{"id":943174,"date":"2026-05-07T05:58:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T05:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/943174\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T05:58:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T05:58:20","slug":"richard-carapaz-absence-forces-complete-rethink-as-ef-education-easypost-become-final-team-to-unveil-giro-ditalia-2026-lineup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/943174\/","title":{"rendered":"Richard Carapaz absence forces complete rethink as EF Education-EasyPost become final team to unveil Giro d\u2019Italia 2026 lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\u201cWe don\u2019t have a leader for GC\u201dThe clearest indication of EF\u2019s tactical shift came from inside the team itself. \u201cWe don’t have a leader for GC, so we will try different things,\u201d Beloki explained in a press release<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019ll sprint for Madis and then we will try to win from breakaways. Each rider is going to try on the day he feels good.\u201d<\/p>\n

That theme ran throughout the squad announcement. Without Carapaz, there is no longer a single hierarchy around general classification protection. Instead, EF appear ready to embrace the unpredictability of the Giro route and give multiple riders freedom across different stages.<\/p>\n

Darren Rafferty admits Giro \u201cfeels weird\u201d without Carapaz<\/p>\n

Among the most revealing comments came from Rafferty, who acknowledged how different this year\u2019s Giro dynamic feels compared to previous Grand Tours. \u201cIt is weird not having Richie this year,\u201d the Irishman admitted. \u201cThe last two grand tours that I’ve been a part of have both been for GC. This year, I should hopefully have my own chances during the three weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll grab the opportunity with both hands and see what I can get out of it,” he adds. “We\u2019re each going to get our own chances. I think that will work out well in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

That freedom could make EF one of the most active teams in the race despite the absence of a genuine overall contender.<\/p>\n

\"darrenrafferty\"\/<\/p>\n

Irishman Darren Rafferty could be a threat for a breakaway stage win<\/p>\n

Shaw targeting career-defining result<\/p>\n

Shaw echoed similar ambitions as he prepares for another Giro appearance. \u201cWe want to win as many stages as possible,\u201d the Brit explained. \u201cMadis can win from a sprint, and then the rest of us are going to try to win from breakways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to win a grand tour stage is the thing that\u2019s been hacking around in the back of my head for my whole career,” he concluded. “It would validate all the work that I\u2019ve done in the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

New kit, new identity<\/p>\n

The lineup reveal also comes days after EF unveiled their eye-catching \u201cRide In Peace\u201d special edition Giro kit created in collaboration with ASSOS. With the team\u2019s usual pink colours banned due to the similarity to the Maglia Rosa jersey, EF instead opted for a neon green and pink design built around an extraterrestrial theme, continuing the team\u2019s annual tradition of using the Giro as a platform for one-off visual identities.<\/p>\n

In many ways, the jersey reflects the wider sporting picture around the team entering this year\u2019s race. The original plans built around Carapaz have disappeared, replaced instead by a far more unpredictable and opportunistic approach. Rather than controlling the Giro, EF now look set to attack it from every angle they can<\/p>\n

EF Education-EasyPost for the 2026 Giro d’Italia:<\/p>\n\nRider<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nSamuele Battistella<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nMarkel Beloki<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nJefferson Alexander Cepeda<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nMadis Mihkels<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nDarren Rafferty<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nJames Shaw<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nMichael Valgren<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nJardi van der Lee<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cWe don\u2019t have a leader for GC\u201dThe clearest indication of EF\u2019s tactical shift came from inside the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":943175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,263435,34348,42456,192737,263434,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-943174","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-darren-rafferty","10":"tag-ef-education-easypost","11":"tag-giro-ditalia","12":"tag-james-shaw","13":"tag-markel-beloki","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116531764014199197","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=943174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/943175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=943174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=943174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=943174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}