In the era of teams creating calendars around UCI promotion/relegation cycles and point scoring, EF Education-EasyPost CEO Jonathan Vaughters wants to keep his team from falling into the "anti-climate and boring" way of racing that he believes it will breed.

Vaughters' EF education program has actively built a racing reputation, chasing stage victories and often targeting jerseys out of leaders in big races by going all for such they sometimes get GC potential top 10 finishes or more UCI points. You have missed the opportunity to win. 

Of course, remaining on the UCI World Tour, the top division of cycling, is still an important ambition, but Vaughters instead gives to the "absurd" UCI points system.

"Speaking of UCI points, I think this team has one man in fourth place, one man in 11th and the other in 19th." I do not want to see that it is over. To me, it's a very anti-climate, boring, and really cynical way of racing," Waters told Cycling News before speaking on stage at the Rules Live. 

"What I want to see is that the whole team is behind someone, or a plan to win someone's race. Even if the odds are completely against this, even if the whole team explodes completely and the uci point goes to zero, it's OK because the best rider was in 84th place. 

"At least we went in with a plan to win and tried to execute it. It didn't work for some reason, but we did everything we could."

and with a smaller budget and less stacked all-round roster than "super teams" such as UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease A Bike, Vaughters meticulously plans the team's goals so they can be winners in some way.

"The way we are building this team and the goals we have are going to be different from a team like the UAE. But, for example, from the indicator that you want to win the Polka dot jersey at the Tour de France," said Waters. 

"It was the purpose of our long-term dream, but I think it symbolizes the way we focus on doing something for the team. Do we have sprinters? No.. Is there anyone who can really challenge to win the GC No at the Tour de France? We didn't even have it. So, you go into the race and say, "What can we achieve?"

"What I'm really trying to avoid in this team is saying, 'OK, we're going in and we're going to be 6th in the GC.' For the majority of GC's sixth-place sponsors, financial backers and fans, it makes no sense at all.

Instead, EF chose to target the polka・dot jersey along with Richard Karapas on the tour. Not only did Karapas bring a big stage victory from Blake, but for the Jersey Sa

Vaughters, who they originally set their sights on in a highly successful tour campaign, it's all about chasing these realistic ambitions as well as being true to the team's ideology. And it is about. There is no room for optimized UCI points chasing for pink men.

"It was representative of the way we did the whole season and we disassembled each race and saw how it could be impactful, interesting, fun and engaging. For example, don't worry about UCI points," the team boss said.

"I couldn't care less. I think it's ridiculous, the whole ranking system, and designed by people who really don't know what they're doing. We don't care what we're ranked for, unless we're ranked 19th, that's right. 

"But what I care about is winning a polka-dot jersey at the Tour de France, winning a stage at the Tour de France, winning a stage at the Giro d'Italia. "

EF Education-EasyPost finished two spots from relegation after fighting hard during the 2020-2022 cycle when Lotto Dstny and Israel Premiattech went down from the World Tour. It's not a process that Vaughters wants to have to start over. Vogue also criticized the system at the time.

"In that last relegation cycle, we had to spend the second half of the year racing in a very cynical way and just collecting points. And the guy it turned me off," Vaughters continued. "It just felt wrong. I mean, it felt like I wasn't even there to win. We are just there to stay away from the other teams and finish fourth and eighth."

The men's team sits safely in 12th place on the 18th spot out of 2026, and they seem unlikely to have to worry about it, however, Vaughters may apply his top rider in their swashbuckling vest next season.

"I don't want to see us get into that position again because I like to race all or nothing. And the riders we have, like Ben Healy and Richard Karapas, are people who also like to race all or Nothing," he said.

Karapas will again be the main leader of EF in 2025 and will take part in 2 grand tours, targeting GC on one hand and stage on the other, as in the past season. The former Giro d'Italia winner is one of the world's top climbers, but despite his talent, it is not the easiest to stay focused. 

"Richard is the most talented rider I've ever worked with. He is incredibly talented, but he is a little wild horse. I would say he's nothing more than a very programmed, very focused, hardworking athlete who is now watching him compete at the top level - very mechanical and robotic," said his GC star, Vaughters. 

"He is the opposite of Jonas Vingegaard, who is looking at his diet and sees what he is doing 1 year 365 days training. Richard comes to a big emotional height and really plays when he's at that emotional height. And when he's not, he's definitely not mechanical, robotic and focused, and he's kind of just living his life. 

"So with him, you have to realize that sometimes it's frustrating that his full, true potential and talent don't always come out, but that's who he is as a person, and you have to avoid and figure it out, and you have to pull out his best." You know how to get it out. He must want it first, I can't force him."

Waters is not yet sure whether it will be a Giro and tour, or a tour and Vuelta, but he will take on, but what is certain is that Ecuador will be able to re-he rarely starts a grand tour without somehow leaving his mark. 

Going 4th in the Vuelta, winning the stage on the tour and the polka-dot jersey that comes with it is not easy, but the 31-year-old Karapas is still 1 of the Peloton's climbing elite. With such a huge haul of points already in the two years of the current relegation cycle, they too focused on staying true to aggressive and exciting races