After a winter of solid preparation and a recent morale-boosting training camp in Girona, Spain, our U23 roster at EF Education-Aevolo heads to Greece to kick-start the 2026 season. 

Almost the entire 14-rider team will start their season during our first racing block, with a series of one-day races beginning with the Visit South Aegean GP (February 28), the Region on Dodecanese GP (March 1), and Rhodes GP (March 7), before the four-day stage race, the Tour of Rhodes (March 12-15), rounds off the trip.

As in 2025, riders will alternate between training and racing during the trip. Of course, the objective is for the team to be highly competitive on all fronts, and the well-rounded group of riders will aim for the races that are likely to end in sprints, and the climbing stages at the Tour of Rhodes, where last year Colby Simmons, now a graduate at EF Education-EasyPost, finished third overall. 

“Now’s the time to start flexing. The first two one-day races are 1.1 level, which means the competition is going to be higher than last year, but as I’ve been saying for a while now, we’ve got a stronger team, so we’re going into this block of racing really excited about what’s to come for our riders, and the team as a whole,” Head Sports Director Mike Creed said. 

The one-day races sit between bunch sprints and more Classic-style racing, so reduced bunch kicks or breakaways could decide the outcome, and Creed expects the team to race on the front foot when the opportunities arise. 

“The racing is hard, but we’re going to alternate riders through the races so that we’re fresh and so we can best match our team to the terrain. So in the sprints, we have riders such as Alfredo Bueno and Nathan Cusack, and we’ve also got Tomos Pattinson, but really I’d watch out for the whole team during this block of racing because we’ve got cards to play,” Creed said.

The four-day stage race, which includes a short time trial and more challenging terrain, went down to the wire last year, and Creed expects the climbers to shine when the road goes vertical. Roberto Capello, who is making his debut in EF Education-Aevolo, is a GC rider to watch, alongside Juan Felipe Rodriguez, who recently finished third in the Colombian elite national road race and enjoyed a successful debut with the WorldTour team at the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal last week. 

“I think that both Roberto and Juan Felipe can shine in Greece for us, but honestly, we have depth in the team, and I’m hoping to see a few of our riders in the mix, either in terms of supporting their teammates or being up there in the decisive moments. We’ve all worked hard over the winter and created a great team spirit, and now we want to show that on the road. Now, it’s time to turn preparation into performance,” Creed said.