Team Jayco Alura confirmed on Friday that US-based Continental team Hagens Berman Jayco will be the official development team for the WorldTour program beginning in 2025.

Founded in 2009 by Axel Merckx, Hagens Berman-Jeico has sent more than 50 riders to cycling's highest professional ranks. That year, 22-year-old Alastair McKellar, winner of the Alpe Isère Tour, moved from the Continental team to become a stager for Team Jayco Alura late in the season and later signed a two-year contract with EF Education Easypost. Also in 2024, U23 ITT champion Artem Schmidt signed a multi-year contract with Ineos Grenadiers

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“We are grateful to Team Jayco Alura and owner Jerry Ryan for their faith in our program and commitment to the future of cycling. We are excited to find a partner who is as passionate about rider development and nurturing the next generation of talent as Hagens Berman and Steve Berman,” Merckx said in a press release issued by Jayco Alura.

The men's team partnership to nurture young talent comes a year after the establishment of a women's development team to support Liv Alura Jayco. The organization now has four teams, a men's and women's WorldTour team and two continental teams, providing opportunities for promising young riders. [Axel] has done a great job building the teams over the last 10 years. It shows in the number of riders who have become stars in the World Tour peloton and won big races,” said Brent Copeland, general manager of Team Jayco Alura.

“Growth and helping to develop the next generation has always been important to GreenEDGE Cycling and team owner Jerry Ryan. Having Hagens Berman Jayco as part of the GreenEDGE family is a source of great pride for us and provides a clear pathway for riders to gain a foothold on the WorldTour."

”We are very excited to have Hagens Berman Jayco as part of the GreenEDGE family.

In late November, Hagens Berman Jayco finalized its 15 rider roster for the 2025 season. Among the nine returning riders are Ireland's Adam Lafferty, Portugal's Gonzalo Tavares, Italy's Samuele Privitera, and England's Ben Wiggins. Lafferty and Tavares won last year's U23 National Time Trial Championships. Wiggins, the son of Bradley Wiggins, won a silver medal in the men's junior time trial at the 2023 World Championships.

The new roster includes two Australian athletes, led by Adelaide's junior world record holder Will Holmes (3 km individual pursuit). Will Eaves, from Tasmania, took time off to recuperate from a ruptured appendix after finishing in the top 10 in the men's junior road race and time trial at the Australian Road Championships.