Juan only joined our U23 program at the start of the 2026 season, but he made an instant impression on the riders and staff with his talent and willingness to develop.

After finishing a superb third in the Colombian national championships back in January, Juan headed to Europe, where he raced with the WorldTour team at the Volta ao Algarve before taking another podium result, this time at the Tour of Rhodes Powered by Rodos Palace, where he secured third on GC. Two more outings with the WorldTour team followed in the spring before the 22-year-old claimed fourth overall at the Alpes Isère Tour, one of the most prestigious 2.2 races on the calendar.

A few months on from that result, Juan is heading on his next adventure, with a permanent slot on the WorldTour team for the rest of the season and beyond, as well as a call-up for the final Grand Tour of the season, the Vuelta a España.

“I’m super excited to be moving up to the WorldTour with EF Education-EasyPost. This feels like a dream. It’s a surprise because I initially thought I would turn pro next season, but this is such a good opportunity that when the team made the proposal, I took it with both hands. It’s exciting, it’s incredible, and I can’t wait to start racing with the WorldTour riders,” Juan said.

“This season has been really good for me. I started the year with the main idea of learning more about cycling in Europe, but with each race I’ve seen steady improvement thanks to good training, excellent preparation, and the team's help. The progress has been a surprise, but I’ve adapted well, and I’ve had lots of favorite moments this season. I think the biggest highlight was the Alpes Isère Tour, where I was fourth on GC,” he added.

The chance to race the Vuelta a España is a huge milestone in Juan’s career. The complete roster will be confirmed in the coming days, but Juan has already talked with the team about his role and objectives for the final Grand Tour of the season.

“This week I received the confirmation from the team that I would be heading to the Vuelta. That came as a surprise, and it feels like a dream too because it’s such an amazing opportunity. I’m really grateful for the opportunity, and I can’t wait to start racing on such a big stage. I’ll go there looking to gain experience, learn from my teammates, and of course give everything for the cause, whether that’s riding as a domestique or even taking opportunities as they come. I love how this team races, and you could see what we achieved at the Tour de France this summer with our aggressive style. I can’t wait to be part of that,” Juan said.

Head of Scouting Sebastian Langeveld was central to both the decision to bring Juan to the team at the start of 2026 and to promoting the rider to the WorldTour at the right moment in his career.

“When Juan joined the team, we had a good idea of what he was capable of as a rider, and our goal was for him to start racing in the U23 category to gain experience. He’s only been racing for three years, so we wanted to see how he adapted to racing with us before we considered the next step in his volume. That’s a really important aspect that we consider with our young riders - making sure that they take the right steps at the right time when it comes to their development. We gave him a race program that included races such as the Alpes Isère Tour, and he was able to target the GC there, and that’s another important aspect. If he had gone straight to WorldTour, he could have lost that feeling of trying to win bike races,” Sebastian said.

“Together with Jonathan Vaughters, we looked at the calendar this summer, and we saw that all the races he’d done had gone really well, maybe better than we initially expected, so it was quite a logical decision to move him up now ahead of the 2027 season. This means he can do the Vuelta this year, which will be the next step in his development. He’s had a really nice break leading into the race; he’s been at altitude for a long time, and he’s going to the Vuelta to really explore the role of a domestique within the race and to learn from the more experienced riders, who I’m sure will take him under their wing. I see a lot of benefits in racing the Vuelta. There will be times in the race when he could be ready to target climbing breakaway days, and he’s already handling the volume of training really well, so we'll see how the coming weeks go,” Sebastian added.

Congratulations on the move to the WorldTour, Juan. We can’t wait to see you racing in our colors for the rest of this season and beyond.