EF Education-EasyPost sport director Shirley Wegelius predicted that the battle for ranking points to remain in the UCI World Tour will begin immediately in January 2023, after teams are painfully aware of the threat of relegation to the World Tour.

EF Education-Easy Post remained in the top 18 ranked teams at the end of the 2022 season, having met the sporting criteria to obtain a World Tour license for 2023-2025. Lot Soudal and Israel Premier Tech were relegated to the Pro Team, while Alpecin Deceuninck and Arkea Samsic earned enough points to step up to the World Tour.

The battle for points over the next three seasons will begin in order to obtain a license for 2026. Wegelius says that many of the World Tour teams, including his own, have learned an important lesson about the importance of scoring points.

"We are obviously pleased to get through this in a positive way, but the clock starts moving again on January 1," Vegelius told Cycling News last week.

"Another three-year cycle will begin, so points will count until the next license application.

"I think quite a few teams got scared this year. And the situation for us and other teams shows that if you have a rough time of the season or a slump with key riders injured, it can go bad very quickly."

Wegelius said that the UCI points competition affects a team's race strategy He argued that it is possible, and not just in the short term as happened in 2022. He argued that even if EF Education-Easy Post did not intend to change its racing philosophy, the events of this season show that UCI points contention has been an important factor since January 1.

"I would like to see the teams stay true to themselves, that is, race the way we have always done and do the things we have always tried to do, regardless of points. Chasing points isn't always the most entertaining way to race.

"But that's obviously something we have to keep chipping away at, and I think that's what everyone will be going for from now on."

Wegelius admitted that the risk of ignoring the points contenders is that they cannot escape the points race. He remarked: "It's like the cat out of the bag."

"Obviously, it remains to be seen if the teams will approach this issue with the same intensity as they did in the last months of the 2022 season.

"There are other things that could push teams in a different direction, whether it's sponsor demands or aiming for a different goal, and we all know what problems [the UCI points competition] can cause in the last few months of a three-year cycle.

Wegelius agreed that this new element of the race might be discouraging, but preferred to see it as part of a bigger picture.

"You have to take on a great deal of responsibility to make sure your team performs at its best. But it's all part of the game.

EF Education-Easy Post has signed several major contracts for 2023.

Wegelius appreciates Kalapas' talent and feels that the defending Olympic champion and multiple Grand Tour podium finisher will boost the entire team.

"As is obvious, he is a very high level rider. But working with a rider like that can energize the entire team of riders."

"I think he's a very good rider,"

"He's a very good rider.

"I think the combination of Rigoberto Uran and Richard in the last years of their careers will be great as well. I can feel quite a bit of energy there."

"I think the combination of Rigoberto Uran and Richard in the last few years will be great.

"I wouldn't say the next generation, because Richard is in the prime of his career. But it's a big step for us, and the team framework of supporting someone like that has been in place for quite some time. Now we can put it into action."

Wegelius denied that the addition of a Grand Tour contender to the EF roster would mean a step backward for Hugh Carthy in his GC quest.

In 2022, Briton Hugh Carthy finished in the top 10 at the Giro d'Italia.

"The Tour route is just coming out. To be honest, I haven't decided that much yet. But Hugh is a quality rider and we're going to keep trying to develop him and get the best results we can."

"Modern cycling is not about putting all your eggs in one basket anyway, even if it is clear that Richard will be the headliner of the team. I am confident that we will manage to make it to every race on the calendar."

Kalapas' resilience and determination to turn things around has been evident over the years and will serve as an example to other teammates; his performance at the 2022 Vuelta a España, which ended his hopes of a repeat challenge at the top of GC, but he recovered with three stage wins and a mountain prize He bounced back with three stage wins and a mountain prize.

"Teams like ours have always taken chances and enjoyed racing aggressively. There is no need to race conservatively just because we have signed such talent. So it will fit in nicely."

"We are very excited about the new team.

It has already been noted that the unusual route of the 2023 Tour de France may be suitable for Calapaz, but the Giro d'Italia has also smiled on the Ecuadorian in the past.

"He has been competitive in all three Grand Tours, so in a way he has a choice," Wegelius said.

"We have to sit down and go through the options together and make some decisions. It's a little early for that."

Many of these decisions will be made in the coming weeks before the season begins, as potential team structures for major challenges gradually take shape.

First, the EF Education-Easy Post race calendar will be determined.

"At this point, we are reviewing the entire team's race calendar and putting together what additional races we will be doing in addition to the mandatory World Tour events," he explains.

"And on the side of that, we are trying to prepare what we call 'buckets' of riders for the main World Tour appointments, such as a group around the Giro and another group for the Classics," he explains.

"As we get more information on the race routes in the coming weeks, we'll have some clarity, and by the time we meet up in Girona in early December, we should have an outline and plan for everyone."

The World Tour points competition for the next three seasons will be part of EF's would be incorporated into the master plan. Judging from Wegelius' view, the battle cannot and will not be ignored even three years after the next final ruling on World Tour relegation and promotion.