EF Education-EasyPost are going racing with an attacking Tour de France team led by Carapaz and Healy

EF Education-EasyPost had to improvise a bit, but the American team has put together a strong roster for the 2026 Tour de France. With Richard Carapaz and Ben Healy, the team has two proven leaders who are expected to deliver success. Aside from these two stars, the team is fielding a strong lineup of attacking talent in Barcelona.

Carapaz has just returned from the Tour de Suisse, where he proved to be the strongest climber behind Tadej Pogacar. The Ecuadorian is therefore in good form heading into the Tour, but he won’t be going for the overall classification. The former Giro d’Italia winner will be focusing entirely on stage wins and the mountains classification. In 2024, he won two stages and the polka-dot jersey, so he is a good bet to win the mountains jersey.

"I'm really motivated for this Tour," he says in a press statement. "After a long period training at altitude at home, everything has gone very, very well. I’m coming into this with high morale, which I think is crucial for starting this race. I’m very happy and very eager. My goal is to do my best, to make this a wonderful Tour, and above all, to enjoy it."

Still, Carapaz doesn’t want to completely rule out the general classification. “The general classification will depend heavily on how the race unfolds. I want to go for stage wins, and I hope to win the mountains classification. That would be wonderful, and that’s what I want most in this Tour. The Tour is the best race in the world. There are nothing but top riders, and we’re surrounded by an atmosphere of the highest caliber. Just being here is already a victory.”

Ben Healy is the other team leader for EF Education-EasyPost. It will be difficult to match his performance in the 2025 Tour de France. The Irishman won a stage, wore the yellow jersey for several days, and finished ninth in the general classification. So far, however, the Irishman’s year has not gone smoothly. “I’ve had a spring full of bad luck, but I’m in good shape and ready to race,” he says.

Can he shine again in the Tour? “Last year was amazing, and it would be great to be able to repeat that, but even half that success would still be a great achievement. There isn’t a whole lot of pressure: I just want to be up front and fight for a stage win—or maybe even two. There are a lot of transition stages this year, so I think there will be plenty of opportunities for the breakaway riders.'

After a high-altitude training camp, Healy arrived at the Tour Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes, where he fell ill. That didn’t hold him back too much, so he knows what he has to do. “I just have to race the same way, using unpredictability to my advantage. Even if they know how I’m going to ride, it’s still unpredictable. Last year, people actually knew what I was going to do, and it still worked out.”

In addition to Carapaz and Healy, Alex Baudin and Georg Steinhauser will be key contenders for stage wins. Baudin won the first stage of the Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes, while Steinhauser finished third in Paris–Nice. With Sean Quinn, Max Walker, and Kasper Asgreen, the team has brought along three strong riders who can make an impact in the transition stages and the team time trial.

The last name on the roster is Michael Valgren. The Dane won a stage in the Giro d'Italia in spectacular fashion, but two days later his team pulled him from the race: the team was dealing with a full infirmary, so he and James Shaw were brought back from Italy as a precaution. In the end, Shaw didn’t have to go, as Asgreen recovered in time from a broken collarbone sustained during the Four Days of Dunkirk.