EF Education-EasyPost throws a lifeline to departing Visma | Lease a Bike U23 rider

Colby Simmons will transfer from the Visma | Lease a Bike development team to that of EF Education-EasyPost. The 21-year-old American, brother of Lidl-Trek pro-Quinn, will be one of the leading riders in the new combination of EF Education-EasyPost and Aevolo Cycling. Simmons rode for three years in Dutch service but could not make a definitive move to the pro branch of Visma | Lease a Bike.

Simmons joined the Dutch team in 2022, where he achieved several podium places in his first year. One year later, he also got a taste of the big work with the main squad, winning the youth classification in the Tour of Slovakia. Last season, he also competed several times for the pro branch: fifteen times in the Baloise Belgium Tour and ZLM Tour.

He also finished second in the Tour of Alsace, but a definitive step up to WorldTour level was not in sight due to tough competition. Those places were already taken with Menno Huising, Matthew Brennan, Tijmen Graat, and Jorgen Nordhagen. So Simmons - like Jesse Kramer and Morten Nortoft - had to search for another employer he found in his homeland.

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EF Education-EasyPost puts Simmons forward as one of the leaders of development team

Ex-pro Mike Creed and the head of scouting Sebastian Langeveld put together EF Education-EasyPost's development team and are counting on Simmons. "It’s a super strong roster and we’re excited about the development and success for the future. On paper, Colby Simmons from the US and Noah Hobbs from Great Britain will be the riders we’ll lean on in the classics and flatter races." Creed said.

The WorldTour team captain, Jonathan Vaughters, also looks forward to the American. "Then Colby is a great and respectful kid who will be part of the foundations of the team," said Vaughters, who wants to achieve several things with his development team. "That aspect is transformative in the way that you can develop riders. You can pull up a couple of hyper-performing U23 riders to try out what the WorldTour is like and then conversely if you have an injured rider who needs a longer time to come back you can give them a few rides to find their legs again. I think it’s a critical part of the organization, and having the U23 team will be incredibly valuable to us on several fronts."

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