Jonathan Vaughters confirms Esteban Chaves will stay
EF Education-EasyPost boss reveals contract with Colombian star runs for two more seasons.
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Esteban Chaves will race in a EF Education-EasyPost jersey for two more seasons.
Team boss Jonathan Vaughters confirmed the contract after he spotted a Tweet that suggested the popular Colombian rider was still looking for a contract for 2023.
“Shows you how well [L’Equipe] does their research. Chávez has two more years on his contract with us,” Vaughters wrote.
Vaughters also clarified that Chaves’ original deal with the team was for three seasons, not for just one as it was widely reported.
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Chaves, 32, joined EF this season after eight years with the GreenEdge franchise.
Though he didn’t make the Tour de France selection for the U.S.-registered team, Chaves posted a consistent season with a string of top-10s, including seventh at the Critérium du Dauphiné and ninth at the Tour of Norway.
For 2023, EF Education-EasyPost sees four new riders.
Stephen De Bod was the latest confirmation for EF, which also sees the arrival of Mikkel Honoré (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), Richard Carapaz and Andrey Amador (Ineos Grenadiers).
Departures include Ruben Guerreiro (Movistar) and the retirement of Sebastian Langveld. Michael Valgren will race at the development team as he recovers from injury.
Vaughters also confirmed that Tom Scully and Diego Camargo will stay, but Daniel Arroyave will not.
Rigoberto Urán — who recently hosted Tadej Pogačar in Colombia — will stay, while a few more riders still have their respective futures to be revealed.
Japanese rider Hideto Nakane, who joined in 2021, also confirmed his retirement.
“This will be my last year as a professional cyclist. I’ve been working hard so far until I came this place since when I start to ride in the bike race was 18 years old,” he wrote on Instagram.