Vaughters grateful to extend Healy: "He had better financial offers"
EF Education-EasyPost recently announced that Ben Healy's contract has been extended until the end of 2029. Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of the American team, expressed his satisfaction with this new agreement in an interview with Domestique. The Irishman had multiple lucrative offers on the table.
“To be honest, we got lucky that Ben Healy decided to stay because, financially, he had better offers than ours," said Vaughters. "He made a loyal and emotional decision instead of a purely financial one, which is very unusual in cycling these days. But it doesn’t happen every time. In fact, it hardly ever happens.”
UAE's Firepower
Vaughters points out that it is difficult for teams with smaller budgets to attract and retain top talent. “It’s one thing to find a super talent at 16 or 17 years old, because if you find him, you can bet that Matxin has found him too," he refers to José Antonio 'Matxin' Fernández, sporting director and talent scout at UAE Emirates XRG.
"You may be the first on the market to identify a talent, but convincing that person to actually choose your team is another matter entirely," said the American, emphasizing that you also need the financial means to secure top talent.
Isaac Del Toro
Vaughters cites Isaac Del Toro as an example. "I fought so hard to get that guy. We were very, very, very early on it. We scouted him properly and he was going to get the biggest neo-pro contract I have ever given anyone in the history of this team. But in the end, I think our offer was less than half of what UAE offered. So yes, of course, he went to UAE. That just makes sense.”
Del Toro won the Tour de l'Avenir in 2023 at the age of 19. That same year, he signed a three-year contract with UAE Emirates, from 2024 through 2026. This contract has now been extended to 2029 and discussions are reportedly underway for an even longer deal.
