EF Education - Easy Post announced the signing of Estonian Madis Mikels on Thursday, the 21-year-old Mikels has had a strong start to his two neo-pro seasons with Intermarke Wanty, with numerous top-10 finishes including Paris-Roubaix.

“I am very happy with this move,” said Michels. As a cyclist, it's the right next step for me, and EF Education-Easy Post seems to be a team with a great environment and atmosphere between the riders and staff. Really looking forward to next season.”

Team CEO Jonathan Vaughters won bronze in the European Championships Elite Men's Road Race behind experienced sprinters Tim Mellier and Olaf Kooij and ahead of the sport's number one fastest rider, Jasper Philipsen High hopes are pinned on Michels as he dives into the mix.

“Madis is strong and has a promising future. With the team backing him, I think we can help him become a true champion. I'm looking forward to seeing how he runs.”

Michels finished this year with a stage win in the 2023 Deutschland Tour, 9th in Scheldeprij, and 10th in Paris-Roubaix, but has no specific goals for 2025.

“I'm not thinking about just one race,” Michels said. “I want to win next year. I want to get into championship mode.”

“I like hard races. In a pure group sprint, when everyone there is fresh, I am never the fastest guy. So I like hard races where I can go for the sprint at the end.”

He lives and trains in Estonia even in the winter and will join EF Education-Easy Post at their camp in Spain.15]

“For me Estonia is a very nice country, except for the winter. Maybe not for climbers, but for riders like me it's a really good place to train. There are no big climbs, but there are very nice roads with little traffic. There are rolling hills and rivers and lakes.