The 10 biggest breakthrough riders of 2023

Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Charlotte Kool (DSM-Firmenich) are two of our breakthrough riders of the 2023 season
Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Charlotte Kool (DSM-Firmenich) are two of our breakthrough riders of the 2023 season (Image credit: Getty Images)

While the cycling season is packed with big wins and stirring performances by the established superstars of the peloton – think Demi Vollering, Mathieu van der Poel, Lotte Kopecky, Tadej Pogačar and so on – they all had to start somewhere.

Once upon a time, in some cases not too long ago, these big names were finding their way in the cycling world, showing their promise here and there and scoring key wins that signposted their potential.

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James Moultrie
News Writer

James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.