Eleven athletes, led by American Colby Simmons (of Visma-Lease a Bike Development) and British Noah Hobbs (of Groupama-FDJ Continental), are the latest U23 Continental team to debut in 2025 EF Education-Evolo, was announced today as a member of the EF Education-Evolo team.

The partnership between EF Education-EasyPost and the longtime US-registered Evolo program was announced last spring as a way to provide a development structure for World Tour teams.

Mike Creed, a former 12-year racing pro who won the U.S. time trial title as a U23 rider, will launch Aevolo in 2017 and continue as the main sport director of the development team.

Sebastian Langeveldt, an accomplished one-day racer turned assistant sport director at EF Education-EasyPost, will head up scouting.

“We have a super strong roster and are excited about their future development and success. Colby Simmons from the US and Noah Hobbs from the UK are the guys we can count on for the classics and flat races. They are the team captains, but we also have strong climbers,” Creed said. [We signed Miguel Angel Marin, who won the Junior Tour of Colombia. And the rest of the players will give us great depth and room for improvement.”

The first roster to be selected included five from the United States, five from Europe, and one from Colombia, Angel Marin.

Gavin Frady and multi-discipline rider Ian Lopez are the two players transferred from Evolo Cycling. The other American riders are Noah Strife, a graduate of the EF Education-ONTO Junior Team, and Kellen Caldwell, who transferred from Team California.

Last year, Frady won the men's U23 road race and U23 criterium at the US Pro Road National Championships in Charleston, West Virginia, carrying the green and yellow colors of Evolo. In the men's elite road race, he finished sixth, 4.1 seconds behind new teammate Simmons. [Joshua Goliker, a three-time stage winner at Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta-Mont Blanc, moved over from Groupama to follow compatriot Hobbs. A trio of 18-year-olds, Denmark's Magnus Carstensen, Sweden's Linus Larsson, and Belgium's Jente Verstraete, completed the roster.

“It is our first year team and we have taken a resourceful approach, but we also have a long-term vision in mind,” said EF Pro Cycling CEO Jonathan Vaughters.

“There's a Mark Cavendish quality to guys like Noah, especially in terms of mindset, and we're trying to develop him into the first pure sprinter in this organization in a long time. Then there is Colby, who is a wonderfully respectful kid and will be part of the foundation of the team. He will be a leader for us.”

Hobbs won stages in the Alpe d'Isère Tour and Tour Alsace, as well as points in both races. Simmons, the younger brother of Lidl-Trek's Quinn Simmons, won bronze medals at both the US U23 Road Race Championships and the US Elite Men's Gravel Championships.

The organization is able to mix U23 athletes with World Tour squads and has the flexibility to demote World Tour athletes as they recover from injury or get back into shape.

“I think it's an important part of the organization and having a U23 team is incredibly valuable in several ways. We can pull up some high-performing U23 riders to test what the World Tour is like, and conversely, if we have an injured rider who takes a while to get back, we can give them a few rides to get their legs back.

“Overall, I am confident that EF Education-Evolo will win the 2025 race and help our young riders strive to reach their potential,” Vaughters said.

The new team will be based in Spain and will focus on racing on the European calendar.

EF Education-ONTO's junior team will continue to operate in South Carolina, USA.