Season overview
EF's season had two sides. On the one hand, they were probably glad they were not relegated. On the other hand, they would have expected more wins. Vaughters' statements at the start of the season did not bode well for EF in the relegation battle. In the end, with almost 2.000 points above the relegation zone at the end of the season, they had nothing to fear. With only 9 wins in 2022, they were among the worst teams in the WorldTour. Of those, only three of them were at WorldTour level: Bissegger in the UAE Tour, Cort in the Tour de France and Uran in the Vuelta. Nevertheless, the team did develop quite a few talents. With Piccolo, they have the biggest Italian talent currently in their ranks. They also have Marijn van den Berg, Georg Steinhauser, Ben Healy and Sean Quinn as promising riders.
Transfers
Transfers IN
The biggest news, of course, is the transfer of Richard Carapaz. The 2019 Giro d'Italia winner comes in as one of the best GC riders after the post-Sky/INEOS dominance era, just below names like Vingegaard, Roglic and Pogacar. I will talk more about him later. Quasi along with Carapaz, they also announced Costa Rica’s number 1, Andrey Amador, the Ecuadorian cyclist's regular domestique.
After these transfers in mid-August, things remained quiet for a long time until EF suddenly announced Mikkel Honoré, despite being on an ongoing contract at Quick-Step. A very good puncheur I think who had a lot of bad luck last season. Together with Bettiol and Wout van Aert he was one of the strongest in the chasing group behind Remco Evenepoel at the world championships last September. He also showed his good form in the Canadian races. Last season he had the plan to go for the cobbled classics. That didn't work out because of his bad luck. I think he can be one of the revelations next year in the classics.
Already in the beginning of November, they announced their last signing with Stefan de Bod. He comes from Astana. The South African looks to excel in the time trials and stage races. I honestly don't know what to expect. Vaughters said about him: "He’s an underrated talent that can be a key asset to a team like ours trying to focus on big results in hilly races. His time trialing had gone under the radar, but is an example of his level of talent. My hope is we bring him up to his potential, and he becomes invaluable within this team.” I think he can be a good domestique in hilly races, but I'm not very high on his time trial abilities.
Transfers OUT
The biggest news regarding the departures is the leaving of Ruben Guerreiro. With his transfer to Movistar, one of EF's best climbers has left the team. I think he was a really good rider for them. Last year, he won the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge. The expectations were high for him in the Tour de France but he got sick and abandoned the Tour after stage 8. Very unfortunate because I could see him winning a stage. Although he's very good in climbing, I don't think he could become a good GC rider. On the other hand, I could have imagined him being a good domestique for Carapaz or to maximise his stage hunter ability at Ef. They will surely miss him.
Last June, Michael Valgren crashed horribly. EF has granted him all the time to come back so next year he will first ride for the development team until he's ready. His goal is to be ready for the Vuelta at the end of the season, but that remains a huge question mark. I think, with Honoré, EF has already attracted a successor, and as a consequence, EF will not miss Valgren that hard next season. I hope he can come back to his best level after his awful injuries, cause he could form a magnific trident with Bettiol and Honoré in the classics. Unfortunately, my expectations are not too high that he will return to his best. Outside of these two, Langeveld and Nakane retired. Arroyave leaves the team and Howes' future is still unsure.
Talent
Piccolo surely is their best talent. After taking him from Drone Hopper, he already surprised many in the races that he rode for EF the last year. For me, the most eye-catching result was his 11th place in Il Lombardia. As a 21-year-old in your first six months on the World Tour, to get such a result straightaway is amazing. I think he is very good on shorter to medium climbs, as he already showed in Il Lombardia or the Coppa Agostoni. Longer climbs are still a question mark, but he can show himself there next season. Don't be surprised if he gets his first WorldTour-level win as early as next year!
Leaders
Carapaz
Carapaz has had a good season. 2nd in the Giro, 3 stages and the polka dots jersey in the Vuelta. Still, I think he is going to be disappointed with his season because of 2nd place in the Giro. Riding out of the pink in the penultimate stage was painful to watch.
EF obviously got him as a general classification rider, and I think he can still claim a spot among the best 5 there. Clearly, he will be sent to the Tour de France to finish as high as possible there. Or would he go for stages after all? That's what Vaughters suggested in an interview with VeloNews. I still think this will be the second plan if it is clear he is not good enough for a GC. Can he compete with Pogacar, Vingegaard and Roglic for the top spot on the podium? I don't think so, but he is one of the top contenders for a podium spot. The course will certainly suit him too, with the few time trial kilometres and punchy arrivals.
Bettiol
One of my favourite riders. Unstoppable when he's on a good day. But that's also the problem. These days very rarely come. He's incredibly inconsistent. And he also had some bad luck in the 2022 season. In the beginning of the year, he was flying at Etoile de Bessèges, but then he got Covid. He needed to skip Tirreno-Adriatico and his beloved race Strade Bianche. He returned in Milano-Sanremo but was never on his normal level during the classics. His second part of the season was much better. He almost won a stage in Tour de Suisse as well in Tour de France. After the Tour, he was good in Québec, Gran Piemonte and he excelled in the World Championships.
Next year, he would like to win a big classic again. Probably he’s going for a race program of Strade, Tirreno, the classics and the Tour de France. I think if he’s back at his best level, he can surprise a lot of people. With Honoré by his side, they form a very good unit for races like the Strade, E3, Ronde van Vlaanderen or the Amstel Gold Race. Bettiol also developed his sprint this year, so he doesn’t always need to finish solo. Although, I think he would prefer such a scenario.
Cort
We saw the last two year that he’s purely a stage hunter in one-week races, but surely in Grand Tours. The experiment in the classics in 2021 didn’t work out for him. In the Giro he came close, but in the Tour de France he won one of the most exciting breakaway battles this year.
He already said that he’s going to the Giro next year and I think it’s a good choice for him. Of course, it is never certain how many breakaways may fight to the end, but certainly stage 12 looks very good for Magnus Cort. I think you can put your money on him being in the breakaway there. Stage 10 could also be interesting for Cort. In addition, there is the time trial in stage 1 where he could surprise on a good day. Although I think he would have preferred a hillier course.
Squads
Cobbled classics
Leaders: Bettiol and Honoré
Domestiques: Bissegger, Doull, Keukeleire, Rutsch, Scully, and Marijn van den Berg
With Bettiol and Honoré, they have a strong leading duo in their ranks. It is hoped they will both start in optimal form and then they might surprise then. With the support of a strong Bissegger, I can see them winning E3, for example. I hope Bettiol can repeat his 2019 stunt with the Ronde van Vlaanderen, but I doubt this anyway.
Hilly classics
Leaders: Bettiol, Honoré, Powless, Carapaz, Piccolo
Domestiques: De Bod, Healy and Carr
What a wealth! 5 potential leaders. That calls for Quick-Step-like tactics in hilly races. First of all, I can see EF getting a result in Milano-Sanremo and the Strade Bianche. For these, they have excellent riders with a good punch. In the Brabantse Pijl and Amstel Gold Race, I would still put Bettiol in, then Powless, Carapaz and Piccolo take over for the Walloon classics. In these races, they really need to attack from far. They have no rider who is likely to be able to go with the real big ones, so they must anticipate and race actively. For example, I can see Powless or Honoré ending up in the leading group at LBL. In the Italian classics at the end of the season, they should try the same thing.
Giro d’Italia
Leaders: Magnus Cort and Hugh Carthy
Other riders: ?
All-in for stage victories! With Magnus Cort, they have a specialist in that area and Carthy can certainly excel in the high mountains in this grand tour. It is only to be hoped that EF does not get the illusion that Carthy can go for a good classification. There is absolutely no chance with the time trials. He also excels in bad weather and that’s very normal for the Giro d’Italia. The stages with steep mountains seem to be chosen for him to get a stage win for once.
Tour de France
Leader: Carapaz
Other riders: Uran, Powless, Chaves, Bettiol, Honoré, Bissegger and Rutsch
All-in for Carapaz! I don't think the Tour squad will be much different from the list above. Very good mountain support with Uran, Powless and Chaves. Bettiol, Powless and Honoré for the hillier stages and Bettiol, Bissegger and Rutsch as the power engines on the flat. I think that’s actually a really good team. Powless already said that he would be happy to support Carapaz. Uran is the big question: does he wanna go on domestique duty? If not, you could swap him or Chaves out for Amador. Bettiol can also be of support in the mountains. The climbing level that he showed in the Giro of 2021 was insane.
Of course, the squad is not at the level of Jumbo-Visma or Team UAE Emirates, but is that necessary? The teammates of Vingegaard, Roglic and Pogacar will surely set the pace on the climbs. It will then only be up to Carapaz to follow. If he drops, a domestique can then be useful (maybe as satellite rider). I think with the satellite riders they can also go for stage wins if the breakaway is given too much space. That way, Bettiol, Honoré, Powless or Uran could all well be in a position to win. Besides, Carapaz does not need his team to commit an immediate punch either. The teams of Vingegaard, Roglic and Pogacar are likely to counter this easily.
Vuelta a España
Leader: Piccolo (maybe Carapaz)
Other riders: ?
All-in for Piccolo stage victories. Their biggest talent surely is going ride a grand tour next year. The Vuelta might be the ideal opportunity for this. No pressure and just let him try his chance.
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