Racing
EF Education-Aevolo rally on team debut
Our young squad came away with a podium and a points jersey on their first outing in Greece
March 20, 2025
Colby Simmons capped off a successful racing block for EF Education-Aevolo last weekend, with the American finishing third overall at the Tour of Rhodes Powered by Rodos Palace after consistently performing throughout the four-day stage race.
At the beginning of March, EF Education-Aevolo embarked on a short trip to Greece to combine training with the team’s inaugural race debut at the Visit South Aegean Islands. This was quickly followed by the one-day Rhodes GP and then the final outing at the Tour of Rhodes Powered by Rodos Palace.
Strong teamwork helped Colby finish seventh overall in the Visit South Aegean Islands before Jenthe Verstraete picked up 11th at the Rhodes GP.
After a four-day break, the team returned to action at the Tour of Rhodes Powered by Rodos Palace. While the first two races were about learning to gel together as a unit and developing in-race communication skills, the last race was all about racing on the front foot and putting all the lessons learned from the first races into practice.
Colby finished inside the top seven on all three stages and was second in the all-important time trial on stage 3 to leave him third overall and on the final podium. Meanwhile, Noah Hobbs won the sprints jersey, and Gavin Hlady narrowly missed out on the mountains jersey by just a single point.
“I’m so pleased with how the team have started the season,” team boss Mike Creed said after the races in Greece.
“One of the reasons why we wanted to start the season in Greece was because it allowed for some roster changes during the specific block. It’s a bit like Challenge Mallorca in that way. For us, we could combine racing with a solid training camp, and it allowed us to work on our communication. You could see, as the week developed, how much the young riders were developing and building their confidence. And, of course, that culminated in Colby sealing the podium in the final race,” Mike said.
A jersey and a GC podium meant that the EF Education-Aevolo could return home happy after their first-ever racing block. Next up for the roster is the Volta ao Alentejo - a five-day stage race in Portugal that runs March 26-30. With the tails up and confidence starting to grow, Mike is looking forward to seeing what the team can do next.
“This bodes well for the coming weeks and months. For me, it was clear from the very start of the racing in Greece that the riders were well-prepared from our last camp in January and that they were racing well. Sometimes, though, it just takes a bit of time for young athletes to find their feet. You could sense the excitement they had when pulling on the jersey for the first time, and by the final race, though, our riders had figured it out, and they took the initiative. That was really awesome to see.”
