EF Education-EasyPost go all in on stage wins as Powless chases defining moment

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With Richard Carapaz sidelined by illness, EF Education-EasyPost have shifted fully into breakaway mode for the 2025 Tour de France. The American team confirmed an experienced and versatile eight-rider line-up on Wednesday, openly declaring that stage wins are their only focus this July.

Neilson Powless, who will ride his fifth consecutive Tour, summed up the motivation driving the squad. “Winning a stage would make my career feel complete,” he said. “I’ve won big races and ridden at the front in Monuments, but a Tour de France win or a day in yellow is still the thing that’s missing. Honestly, it’s getting to the point where it feels like that’s all that matters.”

Powless has flirted with both targets before. In 2022, he came within seconds of taking yellow after a standout performance on the cobbled stage to Arenberg. Since then, he has kept chasing that elusive moment, backed by his ability to win on hilly, transitional terrain. A spring campaign that included victory at GP Gippingen and strong rides at Dwars door Vlaanderen and Clásica San Sebastián reinforces his credentials as one of the most versatile breakaway riders in the peloton.

The team’s depth of attacking talent doesn’t end there. Ben Healy returns after a standout solo win at Itzulia in April, saying he’s ready to step up in Carapaz’s absence. “Last year was my first Tour and it was just massive,” said the Irishman. “Since the Dauphiné, I’ve been working hard at altitude in Andorra. Now it’s time to race.”

Healy is joined by fellow aggressive specialists Kasper Asgreen and Michael Valgren. Asgreen, who won a stage of the Giro d’Italia this May, brings real engine room power and experience from both Grand Tours and Monuments. Valgren will make his eighth Tour appearance, targeting the kind of lumpy transition stages where he’s previously thrived.

Sprint and punchy finish options come via Marijn van den Berg and Vincenzo Albanese. The Dutchman has looked sharp across one-day races this season, while Albanese claimed a sprint win at the Tour de Suisse in June. Both are expected to be active in the opening week.

Australian Harry Sweeny returns to the Tour for the first time since 2021, where he memorably finished third on the Nîmes stage behind Nils Politt. “I was so excited about just being in the race that I couldn’t even think about winning,” he said. “Now, four years later, I know what it means. To win would be a highlight of my life.”

French rider Alex Baudin rounds out the selection and will make his Tour debut. A consistent presence in breakaways at the Giro and across smaller stage races, he provides another card to play in EF’s all-out attack strategy.

EF Education-EasyPost may have lost their GC spearhead, but in embracing the chaos of Tour racing, they arrive with a team well suited to surprise. As Powless put it, “just being within reach of the yellow jersey, even for a day” is motivation enough.

EF Education-EasyPost 2025 Tour de France lineup

  • Neilson Powless
  • Vincenzo Albanese
  • Kasper Asgreen
  • Alex Baudin
  • Ben Healy
  • Harry Sweeny
  • Michael Valgren
  • Marijn van den Berg