For Hugh Carthy and his EF Education-Easy Post team, 2022 may not have been the best season. But it was hardly disastrous, as he overcame repeated health problems and the threat of relegation from the team to finish ninth in the Giro d'Italia and second in GC in the Tour de Langkawi, the last race of the season.

"I think this race is a good way to end the season," said Kersey on the sidelines of the hot and humid Tour de Langkawi.

"It hasn't been a great season. I've had some good results, including a top 10 finish in the Giro. This year has been very up and down with illness and things. Yes, it wasn't a perfect year, but I think sometimes you have years in your career where things don't go so well."

In 2019, Kersey won his first WorldTour stage win at the Tour de Suisse and showed Grand Tour GC potential by finishing 11th in the Giro. A year later, he finished third at the Vuelta a España, his first overall Grand Tour podium and stage win. Then in 2021, he finished 8th in the Giro d'Italia and won a stage at the Vuelta a Burgos, but retired in stage 7 at the Vuelta a España. He then had a tough final part of the season leading up to 2022, where he suffered from various illnesses, including COVID-19.

"If I had said in January what I wanted for this season, I would have wanted more. But if someone had told me that I was going to have a bad year but still make the top 10 in the Grand Tours, I probably would have signed up in January," Kersey told Cycling News in the Malaysian town of Sabak Bernam, on the way to Langkawi, Malaysia, where the race will take place on the peninsula. told Cycling News. Philosophically speaking, it could have been worse, it could have been better."

The strong climbing performance that earned Kersey a podium spot at the Tour de Langkawi could have been a positive way to end the season.

"Since the pandemic, it's been a bit of a transitional period for the team, with riders leaving and riders coming. The team dynamic has changed a lot, and with EF still here and all the sponsors here, I think we can start making tracks like we did in 2019 and 2020 before the pandemic hit hard."

In 2019, EF Education was stable at No. 11 in the rankings, and with the reassurance of its dedicated sponsors, it had built a team that aimed to be at the top of the sport. However, the outbreak of a pandemic disease and the rigorous approach to managing the health risks it posed limited racing during that period, which hurt their points scoring. The financial impact also weighed heavily on title sponsors, which in turn reduced their budgets.

Many key riders left after the 2020 season, including Michael Woods, Sepp Vanmarcke, and Dani Martinez; EF had another impressive year in 2021, with 16 wins, just one less than the 17 wins of the previous two seasons, but ran out of steam in 2022, dropping to nine wins He dropped to 9 wins.

Just as pandemic restrictions eased and the team seemed to be on a more solid budget footing, its three-year license expired at the end of 2022 and the team faced a tough fight to stay on the World Tour. Their point-scoring slowdown in the early part of 2021 and 2022 put them in jeopardy of making the EF Education - Easy Post top 18 teams.

Therefore, their focus shifted from winning big races to chasing points elsewhere. Instead of taking part in small but points-rich one-day races and doing everything in their power to win, they aimed to place multiple riders in the top 10. It was a strategic shift that was enough to keep the team on the World Tour, but it came at a price.

"It was a hard season for everyone, and a lot of stress," said Gerard. So now that we've closed this chapter, I think we can really move forward."

The team successfully finished the three years in 14th place and added significant strength to the roster. The biggest signing is Richard Kalapas, who signed a three-year contract with EF Education-EasyPost.

"The team is in a good position for the next three years. I think next year we will be able to race under different circumstances."

Different circumstances are those that will allow the team and Kersee to resume their interrupted upward trajectory.