Training time in the big leagues

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Podium (L-R): Adam Blythe (Davo Lotto), Denis Flahaut (Landbouwkrediet Colnago) and Joeri Clauwaert (Yawadoo). Photo ©: Tom De Meyer/www.TomDeMeyer.be

Competition for places on professional teams has always been fierce, especially for young riders entering the paid ranks. The combination of talent, confidence and most importantly, luck, is required for a professional team to come knocking at the door of a young amateur.

It's traditional European practice to take young riders from regional amateur teams and offer them a set period to prove themselves within the professional environment. Semi-professional and amateur teams acting as 'feeders' for bigger squads has become de rigueur for ProTour outfits in recent times: French, Italian and Belgian professional squads source a good deal of their young talent from this type of arrangement and this is reflected in the trainee list for 2009.

The Four Days of Dunkirk, Tour de l'Avenir, Thüringen Rundfahrt and Girobio ('Baby Giro') are four higher-profile European events that have traditionally served as viewing opportunities for team managers who wish to take a look at a potential recruit. The advent of national teams riding these races means better opportunities for young riders intent on securing their passage through the professional ranks.

With the track a breeding ground for many of the sport's highest-profile names - Bradley Wiggins, Brad McGee and Mark Cavendish, for example - many professional team managers will be aware of those riding well on the boards before they make a mark on the road. Based on the athlete's physical characteristics and performance parameters, decisions will be made whether to monitor a particular young rider with a certain timeframe in mind.

In the case of a rider such as Australia's Leigh Howard, strong performances on the track which are then reflected in his results on the road make teams such as Columbia-HTC take notice. Howard won a track world championship gold medal in Poland earlier this year before riding well for the Australian Institute of Sport team in the Tour of Japan and Thüringen Rundfahrt, where he took stage wins and spent time in the points classification lead.

British talent Adam Blythe rode for development team Davo-Lotto-Davitamon in the same race, winning the final stage. He will ride as a trainee for Belgian squad Silence-Lotto for the remainder of this year, while in early July Howard signed to Bob Stapleton's team for two years, joining the likes of Mark Cavendish, Michael Rogers and George Hincapie on the high profile outfit which won six stages at this year's Tour de France. To indulge in a little football parlance, he'll bypass the 'reserve team' phase and head straight to the 'first team'.

1. In the case of an elite rider, he shall not previously have belonged to any TT/I, TT/II, UCI ProTeam or professional continental team;
2. The UCI ProTeam must notify the UCI of these riders' identity before 1 August;
3. The UCI ProTeam shall obtain the authorisation of the national federation of the rider and if applicable, the authorisation of the national federation of the continental team in which he is registered;
4. These riders may only participate in races of the UCI continental circuits;
5. The riders in question may continue to take part in events in their club team or, if appropriate, in their UCI continental team.

1. The rider may not previously have ridden for a UCI road team;
2. The UCI continental or women's team must notify the UCI of the identity of the riders before 1 August;
3. Such riders shall obtain the authorisation of their national federations and may be associated with only one UCI team during this period;
4. Upon authorisation of his new team, a trainee rider may continue to participate in events of his/her club team.