Darren Rafferty in the new EF Education-EasyPost kit of the Giro d'Italia, which gets underway in Bulgaria on Friday
Darren Rafferty is set for the third Grand Tour of his career as he goes into the Giro d'Italia with EF Education-EasyPost, making for a Grand Tour each season so far in the World Tour, despite the fact he is still just 22.
The team will go into the race without its talismanic leader, and former race winner, Richard Carapaz after he had to have a procedure to remove a cyst, the latest chapter of EF's injury-hit 2026 campaign.
Not only has Carapaz been ruled out of action, but a TT recon ride crash for Ben Healy at Itzulia Basque Country (2.UWT) in early April has ruled him out of action since that race ended, though he hopes to be back very soon.
Furthermore, Australian rider Harry Sweney, who has been a really significant rider for Healy in recent years recently underwent surgery for an inflamed plica in his left knee while Neilson Powless is also out with a knee injury.
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However, with Carapaz out of the Giro. EF Education-EasyPost will instead go into the race with stage wins as its most obvious prospect and that may give Rafferty more leeway to go on the attack and target a result for himself.
He has already ridden very strongly, in support of Carapaz in two Grand Tours - last year's Giro and the 2024 Vuelta. And even on debut in Spain as a 21-year-old neo pro two years ago he showed his potential.
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Rafferty went up the road, on stages 9 and 16, and at last year's Giro he was on the attack two; stages 16 and 19. He will look to do the same this year, especially in the absence of a very obvious general classification contender to be protected.
He said in recent weeks - after going on the attack at Tour of the Alps - he had his eye on the Giro for some time, adding his form was coming good.
Earlier in the season, when riding Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta (2.Pro) in February, Rafferty confirmed he was on the longlist for the Giro. And though nothing was guaranteed at that stage, his inclusion in the team for the race comes as no surprise.
The EF Education-EasyPost line-up for the Giro includes: Samuele Battistella, Markel Beloki, Alexander Cepeda, Madis Mihkels, James Shaw, Michael Valgren and Jardi van der Lee.
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