains jersey,” road captain Carapaz said in a team announcement on Monday.
Carapaz has had a bumpy path to a fifth Tour de France appearance, his last outing in two years ago when he showcased his climbing talents with the mountain classification title and earning his only stage win, so far, on a summit finish to Superdévoluy. He missed the 2025 Tour due to gastrointestinal issues.
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A former two-time GC podium finisher at the Giro d’Italia, with the overall win in 2019, the Ecuadorian star recently had surgery to mend a serious saddle sore that disrupted his 2026 season, but most recently finished second overall at Tour de Suisse.
“The Tour is a race that is simply the best in the world. The top riders are there, and it’s surrounded by an atmosphere of the absolute highest level. Just being there is already a win for me,” the understated Carapaz added.
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While Healy had a breakout season last year, but he missed this season’s Spring Classics due to a fractured sacrum suffered in a crash ahead of the early-season Itzulia Basque Country. He used the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to build fitness, pulling out with two days to go due to sickness.
“I’ve had a spring with some bad luck, but I’m in good shape and ready to race. I just want to be up front and in a fight for a stage win, maybe even two. There are a lot of hard transitional stages this year, so I think there’ll be plenty of opportunities for breaks,” he said in the team’s pre-Tour press release.
“I have had a good prep. I did an altitude camp, which I was able to do the full block of, and then Dauphiné as a prep race – even though I got sick, and was able to get back into training fairly quickly. And yeah, some heat work in Mallorca.
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“I will just have to race the same way [as last year], with an air of unpredictability. Even last year people kind of knew who I was and I was still able to do it. So nothing’s going to change really – just going to try and rinse and repeat.”
2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: Alex Baudin remains in the lead after stage 5 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Like the team leaders, several of the other riders have had physical setbacks this year – Asgreen with a broken collarbone, Quinn with recurring knee pain – but 25-year-old Baudin has been healthy and consistent with nine top 10s, plus the learning curve from his eye-opening first Tour under his belt. The Frenchman gained confidence as well with a solo breakaway to win stage 1 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and defending the leader’s jersey through stage 6.
“The team gave me a lot of opportunities this year, and I was able to take them and be present. Having the role of leader – in Basque Country, in the Ardennes, and then at the Dauphiné – that’s a lot of experience. We’re going to chase stages, and I think a few of them suit me well personally.
“It’ll depend a bit on how the earlier racing goes with the GC leaders and everything, but stage 6, and then maybe stages 9 and 10 are the ones I am most excited about. And then a few others in the third week – the final week of the Tour is always really open and a bit unpredictable.”
Competing at his sixth Tour de France, Asgreen has four podiums at the race including a stage win in 2023. He reiterated that the team was focused on the day-to-day work to get to the front in support of Carapaz and Healy.
“First of all, the goal is trying to get a stage win for us. I’d love to get out there myself, of course – that’s always fun in the breakaways. It’s about supporting the team. Alex is going super well, and Richie seems to be going well for the climbing stages,” he said.
“I’d say 90 percent of cycling’s media exposure comes from the Tour. When you win a stage there, the reach you get is so much bigger – the number of people who realise what you’ve done and what kind of rider you are, it reaches so many more people. So it’s incredible for your career.”
EF Education-EasyPost roster for the 2026 Tour de FranceRichard CarapazBen HealyAlex BaudinKasper AsgreenMichael ValgrenSean QuinnMax WalkerGeorg Steinhauser
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