Emil Herzog will join EF Education–EasyPost from Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe for the 2027 season, signing a contract through 2029. The German rider, who turned 22 in October, leaves the German WorldTour squad after developing through its junior programme and establishing himself in the professional peloton.
The move comes after Herzog’s most encouraging campaign at the top level, highlighted by fourth at the Bretagne Classic and seventh in the European Championships road race. Those results have helped establish him as a rider capable of handling demanding one-day races, rather than simply a former junior world champion still finding his feet among the professionals.
For EF, the signing is another part of a busy transfer period. The American squad are losing Richard Carapaz to NSN Cycling and Georg Steinhauser to Herzog’s current team, Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe, while Mikkel Honoré is heading to Jayco AlUla. Herzog gives EF a young option for hard Classics and stage racing as the team reshapes its roster for next season.
Fourth at Bretagne Classic underlines Herzog’s progress
Herzog’s most convincing WorldTour result came at the Bretagne Classic in August. On a demanding course around Plouay, he finished fourth as Alex Aranburu won from a late move. The result was an important sign of development, coming at the end of a long race where positioning, repeated changes of pace and the ability to survive the final climbs all matter.
The performance, covered in ProCyclingUK’s Bretagne Classic report, was followed by seventh at the elite men’s road race at the European Championships in October. That put him among the strongest finishers in a race won by Remco Evenepoel, another indication that Herzog’s development is beginning to translate into significant results against established riders.
He also finished eighth overall at the CRO Race in September, taking sixth on stage three. These performances suggest he can be competitive on rolling terrain and in shorter stage races, with enough speed to benefit when a race has already been reduced by its climbs. The European Championships provided a useful test of his ability to hold his position in an elite field.
From junior world champion to WorldTour prospect
Herzog’s results attracted attention long before he joined the WorldTour. In 2022 he won the junior men’s road race at the World Championships in Wollongong, adding a bronze medal in the junior time trial. The combination reflected a broad set of abilities, from sustained efforts against the clock to tactical decisions at the end of a demanding road race.
He continued his development with Hagens Berman Axeon in 2023 after racing for the Auto Eder junior team. From 2024 he stepped up to BORA–hansgrohe, later racing under the Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe name. Seventh at Milano–Torino in 2024 and eighth overall at Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali in 2025 were useful early markers, but his most substantial results came during 2026.
Herzog also tested himself away from conventional road racing this year. He finished eighth on his debut at Unbound Gravel 200 in Kansas, competing over roughly 320 kilometres against established gravel specialists. He made mistakes with feeding during the race but recovered to finish inside the top ten, a valuable experience of a very different style of endurance racing.
That versatility fits EF’s willingness to let riders explore different events, although his main task will be developing his road racing career. The junior title provided early expectations, but his more recent results show what he can achieve after several years of learning the demands of professional racing.
EF rebuild after Carapaz and Steinhauser departures
Herzog arrives as EF Education–EasyPost make changes in several areas of the squad. Carapaz’s departure removes a former Grand Tour winner and one of the team’s main general classification leaders. Steinhauser, another talented German who established himself as a stage-race contender, moves in the opposite direction to Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe.
EF have also signed 2020 Giro d’Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart for 2027. That move brings an experienced Grand Tour rider hoping to recover his best form, while Herzog represents a longer-term investment in a younger rider whose strongest results have come in the Classics.
The German could initially be valuable as an attacking option in the hillier one-day races and in difficult stages where the strongest sprinters have been dropped. He is also young enough for the team to work on his climbing, tactical judgement and ability to recover across longer stage races. It is too early to assume he will arrive as an outright leader, but the results from Plouay and the European Championships give EF evidence of his potential.
A contract running through 2029 offers time for that development. Rather than judging the move by immediate victories, EF can build on the progress Herzog showed in 2026 and decide where he is most effective. For the rider, the transfer brings a fresh racing environment just as he begins to turn strong under-23 results and junior success into performances at WorldTour level.
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Photo Credit: Gaetan Flamme
