Young Swiss star Anja Grossmann now has a pair of bronze medals from her two appearances in women's junior road races at the UCI Road World Championships. She was "happy, and also disappointed" at her performances in Montreal, coming away with fourth in the time trial and then crossing the line third in a sprint from a five-rider group in the road race late Friday afternoon.

Grossmann turns 19 next year and can soon put away any distaste of "hectic" junior racing as she moves to bigger objectives, namely a two-year road contract to race for FDJ United-Suez and also compete in cyclo-cross with their new Specialized TMRW UCI-registered squad.

Even during her post-race press conference on Friday, Grossmann was already thinking about her future teammates, Demi Vollering (Netherlands) and Kate Courtney (USA), both racing for their respective countries on Saturday in the elite women's road race at Montreal Worlds.

"I'm split in two because I'm Swiss," she said about rooting for compatriot Marlen Reusser, who won a second time trial title last Sunday, or pulling for FDJ trade team riders.

"I will cheer for the Swiss for sure because I know how strong they are and how nice they are. I will also cheer for Demi and for everyone from FDJ because Demi is my biggest idol. And also Kate Courtney is one of my biggest idols. It's a dream come true to ride next year for them."

In the last two years, Grossmann proved her road versatility by sweeping national titles in the time trial and road race. She also finished on the podium at two stages of Valromey Tour Féminin U19 and fourth at the junior In Flanders Fields [previously Gent-Wevelgem].

"FDJ, it's the best team for me to choose because they really also support me now, and they just give me the space to develop my best self, and they don't put any pressure on me," she said. "They also support that I love three disciplines, and that's pretty nice for me. I think that's the best thing that could happen to me, and I'm pretty grateful for that opportunity."

In addition to excelling on the road, Grossmann competes in cyclo-cross and mountain biking. She's a junior World Champion on the mountain bike, also winning the European Championships in both 2025 and 2026. The cyclo-cross season is just around the corner, where the former European junior champion can build her talents with a small but mighty squad, the new Specialized TMRW squad.

The CX team will also feature three-time CX World Champion Célia Gery, fellow French rider Jade Wiel and now Fem van Empel, who recently confirmed a restart to her cycling with the FDJ programme after 10 months away from cycling.

"With Fem, as with Anja Grossmann and Kate Courtney, we are also reinforcing our ambition to build a truly multi-disciplinary project, capable of welcoming great champions with their own backgrounds, personalities and ambitions," FDJ General Manager Stephen Delcourt said in a recent statement.

While Grossmann came short of a gold medal a second time at these championships, she said she learned a great deal about perseverance, and sounded much more mature than her 18 years.

"Junior racing is always a little bit more hectic and a little bit more without a clear tactic. I thought [the breakaway of] three was really strong. But maybe we should have worked a little bit more together," she said about getting away on the final two laps with a decisive front trio, who were later caught by two other riders with 2km to go.

"I wanted to work together, but it was not my decision; I cannot change other girls' minds. It is how it is. I think I learned from last year to don't get so nervous when other girls don't want to work together because I think my four laps or three laps today [Friday], the first ones, were pretty good.

"It's again a third place, but yeah, I learned [a lot], and I also will [try] to enjoy this one. Also after a week, I try to analyse that with my coach and try to get better and stronger, because you can always learn something from every race."

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Alejandra Neira gave Spain their third gold medal of the UCI Road World Championships, winning the junior women's road race in a hotly-contested five-rider sprint in Montreal.

Neira patiently waited until the final 150 metres to put in a massive turn of speed, leaving Matilde Rossignoli (Italy) in her wake to take silver, while Anja Grossmann (Switzerland) claimed third.

After the dual titles from Benjamín Noval in the junior men's time trial and road race, Neira's gold medal represents the future of Spanish cycling.

"I can't believe it. It's the best day of my life," Neira said. "I can't believe that I'm the World Champion. It's incredible."

Last year, it was Neira's teammate Paula Ostiz who won the title. Now it's her turn.

"Paula is a big, big friend, also teammate, and to be the World Champion after her, wow, incredible."

Neira was part of a three-rider escape along with Grossmann and Rossignoli, but the pair were caught in the final three kilometres by Maria Okrucińska (Poland) and Mirthe Mons (Netherlands), which shook her confidence a bit.

"When the other riders arrived, I lost a little bit my confidence, because Maria is a really good sprinter. But I tried to keep on her wheel, and then when I saw that I have to pass, I went."

Grossmann finished fourth in the junior women's time trial, so found redemption with a bronze medal, though she said the final 26km were a challenge after a missed water bottle.

"I think the the last two laps were pretty intense and pretty tough because the Spanish girl attacked at the feed zone and I didn't catch my bottle there, so I rode like two laps without my bottle," she said at the post-race press conference.

"That was hard because I got pretty bad cramps. But I think I worked really on my mental strength, and that just kept going. I'm not the best sprinter, but I just try to to sprint as best as I can."

Second half challenges and re-positioning

This year's route for the junior women measured 5.6km longer than the Kigali route and included a little more climbing, a total of 1,614 metres of elevation gain. Canada, Great Britain and Spain came with five riders each, giving them an edge with numbers.

It was not until the second lap that the complexion of the peloton began to change, with riders falling off the back rather than anyone accelerating away. Spain, Australia and Poland were represented at the front.

With just under 45km to go, French rider Sidonie Vachet put a spark in the proceedings with an attack at the front of a fractured peloton. She opened a slight 16-second gap on the uphill to start a fourth circuit, marking the halfway point of the 80.4km race.

Behind, Scout Wellmeier (USA) rode at the front with Lluna Jimenez (Spain), Eva Drhova (Czechia), the Australian duo Chloe Bowen and Neve Parslow, and Polish duo Maria Okrucińska and Amelia Szymańska, and another 31 riders packed into the peloton.

Bright sunshine helped the temperatures rise as high as 24°C (76°F), the warmest afternoon of the championships so far, and riders took on plenty of liquids at the feed zone along the climb. Across the summit of the Camillien-Houde, Vachet relented to the pace behind and the race reset.

Once across the Polytechnique climb and on the twisting city-centre streets of Montréal, Great Britain riders could be seen gathering at the front. But it was an acceleration from Colombia's Zara Sofia Lamprea that came on the approach to the Parc Avenue climb.

Lamprea carried a 10-second advantage, with Wellmeier trailing in solo second. The reduced peloton of 35 riders began the chase with two laps remaining at 20 seconds.

There was a crash at the front of the race under a heavy canopy of trees, with Lamprea and Wellmeier going down. Both were back riding quickly, but as they made the penultimate ascent of Camillien-Houde, the chase began closing down their effort.

A group of 10 crested the summit, and Lamprea just a few seconds behind and Wellmeier farther back, now chasers. France, Spain and Germany each had two riders, with one rider each from the USA, Netherlands, Great Britain and Switzerland. Then on the back side of Mont Royal, more riders tagged along for a bigger group.

Riders upped the pace to position at the front, passing crowds at the Polytechnique Montréal centre for science and technology, with a series of twisting turns on the descent causing riders to go wide on the course.

With 18.5km to go, Nabyenka García (Mexico) was the next rider to put in an extra effort, gapping the field by 15 seconds quickly on a flatter section. The Mexican rider looked back several times, and finally kept on the accelerator to go alone.

The bell lap rang with long shadows forming in the late Canadian afternoon, García still out front but only by 14 seconds. The curse of race leaders continued as she stopped for a mechanical, looking to reposition her chain, and was forced back in the peloton.

Wellmeier, Vachet, Parslow, Orucińska and Lidia Castro (Spain) were setting the pace at the bottom of the final ascent. Mirthe Mons (Netherlands) pushed the pace at the front, which seemed to spur others to give it a go. Soon a trio were at the front - Anja Grossmann (Switzerland), Alejandra Neira (Spain) and Matilde Rossignoli (Italy) - and with 10km to go had 20 seconds on Okrucińska and Mons.

With 4km to go, the trio weren't showing signs of working togehter, which allowed Mons and Okrucińska, the new world time trial champion, to edge closer in the chase.

"Maybe we should have worked a little bit more together, so the other two wouldn't came back. But that's junior racing because junior racing is always a little bit more hectic and a little bit more without a clear tactic. I wanted to work together, but it was not my decision," Grossmann said later.

With 2km to go, there were five to fight for three medals.

Mons struck first on the final climb. Then mountain bike world champion Grossman passed, then Rossignoli, but it was Neira who went wide on the right side and took the victory.

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Results

Plans don't always work, and on Thursday the plan for a solo charge to a gold medal in the women's under-23 road race at the Road World Championships in Montréal turned into silver for home favourite Isabella Holmgren.

"Of course, I'm disappointed to not win for Canada, but there are so many positives from today. So I can't be too upset," Isabella Holmgren told media in the post-race press conference.

"I think if I had the legs, then I would have been alone. In the end, it came down to a sprint, which isn't ideal for me. But I did everything I could on the day."

The plan did not include a sprint finish. One of Isabella Holmgren's four teammates, Kiara Lylyk, said after the race that they agreed the night before for each rider to take turns on early and late laps to move their leader safely around the 13.4km circuit. Isabella Holmgren was then prepped for a solo attack on the penultimate circuit.

With three laps to go, Team Canada had three riders in the front group of around 20 riders: Isabella Holmgren, Ava Holmgren and Sidney Swierenga. Viktória Chladoňová (Slovakia) moved close to the front and reacted with Isabella Holmgren when Fleur Moors (Belgium) accelerated with 31km remaining.

"Yeah, Viki went, so I knew I needed to be there, and I had to follow her. And then with one lap to go, we knew that we had to try to lose Fleur on the first climb because you don't want to sprint Fleur, you probably won't win," the silver medallist recalled, laughing lightly.

"I gave everything on that first climb on the last lap, and it wasn't enough to be solo. And then I tried again on the last climb, but once again, Viki was able to follow.

"I just had to give everything I could [in the final uphill of 600 metres], because you can see the line. So really, you just have to empty the tank until you get there. I knew maybe I don't have the upper hand in a sprint, but I still had to try because yeah, you never know."

Before the trio escaped, Isabella said she communicated with all her teammates, as there were no race radios. But they knew each rider had a job.

"I think Alex and Kira did a really good job at keeping us closer to the front and making sure no attacks were going. And then Ava asked me if she could do anything later on in the race, and I told her it had to be a bit harder, so she did a really, really strong climb. I was happy that the race was getting harder because I think that's more suited to me."

That was with four and three laps to go, and then she found herself launching into a three-rider break one lap earlier than she wanted to go. Then it came down to the pair of highly-motivated racers who wanted the rainbows, the Slovakian who was second in the U23 road race last year in Kigali and the Canadian on home roads who was sixth last year.

"In the end, I wasn't the strongest today, but I'm really proud of Viki. She's such a nice competitor, so she really deserved it," Isabella said.

"For sure, I wanted to win in front of a home crowd and finish the work that all of my teammates did to help me today. But yeah, it's easy to be disappointed. But I think I just need to be really happy with how the race went and how we raced as a team.

"There were so many people cheering for us on the side of the road. It is so special just hearing my name. I could hear my friends and family cheering, but there were also just so many people that I didn't know supporting me and supporting Team Canada.

"It's definitely super special to race at home. I've never had a big international race like this in Canada. So, it was just such an amazing day. I'm just so grateful for the crowd."

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Two-time US junior road champion Enzo Hincapie got his first in-person scrutiny of the leg-burning, uphill finish that features in two days for the men's junior road race at the Road World Championships in Montreal.

On Tuesday, he only had to climb it once to conclude the 20.3km junior time trial, but the final 600 metres left no space for him to claw back time for a medal.

His debut at a time trial event at a World Championships was a learning experience, he said, and he'll recalibrate his brain and his legs for a major climbing day on Thursday, where the 134km road race brings 2,690 metres of elevation gain. He'll have to address the long, 4% gradient of Avenue du Parc 10 times on Thursday, but he didn't want to think about it now.

"[Today was] a pretty long 26 minutes, probably the longest 600 metres of my life from that [final] corner to the finish. So I'm glad that's over," the 18-year-old rider from South Carolina told Cyclingnews and Cycling Weekly after his finish, still trying to physically and mentally assess his ride.

"I really try not to look up [at the uphill finish]. I just wanted to not see how far it was, and just see how hard I could go to the finish and not think about where it really was."

Once stopping the clock at the top of Avenue de Parc, Hincapie was not near a medal that he had hoped to earn. Benjamín Noval Suárez of Spain won the rainbow jersey in a time of 25:17, disposing of race favourite Vic De Smet (Belgium) by six seconds. Hincapie finished 12th, 55 seconds off the pace, with US teammate Kashus Adamski less than one second back in 13th.

"Definitely, the first part felt a bit more sneaky than I thought. To be honest, you don't really feel the effort because you have the race adrenaline, and then you get to kind of coast for a bit in the corners. So maybe I went a bit hard there, and it kind of caught up to me towards the end. But yeah, you live, and you learn.

"I obviously wanted to fight for a medal in the time trial, but the legs weren't there at all today. I'm not really gonna let that bring me down. Just have one more race to go, and that's my main target," he confirmed.

Hincapie raced in Kigali's junior road race in 2025, but was outside the top 50 at that race. This time, with little travel and terrain similar to his home in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the US champion has higher expectations.

Across his first season with the German-based Grenke-Auto Eder, a development team for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Hincapie has excelled in long, one-day races. He was second at Gran Premi Les Franqueses in Spain, which was 138km with hilly circuits, that closely resembles the Worlds course. He also took top-10s at Paris-Roubaix and E3 Saxo junior races.

At this Road World Championships, the shortest turnaround among the 13 races is the two men's junior events, with just two days between the time trial and the road race. Even though Enzo Hincapie hasn't raced the famous Mont Royal circuit, he's seen it on television many times while watching the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, a race where his father, George Hincapie, competed in the first two editions, 2010 and 2011.

"We always watch it, you know, with my family every year. My dad did that race a few times back in his career, so he's told me some stuff about it. I'm looking forward to it.

"It's all about being in the right position and hitting the climbs in a good spot. I don't think you should really be sleeping at all at any point in that race," he noted about the road circuit approaching.

"I mean, it's going to be a long race, a lot of times of the climb. So you just got to keep fighting."

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After placing a target on Montreal a year ago for the men's under-23 time trial at the Road World Championships, Ben Wiggins of Great Britain did not win as planned. Nor did he finish with a medal of any colour. He even missed the top 10 by one spot.

So what happened on Monday afternoon in the race he had so coveted to conquer? The reigning British U23 time trial national champion shook his head in the mixed zone and just repeated several times, "To be honest, I have no idea".

"I literally just finished five minutes ago. So I don't know what's happened. I don't. I don't know. I'm a bit lost for words right now."

In September 2025, organisers in Montreal revealed the courses for time trials and road races for 2026 Worlds. Wiggins said as soon as he saw the ITT, he marked that as his race to win.

"I came here to win. When the course got released a year ago, at last year's Worlds, I said I wanted to come here and go for gold, or at the very least a medal. I don't really know what to say on that," he said in a bit of a daze.

The 21-year-old stopped the clock in 38:33, which was a little more than one minute behind winner Ryan Gal (Netherlands). It was a relatively flat course bookended with technical corners at the start and finish, followed by a stiff 600-metre climb to complete the 31.3 kilometres. While he worked his way from a 17th best time to 11th best between the three checkpoints, there was no magic left in his numbers or output at the finish.

"Through all the checkpoints and the finish there, I'm very surprised, especially with the performance I put in. I think I've done some of my best numbers ever. Like whether they're true or not, I don't know," he said, looking down at his GPS bike computer.

"I felt really, really good. That's why I don't have much to say right now because I think, just looking at the screen here, I've averaged 440 watts. So typically, I really would think that would put me up there. I don't know if there was a change in conditions. It isn't me making excuses, I'm just putting it out there. I don't know."

For the record, it was a cool 15°C for the afternoon, with light winds and a mix of sun and clouds, but few later starters posted fast times. Even the race favourite in bib number one, Matisse van Kerchkhove (Belgium), could not close the door and he finished 13 seconds behind Wiggins in 12th. The balance of the podium did come from the final three, Nicolas Milesi (Italy) in second and Héctor Álvarez (Spain) in third.

"One thing I would say is that on the flat sections, I just felt like I was maybe a K an hour or two just off where I'd want to be, kind of across the whole course really. So I don't know why that is.

"Look, this is a discipline I'm really passionate about, and I'm never going to put it away. As I say, back to the drawing board, and we will go again soon. I really feel that this is my discipline and where I'm going to shine one day.

"I got the road race on Friday, so I want to do a good job for the boys there. I've got the European time trial as well in a couple of weeks to end the season. So will look at what I could do better here, and I guess next year as well."

Wiggins has ridden for Continental-level Jayco Hagens Berman for the last three years, with news forthcoming about a new squad for next season.

At the U23 road race on Friday, at 174.2km, Wiggins will be joined by Jacob Bush, Matthew Dodd, Elliot Rowe and Will Smith.

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Disaster struck for one of the outside favourites in the UCI Road World Championships under-23 men's time trial in Montreal on Monday as Australia's Cameron Rogers suffered a serious mechanical and had to ride most of the 31.3-kilometre route in a huge gear.

"It was just unfortunate with the gearing and the mechanical problem," a devastated Rogers said. "The chain fell off the front chainring not even 10 kilometres in. I was on a really good run. I felt super super fast and had really good legs today - it's just unfortunate."

At first, the Australian mechanic was quickly there with a spare road bike and tried to help get the chain back on, but as soon as Rogers tried to get going, he realised he was in a massive gear and couldn't shift.

His temper flared as he realised he had two options: get on the road bike and lose massive amounts of time to his competitors, or wait to see if the mechanic could fix it - still losing time.

Three times he tried to fix the problem, finding that it was in 'crash mode' - where the rear derailleur locks out after a hard impact - but each time he got back on to pedal, he couldn't get out of that massive gear.

His frustration was palpable as he let out a crescendo of curses in anger, then fell into despair, and finally into acceptance as he knew his chances were over.

"The derailleur was bent almost in half. I had to bend it back myself. I don't know how long I was sitting on the road," Rogers said. "I was like three minutes, stationary, not moving. And then yeah, I was stuck in the biggest gear for the entire race with nothing I could do.

"I tried to even reach behind the bike myself and take it out of crash mode, but it didn't work. So decided to switch the road bike for the final climbs because it's faster than a bike that's stuck in a 66-tooth chainring."

Finally ending his misery after crossing the line, Rogers admitted that he nearly gave up. But he soldiered on, finishing 39th, 3:24 behind winner Ryan Gal (Netherlands).

"I wanted to get in the car, to be honest. I saw them getting the road bike off [the car], and there's just no point in riding one of these," he said, gesturing to the offending road bike beside him, "to the finish. There was a lot leading up to today.

"To be honest, I thought I could win this race, just in myself. I had no one to prove it to but myself, and yeah, now I have to prove it in the next race, in the next opportunity. Whenever that comes."

Unfortunately for Rogers, nephew of ex-pro and three-time elite time trial world champion Michael Rogers, his birthday is on December 16, when he will turn 22, meaning he is not eligible for the under-23s next year. But with enough talent to win the under-23 Gent-Wevelgem while racing for Netcompany Ineos' development team this year, he undoubtedly has a bright future in the sport.

Rogers will line up with his Australian compatriots, Conor Leahy, Michael Matthews, Georgia Baker, Mackenzie Coupland and newly crowned U23 women time trial champion Felicity Wilson-Haffenden for the Team Time Trial Mixed Relay early on Tuesday morning.

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Close to the top of the Peñas Blancas climb, Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious) tried to go clear from the GC group on Friday's stage at the Vuelta a España. Even if it failed to work out and he ended up losing six seconds on the other overall contenders, that slight gap at the finish line didn't seem to matter to him too much. And that's maybe only logical.

"It's my first Grand Tour, and I'm really enjoying it," Omrzel told Eurosport as he donned a jacket at the Peñas Blancas summit and a soigneur gave him a whistle to warn spectators during the long descent back to the team bus. "I'm like a kid in the peloton. It's perfect."

Omrzel's relaxed attitude is likely considerably helped by his spectacular mountaintop stage win at Calar Alto during the Vuelta's second week, considerably exceeding everybody's expectations.

So while the 20-year-old is still impressing by being just 7:06 behind race leader Enric Mas (Movistar) on GC, and running sixth, in his ongoing duel with Oscar Onley (Netcompany Ineos) for the Best Young Rider's lead, there's no sense that he feels like he is racing under pressure.

"I was just enjoying this, it was this fast climb and I was feeling good," Omrzel, just 1:03 behind Onley, explained to Eurosport.

"Yesterday [in Thursday's time trial] I went deep but only to a certain point and that was it, Then today on the climb, when the guys stopped a bit, I tried my luck."

Omrzel's assured actions with riders with considerably more experience means that he is, in theory, finding himself racing in scenarios where he could pay a high price for his lack of knowledge. But for now, he seems to be testing the limits of his current strengths without any sense of anything to lose.

"I don't know, it is my first Grand Tour," he reminded his interviewer when asked how he'd seen the GC battle. "There was quite a bit of chaos, nobody knows who's controlling what, Movistar were there with the red jersey, then Red Bull and Decathlon. A lot of teams were trying to control the race."

As for his own battle with Onley, there's only one more day in the mountains to go, and as Omrzel said, he will try for a last-minute assault on the white jersey again if the opportunity arises.

To judge by his upbeat answer, rather than automatically riding conservative, going for broke is certainly something he's not ruling out.

"For sure, of course, if there's a chance like today," Omrzel answered when asked if he would attack again on Saturday's mammoth stage through Granada.

"Otherwise I'll just defend my position. But with my legs and my performance, I think something is possible."

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Any Slovenian prospect who emerges as a top climber will naturally be compared to the two modern greats still operating in the peloton, five-time Grand Tour winner Primož Roglič and five-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar, but for Jakob Omrzel, who announced himself with a victory at the Vuelta a España on Thursday, he's more interested in forging his own path.

In quite stunning fashion and with the help of Bahrain Victorious teammates Pello Bilbao and Santiago Buitrago, Omrzel stormed to his maiden Grand Tour win on debut in Calar Alto, conquering the summit finish and breaking Pogačar's benchmark to become the youngest Slovenian GT stage winner in history.

In reality, anyone following the under-23 ranks would have known Omrzel's name already, a winner of Paris-Roubaix juniors and the Giro d'Italia Next Gen just last season, but a win at the Vuelta, only his second pro victory after claiming the elite Slovenian road race title in 2025, propels him into new ground.

Not only this, but his success from the breakaway has jumped him right up into the top six overall at the Vuelta a España, and with more high mountains to come, he could well hold on for a top GC finish at the first attempt.

Omrzel's path to the WorldTour wasn't completely plain sailing, suffering a life-threatening crash at the Giro della Lunigiana in September 2024 before he joined Bahrain Victorious' development team and really found his feet.

Already mixing it with the seniors last year at 19, Omrzel has gone from strength to strength in 2026 as a 20-year-old, and he looks set to be a name to follow closely in the coming years, alongside the likes of Paul Seixas and Lorenzo Finn.

Cyclingnews sat down with him back in the off-season ahead of the Grand Canaria 365 Gran Fondo last year to find out more about how he came to be a top climbing prospect, and why it's important that he forges his own story, instead of one already written by Pogačar – who he trained with that week – and Roglič.

A lot can happen in 10 months though, with his confidence, assuredness, and maturity as a rider shining through on stage 12 of the Vuelta, and back when we spoke, he wasn't even thinking about Grand Tours, let alone winning a stage of one. But the path to this recent success was clear even then, as a talent rapidly on the rise, and from one of the nations we've come to see dominate modern cycling.

Jakob Omrzel Q&A

Cyclingnews: How did you get into cycling in Slovenia when you were younger? Where did that start for you?

Jakob Omrzel: It started in fifth grade for me because my brother was cycling at the time, and for me I was always looking at my brother and wanting to do things that he was doing at the time. So yeah, sure, he dragged me into cycling, and the story continues from that on.

CN: And was that only on the road straight away, or did you try other disciplines like mountain biking?

JO: No, no, no, road. It was always road because in Slovenia it's more like road. I mean, it was developed more for road, but now OK, MTB is also getting bigger. But still, it was for sure always the love for road for me.

CN: You're one of the rising young stars of the peloton and would have grown up watching Primož Roglič and Tadej Pogačar; were these guys your icons already growing up?

JO: Yeah, of course. I mean, it's really nice because not long ago, like three, four years, I was just like looking at them and, really, these guys are incredible, and now I'm finding myself in this position that I can be with them, train with them and race with them; it's just incredible. For sure, the dream's coming true.

CN: With Tadej, you've spent some time training and riding with him. What's that been like for you? Maybe strange, but also exciting?

JO: Exactly this. It's really strange because you're with the best guy in the world that you always watch on TV. But in the end, OK, now here we are, and for sure we also need to be competitive – maybe not on that level. It's just incredible to be with these guys and to learn from them.

CN: How would you describe yourself as a rider?

JO: I would say I'm more of an endurance guy. If the race is longer, for me, it's better. Also, on the bike, sometimes I can get nervous, but I think this is totally normal because of adrenaline and everything. I would say otherwise I'm a pretty calm guy, but yeah, sometimes it's stressful.

CN: I think you've made a point of saying you're not trying to be the next Tadej or the next Primož; you want to be yourself. Why was that important for you as a GC prospect to just be you?

JO: Because you get all this pressure from the media or from other people who are saying, 'Oh, you're a new Pogačar, you're a new Roglič,' and for me, I mean, I don't like this because I am what I am, and I don't know what I'm going to do.

I'm still young. I'm 19 [now 20]. Everything can change, but it's all OK if you are going in the right direction and if you have the people around you who are supporting you and are just leading you in the right way. I think that I want to write my own story. So we'll see how Jakob's story will end. But for sure, I just want to be myself. I will build this up for myself, and that's it.

CN: How did you know you were ready for the WorldTour after just one year on Bahrain Victorious' development team?

JO: When I started at U23 level, I was always feeling confident, and basically, in my first year, I achieved a lot, and together with the team, we thought 'OK, it's now time to go up a level and try there'. Also, already [in 2025] I was introduced to it, and you have all the benefits of the highest level. cyclist. I think this was just the right step forward, but sure, we'll see.

CN: How have you found the transition into the WorldTour squad?

JO: The change is very big. You can feel it because there are a lot more people that are involved in this than in devo; it's just a different level. I wouldn't say different mentality because we're still the same guys, but everything is more serious. You need to be 100% in everything, but in devo, I was nowhere near it. Now everything is a bit more specific, and we're doing things that are just different, but for me, this is something incredible, something to learn each day.

CN: There's a big Slovenian influence on this team, but also throughout the peloton now. What's the best advice you've had from guys like Matej Mohorič or even Tadej Pogačar on a different team?

JO: For sure, that I'm young, and I still need to be calm and just work, work, and work my way up. Sometimes be quieter and just listen to other people and learn, learn, learn, and eventually, for sure, if you learn enough, you'll get the result you want. Just this: be smart.

CN: Do you feel that there is pressure for you to win immediately in the WorldTour as one of these top talents, or has the team allowed room for you to be patient?

JO: I can feel that in my team there was no pressure because it was not planned that I would go in the WorldTour [this year]. It was just a natural process that I went up; no one was really pushing me.

I put pressure on myself for results because I could see that I have the potential to win, and that's it. But also now for WorldTour, it's nothing like 'you need to win'. We will develop, and we'll try as much as we can, but without harming my body and just go with the flow.

CN: There's loads to pick from, but what's the one race you dream of winning?

JO: For sure, the Tour de France; that is the dream.

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Visma-Lease a Bike have announced the signing of Unbound Gravel 100 winner Kylee Hanel on a stagiaire contract for two upcoming races in Brittany.

The 20-year-old American won both the elite and under-23 categories in Emporia, Kansas, back in May, beating Samantha Johnson by 2:31 in the 100-mile race.

Hanel has experience racing in Europe, having raced several Belgian kermesses last year. This year, she won the youth classification at the Tour of Gila Women, closing out the week with a win on the final stage in Pinos Altos. She's also the US under-23 time trial champion and leader of the gravel Life Time under-23 competition.

Hanel, who hails from Oregon, will join Visma-Lease a Bike for this weekend's races, the Tout commence en Finistère and the Pointe du Raz.

"We are always looking for talented riders, and not only within the traditional road cycling world. Kylee caught our attention through her impressive performances," said Visma-Lease a Bike manager Rutger Tijssen.

"She has shown that she has a lot of potential, and we are curious to see how she can translate those qualities to the road. We see this as a great opportunity for her to gain experience with our team and for us to get to know her better as a rider."

Hanel has been racing with the US club team Aegis x Leaders of Enchantment as the youngest rider in the team, which also includes Lauren Stephens, winner of the Redlands Bicycle Classic and Tour of the Gila Women.

Back in August, Hanel said that she's learned a lot from racing alongside Stephens, who has been racing in the pro peloton in the US and Europe for well over a decade.

"I have learned so much from her. I've not only learned positioning, bike handling skills, and teamwork from her, but the most important thing I learned from her is humility," she said.

"She knows it's a blessing to be racing and is appreciative of the fact that she gets to go out and race. She doesn't look at the world like it owes her something, which I admire a lot about her."

It remains to be seen how Hanel will fare in her time with Visma-Lease a Bike, and whether the move will be made permanent beyond this stagiaireship. Later this month, she'll represent the USA at the Road World Championships in Canada, taking part in the under-23 time trial and road race for the first time.

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Hello and welcome to the first in a new series for Cyclingnews, our monthly under-23 racing wrap-up!

As the pros get younger and younger and talent spotting gets more and more important for WorldTour teams, under-23 and even junior racing is more important than ever, so we wanted to start giving you a monthly overview of all the main stories, riders and races.

We'll mainly focus on road racing, and mainly the under-23 categories, but we'll throw in some junior races and some off-road stories too – multidisciplinary stars are the future, after all, and the junior ranks are the new under-23 when it comes to talent spotting.

We will include a revolving mix of sections, including obviously all the main results and transfers, but also dedicated sections on riders from Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and around the world, calling on expertise from our Australian and North American Editors.

We'd also love to know what you'd like to see in this round-up. Rider Q&As? Agent insights? More analysis? Let me know in the comments below; I'd love to hear your thoughts.

For now, though, let's get into all the main stories and action from August.

Racing and results

The biggest under-23 race in August was undoubtedly the Tour de l'Avenir, the long-standing race touted as the mini Tour de France and indeed often a very strong indicator of who will do well in the professional Grand Tours. This year's edition was a little bit different, as for the first time the event was raced primarily in trade development teams rather than national squads, which arguably made for a more professionalised dynamic.

Unfortunately, there was no women's race this year, after the organisers scrapped the race for 2026 citing costs and lack of development teams. They say they want to replace it with a women's junior race, but no word on that yet.

So, for the racing we did get: 23-year-old world champion and Giro d'Italia Next Gen winner Lorenzo Finn (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies) went into the race as a huge favourite and duly delivered, winning the TT and the final road stage to secure the GC with a 2:34 gap.

Niels Driesen (Lotto-Groupe Wanty) finished second, with Picnic PostNL Development rider Matteo Vanhuffel third. The other stage winners were Driesen, Keije Solen (Lotto-Groupe Wanty), Davide Stella (UAE Team Emirates Gen Z), Kasper Borremans (Bahrain Victorious Development Team), and a name you probably already know, Aubin Sparfel (Decathlon CMA CGM Development Team).

The most interesting thing about the race was perhaps that it actually wasn't that surprising at all, and I think this comes down to the change to trade teams. With national teams, such a diverse range of riders got a chance to ride l'Avenir, and there were chances for riders to announce themselves there. Now, with the proliferation of development teams and indeed the growing professionalisation of the under-23 level, l'Avenir is less a career-launching race and more a career-confirming one.

Every stage winner this year, and indeed last year, was on a WorldTour development squad, and most already have their spot in the WorldTour secured for 2027. This is no longer the race to spot talent at – if riders are winning here, they've already proved themselves well before the Tour de l'Avenir.

All that said, it is still a really good and important race, and Finn's victory just confirms even more what a talent he is, and that he will be a force to be reckoned with when he steps up to Red Bull's WorldTour programme in January.

Other results:

• Nicolas Milesi (Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy) won the Gran Premio Sportivi di Poggiana - Trofeo Bonin Costruzioni (1.2U)
• Jan Michal Jackowiak (Bahrain Victorious Development Team) won the GP Capodarco Comunita di Capodarco (1.2U)
• Václav Ježek (Kasper crypto4me) won the West Bohemia Tour (2.2U)

Talent radar

Down under digest

The biggest Aussie news of August came in mountain biking, rather than the road, when Connor Wright won the junior XCO race at the Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole. Coming from Australia, a nation with relatively little support for MTB riders, especially compared to the riders he was up against, this was a huge win for Wright and Australia in general.

But make no mistake, this isn't just an off-road story – Wright is a huge road talent, too. After winning the final stage of the Tour of Tasmania, he's been racing in Europe since April, partly for the Australian national squad and partly for a Dutch club team, and he's secured wins in France and Slovakia, plus third overall at the Junioren Rundfahrt.

He's off to Tudor Pro Cycling's under-23 development squad for 2027, so his talent has definitely been spotted, and he should be on your radar, too.

Australian riders had a pretty low-key Tour de l'Avenir – there were no New Zealand starters – with Jack Ward the best performer, 12th twice and 38th overall for Lidl-Trek Future Racing. Nations like Australia and New Zealand are definitely among the more heavily affected by the move to trade teams, which naturally favour more European riders and mean we'll see fewer riders from nations like these in the race. It places much more pressure on these riders to get spots on trade teams, and takes away the chance to race via their national federation, which is unfortunate to see.

The big question going forward regarding New Zealand is whether we're going to see any under-23 or junior riders at the World Championships. Riders often get fairly minimal support from Cycling New Zealand, often having to self-fund at least part of their trip, so participation is sometimes low. Redmond Connolly and Nate Pringle were the only under-23 representatives, men or women, to race in Kigali, with Pringle scoring silver in the TT, so he'll be hopeful of racing in Montreal. Connolly could also be a good shout as he has been racing in the US this summer.

All about the Americas

The best-performing riders from North and South America in Tour de l'Avenir were Mateo Ramírez (UAE Team Emirates Gen Z) in fourth and Henrique Bravo (Soudal Quick-Step Devo) in fifth. For Ramírez, fourth may have felt like a bit of a disappointment given he was second at the Giro Next Gen, and perhaps similar for Bravo as he won the Giro delle Valle d'Aosta and came third at the Giro Next Gen.

However, both results were really big ones, especially for Bravo from a really under-represented cycling nation in Brazil. He's been impressing all season, and will surely be flying the Brazilian flag in the WorldTour peloton soon, though Pinarello-Q36.5 are interested in his signature, too. We interviewed him earlier this year if you want to find out more about him.

Over in North America, the highlight of August was definitely the return of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic, where under-23 riders from teams like Meridian Racing p/b de la Uz, Competitive Edge Racing and Virginia's Blue Ridge-TWENTY28 got to rub shoulders with WorldTour riders. 20-year-old Ella Sabo hugely impressed with third in the women's race, a result which – paired with her solid ride for Team USA at the Tour de Pologne – surely will have put her on some big teams' radars.

Transfers

Here are some of the most notable under-23 transfers you should know about this month:

• Anja Grossmann → FDJ United-Suez – The French team snaps up the newly-crowned junior XCO world champion
• Niels Driesen → Pinarello-Q36.5 – Quite a coup, ProTeam Pinarello have lured Driesen away from the Lotto development team and a spot on a WorldTour team
• Héctor Alvarez → Lidl-Trek (development team graduate)
• Seth Dunwoody → Bahrain Victorious (development team graduate)
• Gavin Sherry → EF Education-EasyPost (development team graduate)

Visit our transfer index for all the latest moves.

Up next

There are a couple of road races coming up on the men's under-23 circuit – the Giro della Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia stage race kicks off on Thursday, and the Flanders Tomorrow Tour on Friday – but the main focus now will be on the Road World Championships and the age category road races and TTs in Montréal.

Because he's still only 19, Lorenzo Finn will be a pretty big favourite to repeat his title in the under-23 men's road race, and possibly the time trial as well, although the race against the clock is likely a lot more open. Fresh off of eighth overall in the Tour de France Femmes, home favourite Isabella Holmgren will be aiming big in the women's under-23 events, and could bring home a big win – or two – for Canada.

We'll have full previews of the contenders for the under-23 and junior races throughout the World Championships, plus news and interviews from our team on the ground, so stick around for more under-23 coverage in September.

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The banner year for 20-year-old Ella Sabo (Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY28) kept on rolling Sunday with a surprising podium finish at the Philadelphia Cycling Classic p/b AmeriGas. She exhibited her maturity and "multi-faceted" racing skills to be part of a chasing group which caught a late breakaway and saved enough in the tank across three hilly circuits of Lemon Hill to sprint for third.

While two Women's WorldTour riders reached the finish line at Ben Franklin Parkway just a bike length sooner - Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM) winning and Alexandra Volstad (EF Education-Oatly) taking second - Sabo secured her best finish at a UCI one-day race. From the bunch sprint, she outpaced compatriot Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) and three other WorldTour riders.

Her Continental team was one of four squads with only four riders at the race, and they had to start minus Marlies Mejías due to sickness. So Sabo had only Olivia Cummins, Sofía Arreola, and Kenna Pfeiffer for support, while other teams brought six riders each.

"Coming into this week, we had to kind of shift gears pretty last minute with Marlies not feeling well, unfortunately, and so a bit of a last-minute change, and so it was a little stressful, I'll be honest, going into the race," Sabo told media, including Cyclingnews, at the finish.

"I mean, it's unreal. I feel like I'm still trying to soak it all in. I'm pinching myself."

The California native came into the restored Philly Classic, which had not been contested for the past 10 years, without personal knowledge of the tricky course which included multiple passes of the 17% gradient of the Manayunk Wall. However, she had weapons based on experience from team staff - Shelley Olds, who was twice on the podium when the race was the Liberty Classic, and Giana Chilcott (nee Roberge), who directed the Saturn team to wins at the race. Also, Arreola most recently raced at the 2016 edition.

"She was like, it'll be a hard race, these girls want it," Sabo said about advice from Arreola. "They've been racing a different style of race that we're used to here in the U.S. We knew it was going to be aggressive, and we knew we were just going to have to be smart with what moves we followed."

Arreola had also told her teammates about the tough climb in the Manayunk neighbourhood, on the far side of the Philadelphia circuit with the tough pitch from the Schuylkill river.

"I had been working in training, doing like two and a half minute efforts, specifically for that climb. So going into it, knowing I had put in the work in preparation to get myself up and over it, and hopefully contest a sprint. It was really cool to [see it] pay off.

"Having a squad of four versus some of these squads of six, it was going to be a challenge. So she [Arreola] made sure that we all soaked it in - just take in the atmosphere that is the Philly Cycling Classic, enjoy the environment.

"That 'Wall', so many people cheering. It was so insane, so cool."

Last year, Sabo won the USPro U23 national championship in the road race and this year she took the stars-and-stripes jersey in the U23 criterium national championship. And just prior to racing in Philadelphia, she came away from her first USA Cycling Elite Track Championships event with three gold medals - two in U23 individual races and one in the elite Women's Team Pursuit.

The stakes were bigger for Sunday's international contest. A podium may have been a surprise to many people, but not to Nicola Cranmer, her team's executive director.

"In Philadelphia, Ella raced with tremendous patience. We only had four riders, and they did everything they could to keep her safe and in position until the final lap. From there, she was able to trust her instincts and race to the finish. She has a powerful sprint, and when the opportunity came, she really stepped up," Cranmer told Cyclingnews.

"Ella joined our team as a junior, and development takes patience. We’ve watched her make steady progress over the past few years, but this season she really came into her own with another level of confidence and maturity.

"Ella will remain with the team next year, and we’re really excited to see what she can do with even more opportunities."

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With an honours list packed with some of the biggest names in cycling's recent history, the Tour de l'Avenir is a perennial marker of future success, and the latest talent to emerge as a potential great is the Italian Lorenzo Finn.

The 19-year-old Italian, who rides for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's 'Rookies' development team, was the heavy favourite heading into the seven-stage race, and duly dominated it.

After taking the yellow jersey with victory in the stage 5 uphill time trial, Finn sealed the overall title in style on Wednesday's final stage, winning alone atop the high-altitude summit finish at Lago Serrù, as the French race crossed the border to his home Italian soil.

"I couldn’t have ended this Tour de l’Avenir better. We really tried to go for the stage win today and we managed to pull it off. I'm super happy," Finn said. "It’s super nice to finish in Italy, there were a lot of people cheering me on on the last climb and the whole day. I’m just really happy to finish this week like this."

Finn already had a lead of more than two minutes on general classification, but finished almost 30 seconds clear of his closest challengers to top the final podium with an advantage of 2:34 over the Belgian Niels Driesen (Lotto-Groupe Wanty).

Driesen, who won the opening stage after a surprise late attack with Finn, was also the runner-up on the final stage, pipping Mateo Ramírez (UAE Team Emirates Gen Z) and Henrique Bravo (Soudal-QuickStep Devo) to the line at Lago Serrù.

Ramírez, who followed Finn's first attack on the final climb, but couldn't stand his second kick, almost rode his way onto the final podium, but Matteo Vanhuffel (Development Team Picnic-PostNL), despite suffering and losing 50 seconds, clung onto third place overall by a mere four seconds.

This was the first year that the Tour de l'Avenir was contested by trade teams, and not solely national squads, which opened up a new dynamic. All seven stages were won by riders representing development squads of WorldTour teams, which is perhaps of little surprise given many of the top WorldTour teams now have development arms and are snapping up talents from an early age.

Finn is the very brightest of them, and his victory is the latest feat in a remarkable 12-month spell that indicates he's more than ready to take the step to the WorldTour next season with the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team of Remco Evenepoel.

The Italian, whose father is British and whose middle name is Mark, won the U23 World Championship road race in Rwanda last September, and went on to dominate the Giro Next Gen – cycling's next most-important youth stage race – before doing the double with l'Avenir.

He follows in the footsteps of Paul Seixas, who won the Tour de l'Avenir last year at the age of 18, and went on to finish fourth at the Tour de France last month. Seixas would not have been allowed to ride l'Avenir under the new rules this year, which dictate that no rider who has already signed a pro contract is able to participate.

There is a broad consensus that Finn would not have been out of place in the pro ranks this season – indeed he has represented the Red Bull WorldTour team on loan, even forming part of a winning squad alongside Evenepoel at the Challenge Mallorca team time trial in January. But Finn preferred to do one final season in the youth ranks, and he has made it one of the best in recent history, with additional victories in the Sibiu Tour and the Italian one-dayers Giro del Belvedere and GP Palio del Recioto.

"This is a super important race. A lot of great riders have won it and I'm happy to pull it off," Finn said.

"It was the big goal of this season along with the baby Giro and we managed to tick it off. It's been a good year for me this year, I've achieved all my goals so far, there a few more to come but it's been a great year."

Recent winners of the Tour de l'Avenir include Isaac del Toro, Egan Bernal, and a certain Tadej Pogačar.

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Of all the nations in cycling, the Netherlands is hardly crying out for a fresh generation of star riders right now, with the Dutch enjoying a golden period at the top of the women's peloton.

Demi Vollering reigns supreme as the world's best Grand Tour rider, while Lorena Wiebes is sweeping all before her in the sprints. Elsewhere, Karlijn Swinkels, Anna van der Breggen, Charlotte Kool, and Mischa Bredewold also rank among the world's best riders.

But the conveyor belt of talent rolls on and riders including Tour de France mountain classification winner Puck Pieterse, SD Worx climber Nienke Vinke, and Visma-Lease a Bike sprinter Nienke Veenhoven look primed to join those already established stars at the top of the sport.

22-year-old Veenhoven is already angling to usurp Wiebes. She's in the midst of her fourth season as a professional and is enjoying her best campaign yet with four wins across the Volta a Catalunya and Baloise Ladies Tour.

She's battled Wiebes at a series of races throughout the season, including at the UAE Tour, the Classics, and, most recently, the Tour of Britain Women. How has it been going head-to-head with the greatest, and trying to overcome her?

"We try to do some different things sometimes to try to find how we can beat her maybe one day. But yeah, until now we didn't find it yet, but I hope in upcoming years we will find it," Veenhoven told Cyclingnews at the recent Tour of Britain Women.

"That's the goal – to reach it and to make it a bit harder for her maybe to win. I think that's the mindset we start the season with and we end the season with. So I think it's a good mindset, and afterwards, we can be realistic if it was good or not."

Veenhoven, who hails from Oostzaan just a half-hour drive from Wiebes' hometown of Mijdrecht, has finished ahead of her once this season, sprinting to third at the Ronde van Brugge as Wiebes finished ninth.

She's achieved great success elsewhere. Veenhoven's top result of spring was second at Scheldeprijs, while she and Marianne Vos also finished one-two on the opening day in Catalunya.

At the Baloise Ladies Tour, she got the better of the far more experienced Kool and Gladys Verhulst-Wild in a trio of sprint stages. She's certainly taken a major step forward in her career progress this season, a position she agreed with.

"The season for me has been good actually this year. I'm making some good developments in my development, so I'm really happy about that," Veenhoven said, before talking about how Vos and her team have helped that development.

"It's really nice to have that kind of experience in the team, and you learn so much from them in and out of the race. So yeah, it's really cool to have that in the team."

Veenhoven may not have got the better of Wiebes yet – a sixth and a fourth were her top results in Britain as she reaches the end of a long season, but her team are clearly putting their trust in her for the upcoming seasons.

The Dutch squad announced on Wednesday that they had signed Maike van der Duin from Canyon-SRAM in a move that strengthens their lead-out train. 24-year-old Van der Duin is a proven fast finisher and a strong Classics rider, and she joins on a two-year deal.

Visma-Lease a Bike manager Rutger Tijssen reaffirmed that notion and stated that Van der Duin can help Veenhoven in the sprints.

"With Nienke, we have one of the biggest sprint talents in the peloton and over the coming years we want to continue building our sprint train around her," he said.

"Maike brings speed, experience and race intelligence, and fits that ambition perfectly. We are convinced that she can be of great value in supporting our sprint project. We see a huge amount of potential in Maike and have every confidence that she will become an important part of our sprint train in the years to come."

Van der Duin is enthusiastic about the idea. Upon signing with the team, she said that she's looking forward to developing as a lead-out rider and working with Veenhoven.

"My ambition mainly lies in the lead-out role. I want to specialise further in that area, gain more experience and, together with Nienke, build a strong sprint train. At the same time, I want to continue developing myself, race more and play an increasingly important role in finals," she said.

With a quick new lead-out rider on board, expert guidance from a rider like Vos, and confidence and wins piling up, Nienke Veenhoven is one to watch.

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Grand Tour debutant Jarno Widar headed into this Vuelta a España as one of the standout young riders to watch, and the Belgian is already impressing just four days in.

The 20-year-old from Hasselt only turned pro with Lotto-Intermarché this year after setting the under-23 ranks alight alongside Paul Seixas in recent years. Despite a spring knee injury, he racked up a host of impressive results, including fourth places on Malhão at the Volta ao Algarve, in Villars-sur-Olon at the Tour de Suisse, and on Pineda de la Sierra at the recent Vuelta a Burgos.

He took it a step further during Tuesday's fourth stage at La Vuelta, however, racing among the chase group behind solo winner Tadej Pogačar and sprinting to second place in Andorra la Vella. Widar, who is leading Lotto in Spain, admitted he was surprised by his ride.

"No, it’s not normal. I’m actually a bit surprised today, and I’m incredibly proud of it," he told Het Laatste Nieuws after the finish.

"I'm very proud of myself. And I'm also very honoured to be racing among these guys, because it's a childhood dream."

Widar was by far the youngest man in the elite group of eight riders – he's three years younger than white jersey holder Oscar Onley – which came together behind Pogačar on the short but sharp stage, which packed almost 3,000 metres of climbing into just 105km.

He found himself distanced, along with the likes of Enric Mas, Richard Carapaz, and Mattias Skjelmose, on the day's penultimate climb of the Coll d'Ordino, but the group made their way back before the final ascent.

On the way up, while Carapaz and Skjelmose dropped away, Widar comfortably stayed in touch at the front before eventually outsprinting Felix Gall and Onley to take second place on his first-ever Grand Tour mountain stage.

"I felt pretty good. It was actually a bit of a struggle to find my rhythm. Because when the acceleration happened, as I expected, there were a few to follow, but I managed to get into my own tempo and come back," he said.

"On the Ordino, I had a really hard time. I struggled a lot to find my rhythm. But we made it back on the descent. Then I knew, 'OK, those last two climbs suit me better than the long ones.' So I already had confidence that I would get over them with the group. And then I knew I had to come from behind with speed, because it's a sweeping curve. And I pulled it off."

Widar is one of the highest-rated talents to emerge from the under-23 ranks in recent seasons. At just 18, he won the Giro d'Italia Next Gen, Alpes Isère Tour, and Giro della Valle d'Aosta. If that wasn't enough, last year saw him triumph at the Ronde de l'Isard and Valle d'Aosta before taking second behind Seixas at the Tour de l'Avenir.

It's no surprise that his rise to the professional ranks this season was accompanied by considerable hype among his home Flemish media. He has yet to race more than eight days in a row, so any expectations at this Vuelta should be tempered, but there's no doubt about it – this is a very impressive start.

"For now, stay calm and see what the rest of the Vuelta brings," Widar said.

"As I said before about the Vuelta, 'Take it one day at a time.' And if I feel good, then I hope to achieve a result like that again, but yes, first of all, take it one day at a time.

"Pogačar is the strongest in the world, the best ever, I think, so yes, it’s only natural that he wins. So I’m very happy to have finished second."

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At the age of 20, Fleur Moors is one of the brightest rising stars of the women's peloton. She stands among British racers Zoe Bäckstedt and Cat Ferguson, Frenchwoman Célia Gery, and her own Lidl-Trek teammate Isabella Holmgren as one of the most exciting riders aged 21 or younger.

Moors has been crowned a national junior and under-23 cyclo-cross champion and European junior road champion. She's been racing most of the year among the elites, though, already competing for some of the sport's biggest prizes.

Before 2026, Moors had never taken on more than eight Women's WorldTour race days in a season. This year, she's already raced 26, and she's flourishing.

"This was the first season that I could ride the bigger races, and I'm really happy I also had the chance to do it. That's thanks to the team, and it made my power stronger," Moors told Cyclingnews at the recent Tour of Britain Women.

She finished 12th overall in Britain, easily winning the youth classification, with the five-day race marking her latest impressive outing of 2026.

Back in the spring, she took second at In Flanders Fields and Leeuw Ottingen (both to Lorena Wiebes) plus fifth at Amstel Gold Race. There were also debut outings at the Tour of Flanders and Giro d'Italia Women. Before heading to Britain, she took sixth at the Baloise Ladies Tour with three top 10s along the way.

"It was super nice to have my first Grand Tour. I did it last year as well, but then I crashed. To have it fully completed, you feel it in the legs, and it's good for the tank!" Moors said of the Italian Grand Tour, before spelling out exactly what type of racing she enjoys.

"I just love to race, and I love it if the race is hard. For me, I prefer to have a hard race instead of just going slow to the finish. So, it's just nice in this way rather than going slow into the finish."

Moors will be pleased to know that there's more hard racing to come before the season is out. Her main goal this autumn will be the Road World Championships in Montreal.

Moors has raced Worlds before, taking on the junior road race four years ago and the under-23 time trial last September, and she'll line up as a top contender this time around.

"I'm now working towards the Worlds, and I thought Britain would be a good preparation for it. I love the way of racing here," she said.

"It's a little bit like Belgium – chaotic, up and down, corners here and there – and I really love it. So it's a super nice way to go to Worlds. I like all kinds of races, but especially like this: if it's chaotic, bike handling, up and down, on the punch, I prefer."

With both Moors and another promising 20-year-old, AG Insurance-Soudal's Lore De Schepper, in the Belgian lineup, the nation will certainly be one to watch in Montreal.

"We also have a strong Lore De Schepper, who is a good climber. So I think we are with two really strong riders and also a strong team, so we can maybe play cards."

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¡El futuro es ahora!

The future is now, and it's coming to the Vuelta a España as a host of the sport's top young riders head to Spain for the final Grand Tour of the season.

This year's trek around Spain – starting from Monaco and ending in Granada – is, on paper, more challenging than both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. It features a mammoth 58,156 metres of elevation, well above its sister Grand Tours.

That fact, plus the presence of the world's most dominant rider, Tadej Pogačar, hasn't put off some of the youngest riders in the WorldTour peloton from heading to Spain. Among the host of youngsters at the Vuelta are 15 riders aged 21 or under, including four 20-year-olds.

These riders, ranging from climbers and future GC hopefuls to Classics-style fast finishers and those just hoping to learn at their first Grand Tour proving ground, will face an arduous task ahead, battling the late-summer Spanish heat and seven summit finishes.

We've decided to omit a handful of young riders from our list even if they meet the criteria for the white best young rider's jersey. For example, the likes of Oscar Onley, Matthew Riccitello, and Cian Uijtdebroeks are proven GC contenders with top Grand Tour results to their name.

With our analysis of the Vuelta's main GC contenders and the race's five key stages done, here's our look at the young talents who will grace the final Grand Tour of the season.

Jarno Widar (Lotto-Intermarché)

• Age: 20
• Role: Team leader
• Where to watch: In the high mountains and summit finishes

Belgian racer Jarno Widar has been populating lists of up-and-coming GC starlets for some time now. He lit up the junior ranks with wins at races including the Tour of Flanders, National Championships, Classique des Alpes, Philippe Gilbert Juniors, and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.

Then, in 2024, he won the Alpes Isère Tour, Giro d'Italia Next Gen, and Giro della Valle d'Aosta. Last season, he won the Ronde de l'Isard and Valle d'Aosta before finishing second behind Paul Seixas at the Tour de l'Avenir.

Still just 20, he's already racked up a series of promising results in his first year as a pro with Lotto, despite a knee injury early in the season. Standouts include fourth places on Malhão at the Volta ao Algarve, in Villars-sur-Olon at the Tour de Suisse, and on the Pineda de la Sierra at the recent Vuelta a Burgos.

"I know the Vuelta route practically by heart. Burgos might give me some indication of what to expect. And do you know what I've got to do after Burgos? The most tedious training sessions you can imagine – putting on as many layers of clothing as possible and then training on the rollers in the heat. I'm not looking forward to the heat, but I'm preparing for it," he told Het Nieuwsblad two weeks ago.

In Burgos, Widar fell ill with an infection, but will hopefully be back to full health for the Vuelta, where there's no pressure on a big GC ride, his team has said. He hasn't raced more than eight consecutive days in his career to date, so his debut Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España will be a big next step, but he'll certainly be one to watch on select mountain days.

Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike)

• Age: 21
• Role: Versatile sprinter
• Where to watch: Flat finishes, breakaway days, possibly the green jersey fight

By now, Matthew Brennan is a known quantity, which is incredible to say of a 21-year-old. The Briton only turned pro last year and finished his neo-pro season ranked seventh in wins in world cycling.

His victories included the cobbles (GP de Denain), hilly WorldTour days (four stages across the Volta a Catalunya, Tour de Romandie, and Tour de Pologne), and flat sprints (three stages at the Deutschland Tour and Tour of Britain).

He's scored seven more this season, with Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne the standout result, and he's in fine form heading to the Vuelta, too. He won two stages at the Vuelta a Burgos, the first of which came in a one-two with Visma teammate Ben Tulett, another youngster racing here.

Those victories came on hillier days rather than pan-flat sprints, suggesting that he and Wout van Aert should combine as a fearsome duo in the battle for the green jersey against Mads Pedersen. Like Widar, Brennan will be training hard to adapt to the sweltering temperatures in Spain.

"I was slowly roasting from the inside out," Brennan said after his second win in Burgos. "I’m glad I could finish it off in the end because it was a tough day in the heat. It felt like we were riding through a desert all day."

Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)

• Age: 22
• Role: Stage hunter, domestique
• Where to watch: Breakaways on hilly and mountain stages

Australian neo-pro Luke Tuckwell has enjoyed a flying start to his professional career with Red Bull this year, racing to sixth place at May's Tour de Romandie and two days in yellow en route to a stunning second overall at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes the next month.

This rapid rise comes after the 22-year-old started slowly as a junior in Australia before a message from Simon Clarke kick-started his European racing career, he wrote in his column for Cyclingnews earlier this season.

He joined Trinity as an under-23, racing to top-10 finishes at the Ronde de l'Isard and Giro Next Gen, before switching to the Red Bull Rookies setup last year. The resulting spell in pink and overall second place at the Giro Next Gen saw him sign his first WorldTour contract.

This week, Tuckwell wrote about his Vuelta preparation for Cyclingnews. A family illness made his pre-race altitude training camp more challenging, while he rode strongly at the Vuelta a Burgos, equalling his best-ever 20-minute power output before falling ill ahead of the final stage.

Like several others on this list, Tuckwell has never tackled such a long race before – "I'm also getting slightly nervous about what lies ahead," he wrote – but he's also excited about the challenge and excited to pen more dispatches from Spain.

Marco Brenner (Tudor)

• Age: 23
• Role: GC leader, stage hunter
• Where to watch: In the hills, mountains, and possibly breakaways

German rider Marco Brenner has not yet lived up to the massive hype that surrounded him as he swept almost all before him as a junior. This season, his third at Tudor, has been his best yet since turning pro at 18 back in 2021, though.

The former German road champion started his season in good form with fourth place at the Tour Down Under and fourth at the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes before racing to a top-10 finish at the Boucles de la Mayenne. He heads to the Vuelta with the best result of his career to date in the bag, too, having triumphed at the recent Tour de Pologne after a week of consistent riding.

He'll take confidence from that and from a newly signed contract extension to 2030, and he'll have freedom to race for his own results in Spain. Tudor have no top GC rider or sprinter to protect, so he and Will Barta will be "targeting the decisive climbing stages, both eager to break new ground as they take on the challenge of Grand Tour leadership", the team says.

The Vuelta will be his second outing at the race, having made his Grand Tour debut here four years ago. Back then, his best result was fifth place from the break on the summit finish of Estepona behind Richard Carapaz. Watch out for him in the hills and mountains again this time around.

Pablo Torres (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)

• Age: 20
• Role: Domestique
• Where to watch: Working in Tadej Pogačar's mountain train

Spanish talent Pablo Torres, 20, will be keenly watched by home fans, even if he's set to spend the race working for Tadej Pogačar, rather than riding for his own chances.

Torres is from a cycling family, with his brother and sister, both 18, also riding for UAE among the development setup.

The trio hail from Madrid, and Torres will one day hope to emulate several other riders from the region, including past Grand Tour stars Alberto Contador and Carlos Sastre. This Vuelta marks his Grand Tour debut, though, so it may be a while before he can reach a similar level.

Torres won plenty in the junior ranks, while a glittering 2024 saw him take second places at the Giro Next Gen and Tour de l'Avenir, winning the Colle delle Finestre mountain stage at the latter by almost four minutes.

Last season, his first in the pro ranks, was a learning year, while this year he has a narrow bronze in the Spanish TT Championships and 11th at the Vuelta a Burgos to his name. Torres should slot in among Pavel Sivakov, João Almeida, and Jay Vine to do the work for Pogačar in the mountains, so we should see him pushing some big watts in the Sierra Nevada in the coming weeks.

Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM)

• Age: 21
• Role: Stage hunter, puncheur
• Where to watch: Hilly stages rather than high mountains

Paul Seixas may have been the talk of the cycling world this season, the 19-year-old phenom having raced to fourth at the Tour de France last month, but he's not the only young talent on the French Decathlon CMA CGM team. Step forward 21-year-old Léo Bisiaux, a former fourth-place finisher at the Tour de l'Avenir now in his second season as a pro.

Bisiaux has already made his Grand Tour debut, racing last year's Vuelta in support of Felix Gall, and he headed into the race with third place and a stage win at the Vuelta a Burgos.

This year he's been stronger still, scoring podiums at the Tour du Jura and Mercan'Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes, 10th at the Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa, and 12th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He took seventh at the Vuelta a Burgos this year, also taking home the best young rider jersey in the process as he supported Gall to overall victory.

Bisiaux will again be at the service of the Austrian climber and US racer Matthew Riccitello in the high mountains but should get his own chances here and there, too.

Iván Romeo (Movistar)

• Age: 22
• Role: Domestique, puncheur, time triallist
• Where to watch: Monaco TT, hilly stages, working for team leaders

Iván Romeo has been around a while, having turned pro with Movistar back in 2023, but the Spaniard's story has been one of gradual progress rather than a single big breakthrough, and this year he's stepped up another level again.

The man from Valladolid is one for the hills rather than high mountains. He's a strong time triallist, too, having been under-23 world champion in the discipline and finished seventh in the Caen TT at last year's Tour de France.

He raced the past year as Spanish road champion, while this year's top results have included overall victory at the Vuelta a Andalucía – ahead of Tom Pidcock – plus a stage win and fifth overall at O Gran Camiño. A successful lead-in to the Vuelta saw him race to third overall at the recent Tour de Pologne.

This debut at his home Grand Tour will see him working for Movistar leaders Cian Uijtdebroeks and Enric Mas, though he should get opportunities to send it in the hills – and watch out for him in the opening time trial in Monaco.

Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma-Lease a Bike)

• Age: 21
• Role: Stage hunter
• Where to watch: Mountain stages, breakaways

While Brennan will be active in the sprints for Visma-Lease a Bike, the Dutch squad have another young rider for the hills and mountains. Norwegian racer Jørgen Nordhagen is their man, with no Jonas Vingegaard or Matteo Jorgenson in the line-up. Instead, he'll look to former race winner Sepp Kuss for guidance.

The 21-year-old was a top prospect in the junior ranks, winning the Course de la Paix and Eroica Juniores before joining the Visma development setup, winning the Giro Friulio Venezia Giulia before taking fourth at the Giro Next Gen and third at the Tour de l'Avenir.

His progression has continued this season, with a second place at O Gran Camiño and a fourth at the Tour de Romandie among his highlight results. A seventh place at Lagunas de Neila at the recent Vuelta a Burgos shows he has his climbing legs for his Grand Tour debut.

Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek)

• Age: 23
• Role: Stage hunter, puncheur
• Where to watch: Hilly stages

Belgian racer Thibau Nys will be looking to restart what has been a disastrous season to date in Spain, having missed the entirety of the spring after undergoing knee surgery and then falling ill with toxoplasmosis in June.

Nys has attributed his illness to eating a contaminated steak tartare during a team training camp in Mallorca. He's undergone a 12-day course of antibiotics to be fit for the Vuelta, and will now return to racing as part of Lidl-Trek's selection.

The German team will be competing on several fronts in Spain, with Mattias Skjelmose aiming for a top GC result to go with his sixth place at the Tour de France, and fellow Dane Mads Pedersen targeting the sprints and another points jersey, having won two here before.

Nys, who in 2024 won stages at the Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse, and Tour de Pologne, will surely be looking to add to his palmarès in Spain. This will be his second Grand Tour after last year's Tour de France, and there are a host of stages that fit his profile as a punchy, explosive rider. He's lacking in race fitness, however, with only seven race days to his name this season – all back in June.

"It is a year to forget quickly, but I hope to be able to turn things around in the Vuelta," he told Belgian radio station JOE. "It didn't look good for a long time. My coach and I had already buried the hatchet when it suddenly turned around. I feel ready for it. We are going from a lot of doubt to a feeling that something is possible after all."

Markel Beloki (EF Education-EasyPost)

• Age: 21
• Role: Domestique
• Where to watch: Working for team leader Richard Carapaz

Basque racer Markel Beloki heads to his second career Vuelta a España after making his Grand Tour debut at last year's race. The 21-year-old has impressed in his second year among the WorldTour peloton, with a win at the Tour de l'Ain his highlight performance.

His surname shows his pedigree – he's the son of Joseba, a four-time Grand Tour podium finisher and runner-up at the 2002 Tour de France. If he can come close to emulating his father, then he'll have a very successful career; that much is certain.

This Vuelta, he'll be working for EF Education-EasyPost leader and GC hopeful Richard Carapaz, rather than going for his own chances. He's in strong form, too, having taken eighth place at the recent Vuelta a Burgos.

"During the season I had my own opportunities in different kinds of races, but now I'll try to help the team as much as I can. That's the main objective for the next three weeks," Beloki said recently.

"I am climbing really well, so I can be close to him when he needs it on the climbs, or helping make a selection of riders."

Others to watch

Alpecin-Premier Tech head to the Vuelta without their two big stars, Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen. Instead, the departing Kaden Groves leads the way, having won seven stages and two points jerseys in Spain. 20-year-old Sente Sentjens will be looking to learn from the Australian during his first Grand Tour. The Belgian is a fast finisher and has four top-10 finishes to his name in this, his neo-pro season.

The Belgian squad also features another promising youngster in 23-year-old Ramses Debruyne. Another Belgian, he's starting his second Grand Tour of the year after racing the first 13 days of the Tour de France earlier this summer. Standout results to date include 13th at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 18th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and fifth place on the hilly day to Foix at the Tour. He'll have freedom to be active in the hills and mountains.

Slovenia's talent machine keeps on churning, with 20-year-old Jakob Omrzel the latest promising youngster to hit the pro ranks. The Bahrain Victorious rider won the Giro d'Italia Next Gen last year, and he's taken third place at the Tour of Slovenia and sixth at the Tour of the Alps this season.

In addition to Brennan, another British rider to watch will be Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Callum Thornley, like Tuckwell another neo-pro at the German team. The 23-year-old is a time trial specialist and will be one to watch on the opening day in Monaco. Last year he was under-23 national champion and won a very short closing time trial at the Sibiu Tour, and he heads to the Vuelta with a top-three in the Tour de Pologne's closing TT in his pocket.

Widar, Nys, Sentjens, and Debruyne are joined on our list by another Belgian in the form of Lotto-Intermarché's 21-year-old, Steffen De Schuyteneer. A fast finisher, he's racing his second year in the pros and scored a host of good results in the spring. He was second at the GP La Marseillaise on his first day of the season and also has top-10 finishes at Nokere Koerse, the Bredene Koksijde Classic, and Scheldeprijs to his name.

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Just a year ago, while still a teenager, Kylee Hanel was learning the ropes for road racing at kermesses in Belgium and stage races in the US. She proved to be a fast learner.

She competed in competitions at the Tucson Bicycle Classic and the Redlands Bicycle Classic with a club team based near her home in Oregon, showing consistent top-20 results. Then she moved to Aegis Cycling, founded by former USPro road champion Lauren Stephens, for her first UCI races at the Tour of the Gila and the Tour de Bloom, with consistent results on climbing stages and in time trials.

At the one-day Zottegem-Strijpen, Hanel finished in the lead group of six, which was won by Sandrine Tas, who is now with Lotto-Intermarché. She may have been sixth out of the six, but it showed she belonged.

It was in one-day races on home soil, be it dirt or tarmac, that summer where Hanel's name became more familiar to her competitors, as well as future sponsors and racing fans. She finished 10th in the U23 women's road race at USPro Road Nationals, her first appearance at a championships event. Her next championship event was four months later, and she went eighth on the elite stage at US Gravel Nationals.

Now 20 years old, Hanel earned a roster spot with Stephen's road team for 2026, Aegis x Leaders of Enchantment, and jumped into a gravel privateer path with Cervélo. How's her breakout year going, you ask? Perhaps better than planned.

Hanel is leading the women's U23 standings in the Life Time Grand Prix, taking top points at both the Sea Otter Classic Gravel and Unbound Gravel 100. On the road, she was the best rider on the Gila Monster queen stage and finished fourth on GC at Tour of the Gila, with Stephens winning the overall. She capped her first half of the season with the gold medal at the USPro U23 time trial, and took seventh at the U23 road race for good measure.

It's a fast upward trajectory on multiple surfaces for Hanel, but she still speaks with a bit of caution in her voice. She told Cyclingnews ahead of her debut at Leadville Trail 100 MTB about her interest in cycling, what she has learned so far and where she would like her career on a bike to lead.

Cyclingnews: Tell us about growing up in Portland, Oregon. How did you get involved in cycling?

Kylee Hanel: Growing up in Portland honestly gave me a lot of opportunities. There's a huge cycling culture here, and even though it's more commuter-style riding, it's still a cycling culture. I grew up going on short rides with my mom Shelley, dad Chris, and sister Caelyn, but when I was 13 I started riding with just my dad. We would do really short rides, like a three-mile ride that would take 25 minutes. But I loved it because I wanted to spend time with him.

For high school, I went to Central Catholic in Northeast Portland, and now I go to Oregon State University, and I'm part of their eCampus program. I am majoring in business with a minor in sports management. I actually decided to do online school because of cycling.

CN: Road racing and some cyclocross in the Pacific Northwest is where you raced the most, but in the past three years you've added gravel racing, so which is your favourite discipline?

KH: If you asked me to choose between gravel and road, I honestly could not tell you which one I prefer more. They are both very different, yet similar. I really like the team aspect of road, but I like the long, gruelling races of gravel.

CN: On the road, you ride now for AEGIS x LOE. How did you connect with her and what have you learned from this experience so far?

KH: I race for Aegis x Leaders of Enchantment right now, and I race under Lauren Stephens. She's definitely a leader, but she's also a teammate. I have learned so much from her. I've not only learned positioning, bike handling skills, and teamwork from her, but the most important thing I learned from her is humility. She knows it's a blessing to be racing and is appreciative of the fact that she gets to go out and race. She doesn't look at the world like it owes her something, which I admire a lot about her.

CN: For gravel, you have a different setup for equipment and your team. Tell us about that.

KH: On the gravel side, I am a privateer. I ride for Cervélo. I got introduced to them through Michael Engleman, who is one of my greatest mentors and my current coach and friend. I didn't have a whole lot of results last year, so Cervélo just saw my power numbers and decided to take a chance on me, which I could not be more grateful for.

Pretty much this year I have just been supported by equipment, which makes sense considering that I really didn't have much of a name for myself until this year. But next year I'm learning about signing contracts where I'll get bonuses and be salaried.

This year Cervélo have provided me with bikes, while PEARL iZUMi is sponsoring me with clothing and shoes, Giro is sponsoring me with helmets, Oakley with glasses, LOOK gave me pedals, Prologo gave me saddles, Reserves and Maxxis are supporting me with tires/wheels.

CN: In 2025 you finished 12th among elite women at SBT GRVL and in the top 10 at US Gravel Nationals, won a third time by Stephens. Did you feel these races proved you were an 'elite' rider off-road?

KH: No, I really didn't feel like an elite road or off-road rider last year. My dad is always telling me that I need to have more confidence in myself, and I am learning that when I line up and race, I have to know that I deserve to be there and that I can win because a lot of cycling is mental. While it was super cool to be racing with what I like to call the "big kids", I would usually assume that if I beat them, it was just because they had a bad race. Now that I'm actually racing with them and performing well alongside them, I still think I view it differently than they view each other, just because I am 10 years younger than most of them. I admire them and look up to them in a way that a middle schooler would look up to somebody in college.

CN: So far in 2026 you've won some big races, including Unbound Gravel 100 and USPro U23 ITT national championship. Tell us what made each of those events special and challenging.

KH: Unbound Gravel 100 and the ITT National Championships were surprisingly similar in terms of mindset. Unbound was such a hard year because of the mud. It was my first year doing it, so I really didn't have any expectations, but from what I've heard from people who have been doing it for two decades, it was a very difficult year. I had to be mentally strong for both. The only difference was that the TT was shorter, and obviously they were on different bikes.

CN: You are at the top of the leaderboard in the women's U23 competition of the Life Time Grand Prix. Which event remaining on the schedule in the LTGP suits you best?

KH: Going into this year, I had no idea and no expectations of what the Life Time Grand Prix U23 was going to be. I have been pleasantly surprised by these events and the amazing people who run them. It is an awesome culture, and I really love being able to race with people who care about racing as much as I do.

I also really like the structure. It's nice because if you have a bad race, you still have other chances to prove that you can perform and be the best. It was an honour to be chosen to be part of the Life Time U23 field, and I hope to race in the elite field next year. The next race that I think will suit me best is probably the last gravel race of the series, Big Sugar. I haven't mountain biked a whole lot, but I started out mountain biking, so I have some high hopes for doing well there, too.

CN: Speaking of mountain biking, next on the calendar in the LTGP series is Leadville Trail 100 MTB. What do you see as most challenging for this event, and what part of the race are you eager to take on?

KH: No, I have not done Leadville yet. This will be my first year. I think the most challenging part of it will be the elevation. I live at sea level, so I'm going two and a half weeks early to train and get used to the elevation, so hopefully there are no major problems while racing. I think I'm most eager to take on this long, seven-plus-hour course because one thing I know about myself is that I persevere.

CN: Living in Oregon, are you able to train with any of the other U23 riders, or elite riders? Who do you tend to train with, or do you just ride solo?

KH: I have become friends with some of the U23 riders in the LTGP series. If I lived in Colorado, I'd probably train with Lauren Aggeler, but we are hours and hours apart. So I train with my friends in Portland, and I train a lot with my dad, who is the one who got me into cycling. I am just now finally able to beat him, haha. However, I do really like to train solo and listen to podcasts and music.

CN: In the next few years, what are the top races you look forward to racing the most? And where would you just like to travel?

KH: I think the race I'm most looking forward to next year is Road Nationals again because I'm always wanting to do better than I did the previous year, and the course stays the same [in Charleston, West Virginia], so it's a good chance for me to see my progress. I also really want to travel to Switzerland and Italy just because of how pretty I've heard the riding is.

CN: Name a few racing goals you would like to achieve this year, and in the coming years.

KH: This year I would really like to do well at the TT and Road World Championships and win the Life Time Grand Prix U23 series. I also really want to place well among the elite LTGP field in the coming years. By the time I am 25, I hope to be living in Europe.

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With its long and storied history in professional cycling, Belgium is always looking for its next super talent. The general consensus is that 20-year-old Jarno Widar could be that man, and he has just signed a contract extension to stay with Lotto-Intermarché.

Having dominated the under-23 ranks over the last two seasons, winning the Giro d’Italia Next Gen, European Championships and the prestigious Giro della Valle d’Aosta (twice), Widar was promoted to the WorldTour with Lotto-Intermarché this season and has immediately extended his stay with the team that developed him from the junior ranks.

Widar will remain with the Belgian team until at least the end of 2028, saying, “This is the best place for me to continue growing, not only as a rider but also as a person.”

The Belgian is one of several elite young talents on the team alongside sprinters Steffen de Schuyteneer and Felix Ørn Kristoff, and Italian climber Simone Gualdi. With major figures in Arnaud de Lie and Lennert van Eetvelt rumoured for departure at the end of this season, Lotto-Intermarché was keen to pin down its best talent for the coming seasons.

Since joining the WorldTour outfit, Widar has had several solid results, including 4th on the final stage of the Tour de Suisse in June and 6th at the preceding GP Gippingen. He crashed out of the Faun-Ardèche Classic in February, leading to a lengthy delay.

Widar is scheduled to continue his season at the Vuelta a Burgos next week and is down to make his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España.

“I feel really good at Lotto-Intermarché,” Widar said in a team press release.

“I’m convinced this is the best place to continue that development over the coming seasons, not only as a rider but also as a person. The team gives me the trust and the opportunities that are so important for a young rider like me. I’m in constant contact with my coach and the rest of the performance staff.

“Here, I have all the support I need to get the best out of myself every single day together with them. I’m really looking forward to continuing to build on the foundations we have laid over the past seasons, and I will do everything I can to chase great results.”

The team’s management appear to be pinning their hopes on Widar to lead the team into the next few seasons.

Sports manager Kurt Van de Wouwer said: “Over the past seasons, Jarno Widar has shown and proven that he possesses exceptional potential. We have become a home where he can continue to grow at his own pace, but above all a place where we can provide him – and tomorrow’s talents – with the very best environment.”

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies rider Lorenzo Finn sealed the overall title at the Giro Next Gen on Sunday by winning the stage 8 time trial, adding to the lead he gained winning on stage 8.

Finn, who became under-23 road race world champion at only 18 last September in Rwanda, won stage 6 atop Monte Livata to move into the pink jersey, and then confirmed his win by triumphing in the final-stage time trial on Sunday.

He beat Adam Rafferty (Hagens Berman Jayco) by 15 seconds over the 22km course to win the GC by 2:10, having won stage 6 by 52 seconds and finished third on stage 7.

Despite the race finishing with a TT, the final day didn't actually shake up the podium at all, with the final three the same as it had been in the morning. Colombia's Mateo Ramírez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) finished second after a consistent end to the week, whilst Brazil's Henrique Bravo (Soudal-QuickStep) held on for third despite only finishing 16th in the TT.

Stage 7 winner Aubin Sparfel (Decathlon CMA CGM Development) climbed up the standings with a strong TT, but just missed out on the podium, settling for fourth.

The Giro Next Gen, formerly known as the Baby Giro, is run by RCS and is the under-23 version of the Giro d'Italia, running across eight days. It is contested by trade teams, not national outfits, and along with the Tour de l'Avenir is considered one of the most important development races on the calendar.

Former overall winners of the race include Tom Pidcock, Juan Ayuso and Jarno Widar, so if Finn's talent wasn't already clear and well-known, he's definitely added his name to the list of future Grand Tour stars now.

Other winners across the week in Italy, which featured sprint days, a TT, and two big climbing days, included fellow Red Bull Rookie Davide Donati and Matisse Van Kerckhove, who stepped up to the Visma-Lease a Bike WorldTour team early this year but was back riding with the development squad this weekend.

Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy rider Mattie Dodd won the mountains classification, whilst Donati sealed the points jersey. The youth classification, in which only first-year U23 riders are eligible for, was won by Movistar's Javier Cubillas.

Giro Next Gen 2026 stage winners

Results

Results powered by FirstCycling

Under 23 world champion Lorenzo Finn (Red Bull–Bora Hansgrohe Rookies) is the standout favourite for the Giro Next Gen that begins on Sunday June 14 and again promises to showcase some of the best young riders in the sport who are about to turn professional.

The eight-day stage race is the last of the three Giro d'Italia organised by RCS Sport after the men's Giro d'Italia in May won by Jonas Vingegaard and the more recent Giro d'Italia Women won by Demi Vollering.

The Under 23 race includes 1088 kilometres of racing and more than 14,000 metres of elevation gain. The stages are all in the south of Italy this year, with the start in Reggio Calabria near Sicily and the finish on June 21 in L’Aquila with a decisive 22.2km individual time trial.

The opening stages suit the sprinters and breakaways before the mountain stages in the Apennines to Monte Livata and Piana delle Mele on stages six and seven.

Slovenia's Jakob Omrzel won the 2025 Giro Next Gen ahead of Australia's Luke Tuckwell. Both have stepped up to WorldTour level this year with Bahrain Victorious and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.

Anglo-Italian Finn, 19, opted to stay in the Under 23 ranks another season but has raced with the WorldTour team several times. He is considered a future rival of Paul Seixas and Omrzel in stage races and Italy's next great talent.

Other riders to watch for at the Giro Next Gen include Daan Dijkman, the winner of the U23 Liège–Bastogne–Liège; Frenchman Remi Daumas, who impressed at the Ronde de l’Isard; Belgian Kamiel Eeman, winner of the Course de la Paix; and his compatriot Matisse Van Kerckhove, who won the Alpes Isère Tour.

Stage hunters include 2025 points jersey winner Aubin Sparfel (Decathlon CMA CGM Development) and 2025 stage winners Adam Rafferty (Hagens Berman Jayco) of Ireland and his compatriot Seth Dunwoody (Bahrain Victorious Development), U23 Paris–Roubaix winner Davide Donati (Red Bull–Bora Hansgrohe Rookies) and the likes of Davide Stella, Jack Ward, Patryk Goszczurny and Cameron Rogers.

Finn impressed at the Tour of the Alps while riding with the Red Bull–Bora Hansgrohe team but then crashed and fractured his wrist. He underwent surgery and has recently trained at altitude with his teammates to be ready for the Giro Next Gen.

"Thanks to surgery I recovered quickly and don't have any problems on the bike," Finn told BiciPro.

"If everything goes to plan, I should peak for the start of the Giro and then we'll see what happens. I think I've improved every year and this year I feel stronger. I haven't raced for a while but my training has gone well."

"We’ve analysed the route carefully and the structure of the stages is a bit different from last year," explained the two-time world champion.

"The last three days will be decisive for the general classification, with the final time trial playing a crucial role, and I’m preparing thoroughly for that. It will also be interesting to see who manages fatigue best towards the end of the race. If everything goes according to plan, I should be in top form for the start of the Giro."

Finn crashed during the 2025 Giro Next Gen and finished sixth overall before going on to take fourth at the Tour de L'Avenir behind Seixas. He won the U23 world title in Rwanda with a solo attack and was also fourth in the time trial.

He will have a similar race programme this summer and ride more races with the Red Bull–Bora Hansgrohe team before stepping up to WorldTour level in 2027.

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New Colorado legislation called 'Magnus' Law', named for 17-year-old cyclist Magnus White who was killed by an impaired driver of a car nearly three years ago, was signed on Thursday by Colorado Governor Jared Polis.

The state bill, SB26-132, now requires law enforcement officials to offer a voluntary alcohol breath test to drivers of motor vehicles who are involved in crashes – between vehicles, or a bike or pedestrian and a vehicle – that result in death or injury.

When White was struck and killed on a mid-day training ride near Boulder, Colorado on July 30, 2023, the responding officer did not conduct a breath test on the driver, Yeva Smilianska, who was 20 months later found guilty of reckless vehicular homicide.

A five-day trial concluded on April 5, 2025, and jurors determined that she had been drinking alcohol with a friend throughout the night and early morning, which was a factor in the 24-year-old driver falling asleep while driving.

"Today we took action to keep Coloradans safer on our roads. This law honors the legacy of Magnus White, and turns tragedy to action so less families have to endure the heartbreak that the White family has faced," Governor Polis said in a statement.

White had been training for the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Glasgow, where he planned to represent Team USA in the men's junior cross-country race on August 10.

"It took 20 months for the truth to come out in a courtroom. 20 months to find out why our son was dead. The only person tested for drugs or alcohol that day was Magnus. The person who killed him was not," said Michael White, father of Magnus, in a report posted by Colorado Public Radio from a ceremony held at Valmont Bike Park, where his son used to ride.

"There's only one person responsible for my son's death. Gaps in the system are responsible for the 20 months it took to find out. But one question at the scene could have told us that afternoon."

SB26-132, Voluntary Alcohol Breath Test, was sponsored by Senators Dylan Roberts and John Carson, and Representatives Junie Joseph and Matt Soper.

The family created The White Line Foundation after Magnus' death, advocating to make roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

"This law helps ensure no family is left wondering whether impairment was fully investigated after a serious injury or death on our roads. Some may ask, if a driver refuses an impairment test, what’s the point? Here’s what we want you to understand: law enforcement can still secure DUI convictions even when a driver refuses the test," The White Line Foundation posted to social media after the governor's signature made the bill a law.

"The real problem — and what happened the day Magnus was killed — isn’t drivers refusing. It’s law enforcement not even investigating impairment in the first place.

"Magnus’ Law is designed to close that gap. When a serious injury or death occurs on our roads, law enforcement is now required to investigate for impairment — whether it’s a car-on-car, or a driver versus a vulnerable road user crash. No family should ever have to wonder whether that question was even asked."

Smilianska, now 25, was sentenced to four years. On Wednesday, she was sentenced to 364 days in jail, with 132 days' credit for time served, for an unrelated misdemeanour theft case in Longmont, Colorado, according to the ABC TV affiliate in Denver.

It's very nearly time for the first women's Grand Tour of the year and the start of stage racing season. We've already had a ton of exciting racing through the Spring Classics, and some thrilling breakthrough performances, but as we swap cobbles for mountains, there are opportunities for new types of riders to shine.

For several seasons, women's stage racing has been dominated by a small crop of riders – Demi Vollering, Marlen Reusser, Elisa Longo Borghini – but below the big names, there is a new and talented generation of riders coming up.

This will be one of the first generations of female cyclists who have turned pro in the post-Tour de France Femmes world, where being a full time cyclist is now a viable, paying career choice, and the racing and performance is improving rapidly.

We're yet to see a new generation rider really explode onto the Grand Tour scene – though young riders have certainly made their mark in the Classics and other races – but it's only a matter of time until a new name, or names, joins the upper echelon of stage racers in the women's peloton. That could be as a new GC challenger, a pure climber, or just a rider who excels in multi-day racing.

There's plenty of stage racing to come this season, but next week's Vuelta Femenina should offer the first chance for these future stars to lay down their intentions and talents for 2026. With the race getting underway on Sunday, here are some riders we've picked out as ones to watch in Spain.

Usoa Ostolaza (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi)

Spain's Usoa Ostolaza is a rider who has quietly been becoming one of the very best GC riders and climbers on the lower-level circuit, but is yet to quite break through on the WorldTour level. So whilst dedicated women's cycling fans will absolutely already know her talent and ability, she's not yet on everyone's radar – a big result at the Vuelta Femenina would change that.

Ostolaza, 28, is a former Spanish national champion who has been racing since 2021 but has really skyrocketed in the last few years. Her climbing credentials are already extremely impressive, with wins atop the Col d'Aubisque and Col du Soulor on her way to back to back Tour des Pyrénées titles, and she's finished just outside the top 10 of both the Vuelta and the Giro d'Italia Women before.

This year, she looks primed to crack that top 10, and even win a stage. Still a ProTeam, Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi have taken a big step up this year in terms of performance, meaning Ostolaza will come to this race with her strongest support squad yet. What's more, the lack of top stars like Vollering and Reusser is set to leave the race very open, and therefore the perfect opportunity for a rider like Ostolaza to grab the big result she's very clearly capable of.

Valentina Cavallar (SD Worx-Protime)

Valentina Cavallar's off-season transfer to SD Worx-Protime has started quietly, as she's only raced once so far in 2026, at last week's Flèche Wallonne, but she'll be back into her preferred terrain at the Vuelta next week. Like Ostolaza, Cavallar is a rider who has already proven her climbing ability, but is just waiting for that big, high profile result or win.

More of a pure climber, lightweight riders like Cavallar don't always translate to also being top GC riders, given all the other challenges in stage races, but the route of this Vuelta is climb heavy and will come down to the final weekend of mountains, rather than being influenced by a TT or flat stages. As a result, a rider like Cavallar has a real opportunity to shine, whether that's on her own or in support of teammate Anna van der Breggen.

It may have been a quiet start to life at SD Worx, but she's one of their riders for the future, and her career as a top rider starts here.

Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ)

It may be pushing it to call Paula Blasi an up and coming rider, given she just won Amstel Gold Race and then impressed in the rest of the Ardennes too, but it's going to be really exciting to see how her clearly strong form translates in a stage race – somewhere she's shown a lot of promise before.

It was slightly overshadowed by the GPS trackers debacle, but Blasi took her first WorldTour win last year in the opening uphill time trial of the Tour de Romandie, and she is definitely a potential GC rider.

Still only 23, Blasi has hit a sparkling run of form this year, kicking off with third at the Tour Down Under and following up top-fives in all three Ardennes Classics. Of course, the climbs of the Vuelta are a big step up from the Ardennes hills, but her sixth place at the Tour de l'Avenir shows she's strong in the mountains too.

Blasi will share leadership with Mavi Garcia in Spain, and if things keep clicking for UAE Team ADQ the way they have recently, both riders could be in for some big success.

Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike)

Like Blasi, Sarah Van Dam has arguably already made her mark on the peloton this spring, but she has a chance to show how her one-day ability – which earnt her seventh in Amstel and 13th in Liège-Bastogne-Liège among other great results – can translate over a stage race.

With riders like Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Marianne Vos in the Visma line-up, Van Dam might have to fight for opportunities, but if she gets a chance on one of the breakaway-friendly stages, she could secure a big result. She certainly has GC contender potential too, already fifth in the Tour Down Under this year.

Titia Ryo (Human Powered Health)

France's Titia Ryo was the second-best young rider at the Tour de France Femmes last summer, but is still flying under the radar in the peloton as a climber.

She'll line up as part of a varied Human Powered Health team seeking opportunities in Spain, and could definitely take an opportunity to show off her climbing, and indeed maybe chase the young rider's jersey here, too.

Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset (Uno-X Mobility)

Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset is one of the older riders on this list at 27, but some riders find their best form later in life, and that seems like it could be the case for her.

The Norwegian stepped up from Continental level to the WorldTour only this year, after clearly impressing Uno-X on the lower-level circuit, and she's taken to the elite peloton really well. She was challenging for top 10s in the Mallorca Challenge, then took 15th at Strade Bianche, and 17th at Liege, noticeably one of the new names mixing in with the established climbers on several occasions this season.

A Grand Tour will be another challenge – she's done the Vuelta and the Tour before – but her climbing ability is really strong and she could place herself on a lot of people's radars here.

Other riders to watch

Visma are bringing a stacked team so it might be hard to grab opportunities, but both climber Marion Bunel and rouleur Imogen Wolff will be motivated to chase rewards where they see them.

At the time of writing, it's not clear if Eleonora Ciabocco (Picnic PostNL) will be back in action after her Trofeo Alfredo Binda crash, but if she is, the UAE Tour top 10 finisher started the year really strong and is growing into a serious contender.

Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi's line-up is packed full of exciting riders. As well as Ostoloza, keep an eye on Idoia Eraso and Tiril Jørgensen.

Mayenne Monbana My Pie will be challenged in a Grand Tour, but look out for Justine Gegu and Alice Coutinho who have been strong for the French team.

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our La Vuelta Femenina coverage as the likes of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and others battle it out. Don't miss any of the breaking news, reports, and analysis from one of the biggest women's stage races of the season. Find out more.

Belgian Under-23 rider Milan Bral died Sunday after he was struck by a driver of a vehicle while on a training ride in Ronse. He was taken to a hospital in Ghent, where he later died in the evening due to his injuries, according to a report by Wielerflits.

"It is with great sadness that we have to say goodbye to our racer and teammate Milan Bral. After his serious accident, during training this afternoon, he was unfortunately unable to win his fight. He died in the hospital, surrounded by his loved ones," his club team, Dovy Keukens-FCC Cycling, posted to Instagram a day ago.

It is cycling's second tragedy in the space of one week, after Camilo Muñoz died of an infection of wounds sustained in a crash during the Tour de Jura.

Bral, 21, was riding near the Hotond at the intersection of Kruisstraat and Zandstraat in Ronse when he was struck by a driver. News of his death came late on Sunday evening.

Bral was the nephew of former pro rider, Soudal-Quickstep sports director Sep Vanmarcke. Bral was the son of Vanmarcke's sister. His younger brother, Xibe, also races.

Xibe memorialised his older brother in a post to Instagram, writing, "Milan, I will miss you so much because I really looked up to you, but you probably already knew that....

"I will do everything this season to point to the sky for you. I remember well when you got angry at me because I almost fell in off a cliff in Mallorca; you thought you had lost me and said you didn’t want to lose me. Look now, now I have lost you and can’t do anything I would like to do to bring you back. Milan always told me a quote 'DREAM F*CKING BIG' and I will definitely do that. Milan, rest peacefully up there my best big brother, I will miss you."

Vanmarcke also posted an emotional description about their last conversation on Saturday morning to Instagram. Bral had asked his uncle about equipment selection for an upcoming race, the U23 Gent-Wevelgem on May 10.

"I don't know where to start, where to end. I don't want it to end. But it is like that. The only thing I've said in the last 24 hours is 'Damn it, Milan. That is impossible. Surely not you','” Vanmarcke began his post (in Flemish), on Instagram.

"Yesterday morning before your final training you came to us, asking which tyres and wheels you choose best for Gent-Wevelgem, or you would swap out the cassette. Next week we will put some new sealant in the tyres, just to be safe.

"And so much [enthusiasm] in that [Belgian Championships] time trial, fully fired up for the race, and for life itself, as always! Not half measures. Giving it absolutely everything.

"It comes to mind a lot... I wish I had kept you busy a little longer. A minute was enough. Then you might have been at the crossroads a little later. Maybe that car was already over by then.

"I wish I had cycled with you a bit more, and came to watch your races a bit more. 'Too busy', but now I wish for some extra time with you. I can't change it anymore."

The 21-year-old Bral was 16th at the U23 Belgium Nationals road race, and this year has top 10s in the West Flanders Championships in the U23 time trial and elite road race. This year he was racing for a long-established Belgian club team.

"Milan was so much more than a racer for us. He was a great guy, a real teammate, someone who was always there for others and had a warm, important place in our team. He was loved by all and will be greatly missed. Milan will remain a part of our team forever," the team said on their post.

"Our thoughts are with his family, friends and all who loved him. We wish them all the strength and warmth in this particularly difficult time."

Following his stage victory in the Presidential Tour of Turkey, Tom Crabbe (Flanders-Baloise) remembered Bral.

"It really affects me," Crabbe said to Wielerflits.be. "I think that just shows that as cyclists we are always vulnerable, especially in traffic. I think that demonstrates once again that you simply have to be super careful and that perhaps even more attention needs to be paid to safety on the bike.

"Not only during the races, but also in training. That is perhaps something that is often forgotten, but is at least as important. And that is very sad news when it came in."

Cyclingnews extends our deepest condolences to the Bral family, the Vanmarcke family, the Dovy Keukens-FCC team and the Belgian cycling community.

German rider Moritz Mauss underwent emergency career-saving surgery to remove a 50cm (20in) splinter of wood from his hip this week following a crash at the International Belgian Track Meeting on Sunday.

The 18-year-old, who rides for the UAE Team Emirates Gen-Z development squad, was competing in the Madison in the Gent track cycling event when he crashed, sliding across the wooden track.

As a result, splinters of wood from the track lodged in his leg, including a half-metre-long piece in his hip.

Writing in an Instagram post on Wednesday, Mauss said that he underwent surgery within hours of the crash, adding that he was "only a few centimetres" away from "a career-ending injury.

"I thought about sharing this post for the last few days, but I think it is important to also show these sides of the journey and the sport," Mauss wrote.

"On Sunday, I crashed in the Madison race at the International Track Meeting in Gent. During my fall, I slid across the track, and a 50cm long piece of wood splintered from the track and went directly through my hip and upper left leg.

"I was taken directly to the hospital and had surgery only about two hours after the accident. Everything went smoothly, and I am already back home now.

"I got really lucky because the splinter missed my nerves and most of my leg muscles. I will be out for a while now, but it could have been A LOT worse. Only a few centimetres could have meant a career-ending injury."

It isn't the first time a track racer has been impaled by a piece of the wooden track surface. In 2011, Malaysian sprinter Azizulhasni Awang had a 23cm (9-inch) sliver pierce his lower left leg after a crash during the Manchester Track World Cup.

Then, in 2019, Italian junior Lorenzo Gobbo - also racing at the Eddy Merckx velodrome in Gent - underwent three hours of surgery to have a 50cm splinter removed from his hip.

Mauss, who this year has 25 road race days under his belt, including appearances at Paris-Roubaix Espoirs and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Under-23, is riding his first season in the under-23 ranks after moving on from the German Junior Racing Team last season.

He finished 9th in the junior road race at the Rwanda World Championships last September, while his top result so far in 2026 is third on stage 1 of the Istrian Spring Tour.

Mauss didn't specify a timeframe for a comeback from his freak injury, though he concluded on a positive note, writing that "I am certain there is still a lot more to come this season.

"Thanks for the amazing support from my national team and the people at the hospital," Mauss added.

"I am really grateful to be in such good hands and to have so many supportive and loving people around me!!!

"Among all the wonderful moments this year and everything this sport has already brought me, those low points are also part of it. We have to accept what happened, and I will make the best of it.

"The work I have put in over the last few months is definitely not lost, and I am certain there is still a lot to come this season. Time to enjoy some unexpected days off the bike now."

Katherine 'Katia' Sarkisov grew up racing bicycles in Maryland, her younger sister Alyssa tagging along most of the time. At the age of 10, she raced in the 11-12 and 11-14 age categories in cyclocross and road events because there were no races for younger riders. Two years later, she was consistently winning those same races.

The family has roots in Russia, and her parents taught her to speak Russian before English. But she is very much an all-American girl. As a 12-year-old, she had a bronze-medal sweep at USA Cycling Amateur Road Nationals in the time trial, road race and criterium.

Then, at age 13, she won her first US junior women's title, beginning a string of success at cyclocross nationals. Now at the ripe old age of 22, the elder of the Sarkisov sisters has 17 medals across junior, U23, elite and collegiate races at cyclocross and road national championships.

From the Lux Development squad in 2022, she moved to Cynisca Cycling and then CCB p/b Levine Law Group. During that time, she rode for CXD Trek Bikes for cyclocross, winning the U23 gold medal at the 2024 US Cyclocross Nationals in a memorable collision with Cassidy Hickey just metres away from the finish line.

In 2025, she surpassed that by earning a bronze medal in the elite women's road race at USPro Championships, finishing just two seconds behind winner Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) and Lauren Stephens (Aegis). "Walked in with few expectations, walked away with some hardware. Hard to put it into words how much this third place means to me," she wrote on social media after standing on the podium next to the two veterans.

Sarkisov shared with Cyclingnews her desire to race any surface, having a sister on the same teams for multiple disciplines and using the most recent winter 'off' time to launch her career off the bike.

Cyclingnews: Tell us about where you grew up in the US and how you first discovered cycling.

Katherine Sarkisov: I grew up in Maryland, which has a big cycling community and a great Mid-Atlantic race scene. My dad has loved cycling for most of his life, and he introduced me to the sport when I was about 10 years old. He signed me up for a local youth club where I was surrounded by other kids my age, and for my first few years in the sport, I almost always trained and raced alongside riders from my area. It made getting into racing fun and easy to enjoy from a young age.

CN: Your sister Alyssa, three years younger, is a teammate with you for 'cross and now road, in 2026 with CCB Kenetik p/b Levine Law Group, so have the two of you always been friends, or do you just ride bikes together?

KS: When we were younger, we definitely bickered and fought quite a lot, but as we’ve grown up, that’s completely changed, and now I can honestly say my sister is one of my closest friends. We share so many similar experiences and can relate to each other on so much, both in cycling and outside of it. Whenever we’re together, we make time to hang out, whether that’s riding or just hanging out. I see her less often now that she’s moved to Indiana for school, but we always make time to call and catch up on everyday life.

CN: There is a lot of cyclocross in the mid-Atlantic states, so did you get hooked on 'cross first, and then move to road?

KS: I started out racing with Rock Creek Velo, a youth team that supports both road and cyclocross, so from the beginning I was doing both disciplines and racing year-round. For younger riders, it was centred around group practices, and as we got older, we were paired with a coach who provided more tailored training. It was incredible to have that level of support from a largely parent and volunteer-run organization. During my time with the team, I won my first cyclocross national title in Reno.

The following season, I joined CXD-Trek Bikes for cyclocross and have been with the team ever since. That program has played a huge role in my development, not just in cyclocross but as an overall athlete. They’ve supported me through both strong seasons and more challenging ones, and having that consistency over the years has meant a lot. It’s a team that truly invests in long-term growth, and being part of that environment has helped shape who I am as a rider today.

CN: You earned your first US national championship medals when you were 12 years old, earning bronze medals in all three road events you entered - criterium, road race and time trial. What made that special for you?

KS: I have really fond memories of that Nationals. At the time, earning my first podium medals felt incredibly exciting and memorable, and I was just over the moon to come home with them. That experience sparked a lot of motivation and excitement for racing, and it’s what kept me coming back to the sport, wanting to chase more moments like that.

CN: You earned your first gold medal at US Nationals in the cyclocross discipline when you were 14, and also won big 'cross races at Charm City Cross and DCCX. Did you feel like you wanted to focus more on 'cross with this success?

KS: I don’t think I ever really favoured one discipline over the other. From the beginning, I raced year-round, with cyclocross in the fall and road in the spring and summer, and that rhythm has stayed pretty consistent. I enjoy having goals to work toward throughout the year, and the off-season has usually been a time to focus on school and now work before the racing calendar picks back up again.

CN: What are your top 3 favourite memories so far as a junior/U23?

KS: One of my favourite memories is racing in my first Cyclocross World Championships in Fayetteville. At the time, I didn’t fully appreciate how special it was to compete at a world championship on home soil, but looking back, the atmosphere and the support for Team USA made it unforgettable. Another highlight was earning my first European podium at GP Sven Nys Baal as a junior. And finally, this past season’s elite cyclocross nationals stand out; my sister and I both made the podium, which made the moment incredibly special.

CN: Oh yes, you and your sister competed in the elite women's field at US Cyclocross Nationals last December, you at age 21 and Alyssa at just 18. Tell us about why you raced in the elite division, where you missed the gold medal by one second.

KS: There were a few factors behind my decision to race the elite field at USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships last year. I knew that on a good day, I could contend for the elite jersey, and after winning the U23 title the year before, I decided to go for the elite jersey instead. I didn’t feel amazing at the start of the race, but my legs really came around toward the end, and I was able to get moving. By then, it was just a bit too late to close the gap, and I finished second. My younger sister, Alyssa Sarkisov, finished third in the same race. It was hard to be disappointed in the race much at all because I got to stand on the podium with my sister.

CN: By 2023, you were racing with Cynisca and earned your first international podium in France at Tour de Charente-Maritime, a 98km road race after a morning ITT. Did you come away with new impressions about the European peloton and sharpened skills?

KS: Racing with Cynisca Cycling in Europe gave me a lot of valuable new experiences. The European peloton races differently, and simply being in that environment helped me learn what it takes to perform in Europe. The racing was much more aggressive and physical than what I was used to, so it definitely came with a learning curve.

CN: In 2025, you competed in a unique doubleheader at USPro Road Nats - women's U23 road race and then women's elite road race. You improved from fourth in the U23 event to third in the elite race, too. Did the U23 race give you insights into the course and how to race the elites? What was most special to you about the elite race?

KS: The dynamic of the U23 race was quite different from the elite race, but it was still really valuable to get a feel for the course ahead of time. I hadn’t originally planned to race the elite event, and it was only about an hour after the U23 race that I decided to line up again. The U23 race didn’t quite go the way I’d hoped, so I saw the elite race as another opportunity and went in without many expectations. I was mostly just hoping to improve on my result from the previous year when the U23s raced with the elites.

Ending up on the elite podium was far from what I imagined going into the day, which made it incredibly special. The next day, I learned that the result also qualified me for the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda, which was the perfect cherry on top of the whole experience.

CN: Now on your second road season with the CCB Kenetik team, what do you see as your best skills on the road, and what do you hope to learn with your CCB team?

KS: I think my strongest skills on the road are my race intelligence and my ability to read and analyze a race. This season with CCB, I’m looking forward to developing in several areas, especially improving my pack positioning in bigger races. I’m also excited to learn from our DS, Megan Guarnier, whose experience and success as a racer provide an incredible opportunity to grow this season.

CN: This year started well at the Redlands Cycling Classic, with fifth overall. Tell us what made that race special.

KS: I was really happy to come away with two podiums and the white jersey at the Redlands. It was my first race of the season, so it felt great to start the year off strong and build some confidence early on.

Redlands is one of my favourite US races. The town does an amazing job putting on the event, and the host housing is such a special part of the experience because it gives you the chance to meet and connect with people in the local community. Over the years, I’ve stayed with several different host families, and each one has played a big role in making my Redlands experience so positive and memorable.

CN: Tell us what you do off the bike, especially since you completed studies at the University of Maryland.

KS: Most recently, after the Cyclocross World Championships, I used the off-season to start my first full-time job, taking advantage of the downtime from training to get into the flow of work and be ready to balance it once the road season began. In December 2025, I started working as a software engineer for a defense contractor. Software development has always been a passion of mine, and it’s what I see as my long-term career, even if I step away for a period of time to race professionally.

CN: Other than being good at racing bikes, what are two things that would surprise people about you?

KS: Two things that might surprise people about me are that I have been a plant mom for eight years and currently keep 13 plants in my room, though I have had as many as 20 in previous years, and that Russian was my first language.

It's not often that sixth-place and seventh-place finishes get noticed, but when you are Enzo Hincapie and fighting for top spots at junior editions of Paris-Roubaix and E3 Saxo Classic, these results signal the wins are close.

Hincapie, the oldest child of retired WorldTour pro George Hincapie, made significant strides at these two junior Spring Classics from a year ago, finishing in the front group this year at E3 Saxo Classic and improving 89 spots at Paris-Roubaix with sixth in the highly competitive race a week ago.

"I think one of the main differences was just the experience. I've already done it before, and had a year of junior racing, it wasn't too good of a season the year before," Hincapie told Cyclingnews.

"Still, it led me to learn how the peloton moves, and I was able to take that in for pretty much every race this year. It's helped a lot, positioning-wise, and making the right decisions."

When the 17-year-old was announced in January as joining the German U19 team Grenke-Auto Eder, the development programme for WorldTour squad Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, he was called "a complete racer" by Director of Development Tim Meeusen.

By the age of 16, Hincapie had already won five US junior road national titles, his first pair in 2022 for ONTO Racing. He repeated with a road race title the next two years in the 15-16 division and took the silver, then gold, in the time trial. In those events alone, he demonstrated the versatility that Meeusen saw.

Away from US Nationals, he caught a lot of attention by winning the amateur finals race at Athens Twilight Criterium, beating riders twice his age in a field of 70. Last year with the US national team, he gained more international experience, winning a stage at the three-day 2.1-level Internationale Cottbuser Junioren-Etappenfahrt in Germany. But the high level of junior racing in Europe was a sure bet, even for a US national champion with a solid pedigree.

"Especially in junior racing, it's always pretty challenging. It's very crazy, and it's never really controlled," Hincapie told Cyclingnews. "I feel like with every race I've done this year, I keep learning and making better decisions and being in better places at the right time. But yeah, I think it all comes down to just trying to learn as much as I can with every race.

"Roubiax is such a chaotic race. My teammates had bad luck, and that's how the sport is sometimes."

He said that at his second time at Paris-Roubaix Juniors, he marked as many of the attacks as he could, riders competing in the colours of their home nations as a Nations Cup event. European junior road champion Karl Herzog of Germany and Julius Birkedal of Norway were among the aggressive riders he chased, both also part of his trade team, and Herzog in a leading late break with Dutch rider Thijs Wiersma.

"For that race, I was racing for the win or a podium, so I didn't want to let anyone go away," he recalled. "But there were already two guys up the road, and then another [attack] happened, and then I just took a gamble and also attacked myself. I didn't have quite the legs to get in contact with the front group. But I was really close.

"There wasn't much cooperation, so I kind of just went all-in to try and catch this front group. It was all or nothing. I happened to get caught by the group behind, and two or three people came around me in the sprint."

One of the riders swooping around was Birkedal, who finished in fourth, part of the group of 11 who were just two seconds behind winner Wiersma and runner-up Herzog.

"Just to be able to make the attacks and make the front groups whenever I wanted, it's definitely a major improvement from last Roubaix, where I never really saw the front event I wanted to. It was super fun [this year], I really enjoyed it."

Earlier in March, Hincapie finished on the podium alongside teammate and race winner Birkedal at the Gran Premi Les Franqueses. The US rider is inching closer to a win this year.

Hincapie was home in South Carolina this week, hoping to race another time in Athens, Georgia, but pulled out due to sickness. He will travel back to Europe for a block of racing before US Road Nationals, lining up the two-day Grand Prix West Bohemia for Grenke-Auto Eder, then another Nations Cup round at the Junior Peace Race in Czechia.

"The Peace race is a big goal of mine, and after that I'll do Flanders Juniors, also another big goal," he said. Then he was eager to get back to the US Road Nationals in June.

"For the time trial, I can really push myself to the extreme limit. For the road race, positioning helps a lot and making the right decisions, knowing who to follow. I favour the one-day races."

There are some late arrivals to serious gravel now and Jacob 'Jake' Richards is one who has not just ambition, but a plan. The 27-year-old earned a second entry into the wild card field at this year's Life Time Grand Prix series, and wants to be a pro rider. However, he doesn't want to just get paid to ride, but wants "to make a big difference in others' lives".

He'll take the start on Thursday in the pro field at the Sea Otter Classic gravel race, though most eyes will be on 2025 Grand Prix champion Cameron Jones (Scott Sports USA-RCC) and three-time Grand Prix winner and defending Sea Otter Classic winner Keegan Swenson.

The love for cycling captivated Richards as a teenager, and he did several epic rides across the US, including Key West, Florida to Bloomington, Indiana. That led him to a spot on the Grey Goat Cycling team for racing with his older brother in the Little 500 in Bloomington, Indiana (think Cutters in the movie 'Breaking Away'). He won a collegiate title in the Team Pursuit while attending Indiana University. After moving to Utah for a teaching position in 2022, he found some dirt roads to ride in the Ogden area and then competed at the 2023 Unbound Gravel 200 as his first competitive gravel event.

When you see bib number 77 in the Sea Otter Classic this year, that's Richards. He has renewed confidence that he can make a go of a privateer career in off-road races. He spoke to Cyclingnews about his untraditional path to the Life Time Grand Prix wild card selection, balancing training and racing with a full-time job, his love of teaching at the Utah Charter School to inspire his students, and even how he met one of the Cutters growing up in Bloomington.

Cyclingnews: Tell us about growing up in Indiana and how you got involved with cycling.

Jake Richards: Indiana, in general, can be a bit boring, but Bloomington is a bit of a diamond in the rough, especially for cycling. To be honest, there is not a lot to do unless you are into the lake life/hanging at quarries or sports. I played just about every sport I could growing up (baseball, basketball, tackle and flag football, soccer, tennis, hockey, wrestling, golf, cross country, track). My main sport was baseball, playing in competitive travel leagues in the summer, until I learned that you can do more with bikes than ride them around the neighborhood and to the mall with your buddies.

As a kid, I always heard about the Little 500 and had wanted to go so badly. Even my 5th grade engineering teacher was a 'Cutter'. I have talked to him throughout the years, seeing him at different events, and even chatting with him my freshman year about how to be successful with dyslexia, which we both have. Once my older brother joined a team [for the Little 500], I was able to start hanging out with the guys on the team and actually help the team out by being a lap counter and attending my first little 500.

CN: The Little 500 is such a famous amateur cycling event, held at Indiana University, and popularised by the movie "Breaking Away", filmed long before you were born. Tell us about when you first competed as a teen with your brother, even before you were in college.

JR: Over my last several years in high school, I started getting closer with the guys on Gray Goat, even to the point that they invited me to join their winter training trip my senior year. I was able to drive down to Gulfport, Mississippi with the team. It was so cool to be able to feel like a part of the team with my brother. So this really led to my decision to go to IU and race in the Little 5 and be a part of a team with my brother.

We spent so much of our beginning year on the bike training for races together, especially since we both lived at home for a bit in college. He was my main training partner. We were actually on three teams together - Little 5, domestic team, and collegiate team.

I chose to go to IU for the Little 500, even though I was offered a partial scholarship to ride for Marian University. So it may not be as notable to those who don't know the Little 5, but most of my highlights come from this race. Participating in this race is something truly special; competing in front of 20,000+ people on a track is like nothing else, it's like racing your bike in an arena.

CN: So did the movie capture the true essence of the amateur 'Cutter' team versus pros and college teams?

JR: The movie is actually pretty accurate overall. I think the most fictional part is that a non-undergrad student is allowed to participate in the event. Also the fighting between the cutters and the Greek teams is a little exaggerated. There is always a bit of a feud between independent teams and Greek life, but overall, the community now (at least as of when I was in college) was extremely positive.

CN: Even before college, you mentioned your brother inspired you to ride a bike instead of pursuing baseball or other sports. Tell us about your first road bike and what rides you accomplished as a teenager.

JR: When I was in seventh grade, my older brother, Josh, who is two years older than me, decided to go on a bike trip from San Francisco, California to Bloomington, Indiana, with a group called DeCycles. I thought this was the coolest thing in the world, so I started saving up to go the next year. My mom helped me buy my first road bike. This was my first road bike, and I took it on the trip in 2013 from El Paso, Texas to Bismarck, North Dakota. I loved this bike and would still have it as a towny bike if it weren't a 53cm and I’m 6’4”, haha.

I don’t know what my mom was thinking by allowing her 14-year-old kid to ride across the country, but I am so glad that she had that trust in the group and me to do so. This is how I fell in love with the bike and where it can take me. I then continued doing the next four trips, riding from Key West, Florida, to Bloomington; Bloomington to Nova Scotia, Canada; Seattle, Washington to Los Angeles, California; and Los Angeles, California to Bloomington.

CN: When you were at Indiana University, what were your top three cycling highlights?

JR: I completed two out of three goals in college - to qualify and compete in Collegiate Road Nationals, to win the spring series (showing we were the fastest team on the Little 500 track), and to win the Little 500.

I qualified and raced in the 2022 collegiate national championships, for which I had to skip graduation, and my parents drove to Georgia to watch me race. Then it was winning the Little 500 Spring Series. The one I missed was winning the Little 500, which our opportunity was taken from us on the last lap of the ‘21 and ‘22 race by someone crashing us out on the final corner of lap 199 of 200. That isn’t saying that we would have won if we didn’t crash, but we had a really strong team.

My third highlight was being a part of a Team Pursuit Championship team in 2019.

CN: You went from Indiana to Utah, so how did you find the teaching job and a love for off-road riding?

JR: Gray Goat Cycling. The two brothers who started this team, Matt and Ryan Kiel, are also the founders of Two Hoosiers Cyclery that originated in Ogden. They had moved there to work for several cycling companies, including Enve Composites. So I moved to Ogden for the summer of 2019, the shop gave me a mountain bike to ride, and I fell in love with the mountains. I then continued this summer internship until the end of the summer in 2022. I had graduated with a degree in Elementary and Special Education, so when the school year was about to start, I got a job working in a Moderate Special Education Unit in the Ogden School District.

CN: What do you enjoy most about teaching and why you want to continue with this career?

JR: I am currently a teacher at a charter school in a Salt Lake City suburb. I teach 7th, 8th, and 9th grade special education. The classes I cover are Directed Studies, eighth-grade Math, and Reading Interventions. Directed Studies covers Social Skills and Study Skills lessons and allows students to have time receiving help on content in other classes. I can target skills that the students need help with, and I can share my own life stories, which really draws some engagement from the students. This is where I love to share that I race bikes professionally and receive support to do so with my students, so they can see that they, too, can make their dreams come true.

I want to make a big difference in others' lives, and I don’t really see how only racing bikes can have that large an impact. I’ve always said that I want to be professional in a scene that I am paid to ride my bike, and I am extremely stoked to be able to say that I have made that come true.

It can be really hard to be a teacher and race at this level. The schedule for racing seems pretty ideal for racing, but with the majority of Grand Prix events being during the school year, I end up using all my personal time off.

In the summer, when I am not going to school every day, I put on mechanic education nights through my sponsor, Dangerous Pretzel Co., put on Monday night rides called the Pretzel Pedal, and run a GroupMe and Instagram called @Saltlakeridesbikes in attempts to help build some community.

CN: Once you got into off-road in Utah, what was your first real race?

JR: My first gravel race was Unbound 200. Unbound 200 being my first gravel race, it seems a bit unhinged or ignorant. Even though I started out mostly racing road, I was always drawn to ultra-endurance and the dirt. I had done a couple Everests and several 200+ mile rides.

My first Unbound was an eyeopener though. It was the 2023 mud addition with 4-6 miles of running in the first 20 miles of the race. The day went from being top three through the first mud section, to then getting passed in the second, running for several miles while trying to clean the 20+ pounds of mud on your bike, to then getting in the rhythm, to breaking a wheel and limping it to the 100-mile aid station, to almost getting heat stroke and sitting on the side of the road, to getting caught in a thunderstorm, to calling my brother to pick me up because I was so cold, to having my legs come back and passing an insane amount of people, to finishing 74th overall. It was a rollercoaster of emotions.

CN: ​​This year is your second time in the wild card for the Life Time Grand Prix, and that field was stacked with pros like Petr Vakoc, Adam Roberge, Brennan Wertz, Alex Howes. What did you learn in 2025 that will help you this season in the wild card?

JR: The biggest thing I learned is that I am more capable than I think I am. I remember lining up at Sea Otter [last year] being on the wheel of Lachlan Morton, who I have looked up to for many years and feeling over the moon. Alex Howes, in 2019 I watched him at the Tour of Utah.

I learned from racing in these fields that there was a panic moment of everyone trying to figure out their tire selection. I had only brought 2.0 or 45mm tires, but it seemed like everyone was going somewhere in the middle. At Unbound, walking around the expo, I ended up seeing Dylan Stucki, from the 2022 Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships in Durango, and he told me that I am the only one who knows my setup, so what other people run doesn’t matter at all, so run what I am confident in, and that will be the best setup for me. This really gave me the confidence to believe that I am one of the pros, even though I don’t have as much experience, that I am one of the guys that people look to for advice too.

CN: What are your goals this year?

JR: Obviously, I would love to make the selection to be in the Grand Prix, but realistically, my goals lie in my placement in the wild card standings and knowledge learned from the races. Coming from a road background, I am still learning to be less frustrated with the tactics of gravel chasing and group chasing.

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Don't be surprised if you hear more shouts of 'Bravo' at bike races, with a capital 'B'. While the chant is a common exclamation to praise skill and courage, it's also the surname of Brazil's latest sports personality, 19-year-old cyclist Henrique Bravo. He's on an upward trajectory far away from his Brazilian roots, now making noise in Europe with Soudal-QuickStep Development.

There was another Enrique who became a role model in Brazil for a rising generation of cyclists: Enrique Avancini, who won World Cups, stages at Cape Epic and world titles with his mountain bike skills. Rather than a Kaká, Neymar, Rinaldo, or Rinaldinho, it was this athlete with two names and two world championships in marathon MTB who caught the attention of Bravo, carving a passion for the mountain bike and a path to a pro career on the road bike.

It wasn't until 2023 that Bravo raced for the first time in Europe. The next year, he switched to the road with a club team, Picusa Academy, and won the overall at the three-day Vuelta Junior a la Ribera del Duero. He then joined Soudal-QuickStep Development and adjusted to life in Girona, taking top-10 GC finishes at the hilly stage race Giro Ciclisto della Valle d'Aosta and the Tour Alsace.

To start this year, Bravo won a stage at his first UCI 2.1 stage race, Tour du Rwanda, and then won the first GC title of his young career at Tour of Antalya. In less than two weeks, one day before his 20th birthday, Bravo will take the start of the U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège for a second time, landing 21st in his debut.

Off the bike, Bravo can be recognised by his quick, broad smile and cheerful attitude. He describes himself as "a happy person" and "a dreamer". On the bike, however, his confidence becomes evident and he does not hesitate to describe his talents with one word, "climber".

Cyclingnews caught up with the new phenom from Brazil to learn how he switched allegiances for a sports career from football to cycling, how he has adjusted to life in Spain as a teenager and how far he thinks he can go.

Cyclingnews: Tell us about growing up in Nova Lima, a large town in the mountainous region of south-east Brazil. How did you got involved with cycling?

Enrique Bravo: I always had a lot of energy, so I did all the sports first, playing football, as almost all the kids in Brazil. I did swimming, cycling, judo, skateboarding and many more sports. My childhood in Brazil was amazing. I studied at an Italian school in the town while I did a bunch of sports (to try to spend my infinite energy) and had a lot of fun with friends playing football. For sure, my favourite subject was physical education, also I was interested in geography.

But then, close to 11 years old, I decided to try a mountain bike class, close to where I live, and then I had a love [for cycling] from the first time on the two wheels.

CN: Did you have a role model for cycling as a young rider, either in your family or from a professional athlete?

HB: To be honest, when I was younger, I didn’t watch cycling. The culture in Brazil was much more around football. An example, in my family, there is nobody who does cycling. But then, when I started mountain biking, I became a big fan of Henrique Avancini.

CN: What do you remember about your first bike?

HB: My first bike was very simple, which my family gave to me. It was like a supermarket bike with a collaboration with 'Hot Wheels'. I had some extra wheels to help get the balance, and then after some time, I took [the training wheels] off. Since then, it was just fun.

CN: What was your first race on a bike outside Brazil? It was mountain biking, so how did that go?

HB: My first race outside Brazil was when I was a junior in 2023. The race was close to Aosta in Italy. It was unbelievable to ride for the first time in Europe; all the views and the trails were incredible. I got top five in my first race in Europe, also got second in a race in Switzerland, so overall it was nice to see that I had a good level, compared to the European level.

CN: Your first full season with Soudal-QuickStep Devo was in Europe last year. What were three things that you learned from the year?

HB: In Brazil, I basically did a couple of races on the road, before it was just MTB. So then last year with Soudal was one of my first real road races. It’s a new world of experience and it was basically a school, I learned every day - how to position, to race as a team - and basically everything that in Brazil you don’t have.

CN: It was a big change to go from Brazil to Spain at the age of 18. Tell us about the adjustments you needed and what skills you had that made it comfortable, too.

HB: For sure, it’s a big move coming from Brazil to live in Spain, but I adapted quite fast! I have some friends from Brazil who also live here, so this helped a lot to get more social and talk my language, like I do at home in Brazil. I speak Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, and am now learning French.

Sometimes you miss Brazil but I really love the life here in Girona, from the security of training without trucks but also the lifestyle of the city.

CN: So, are there busy roads where you lived in Brazil, and the roads are better in Spain?

HB: Yes, to go to the small roads without so many cars, you need to take the big road in Brazil. So I take the train. On the highway, there are a lot of cars and trucks passing at 120 kph, but I am already used to it.

For some people from Europe, it would be quite scary to see how busy it is. So then I appreciate it a lot here in Girona where the cars respect the cyclists.

CN: How much faster has the peloton been on the road than what you were used to in South America?

HB: For sure, much faster. Everyone here is so incredibly strong and also they grew up racing on the road since they were young. Sometimes, when you come from another continent, it takes a bit more time to adapt to the racing style and all that stuff, but it is possible to follow them when you train hard, get some racing in the legs and gain experience.

CN: You had a diverse schedule in 2025 - Liège-Bastogne-Liège, stage races in France and Italy, plus Worlds in Rwanda. What type of race suits you best?

HB: I really love the climbing races, for example, like Giro Valle D’Aosta suits me quite well with the long climbs! The experience in Rwanda was amazing, racing with the Brazil colours is something unique. Nonetheless, I enjoyed a lot the more punchy races like Liège and races in Ardennes.

CN: You spoke to Phil Lowe, team communications director, on The WolfPack Howls podcast in January about learning to suffer with climbing. What do you like the most about climbing? And what bike do you prefer to ride more, road or MTB?

HB: Since I started in cycling, I was good in the mountains. I basically love how much you can push on a climb. It is hard but amazing at the same time.

Where I Iive in Brazil, I have a good climb, 5k from my home, it's quite hard. I have a lot of big climbs to discover in Europe, so I’m excited to one day do these mythical climbs like Alpe D’Huez.

Everybody asks me that question [about a favourite bike]. I would say road bike for climbing. And then when I arrive at the top, I switch, and then I go on the trails [with mountain bike].

CN: In the next few years, what are the top races you look forward to racing the most?

HB: For this year, I have some top U23 races like Giro Next Gen and Tour de L’Avenir. My goal for the next few years is to keep living my dream and never stop improving.

I hope to be at the WorldTour level. To go to the Olympics in L.A. is a big goal. We'll see in two years what is possible.

The start of the junior E3 Classic is a strange place. Just a few hundred metres up the road, WorldTour pros are getting ready in warm buses, hordes of fans already surrounding them. Round the corner, on a quiet, residential street, there are 17 and 18-year-olds getting changed in vans.

Some of the riders are actually riding WorldTour teams' bikes, or wearing their helmets – some even their kit – but here they're on national team duty, where budgets don't even stretch to a camper, unless you're Belgian.

Milling around the basic line-up of vehicles are coaches, parents, and a very small number of supporters. But the most interesting figures are those in expensive coats or team-issue jackets, chatting directly with riders, and getting their number – both metaphorically and literally.

These people are agents and scouts, here to identify the next generation of talent before they even turn 19, and – ideally – get them on their books.

We know by now that these relationships are starting earlier and earlier, with top riders turning pro straight out of junior ranks, or at least signing for a WorldTour team's development squad. The fight for the next big star is fierce, and everyone wants to lock talent in early.

'Scouting' can come in a lot of different forms, and these days can happen via Instagram DMs as much as anything else, but with agents and scouts on the road throughout the year, it's clear that nothing beats actually getting out there and meeting riders.

Junior races like E3, or perhaps the junior Trofeo Alfredo Binda a couple of weeks ago, are quietly some of the most important days of the year. Winning is important, yes, but every rider also knows that eyes from the pro ranks will be on them, and a good ride here could be a stepping stone towards a pro contract.

A rider is more than the sum of their watts

When everything nowadays is on ProCyclingStats and Strava, you might think that talent scouts can do all their work from home, just crunching the numbers to find the junior most statistically likely to become a good elite rider. But actually, they're looking for much, much more than that.

"Personally, I look firstly at the humility of the rider," Jayco AlUla scout Giovanni Visconti tells Cyclingnews after E3, perhaps not the first quality you'd expect a scout to pick up on.

"I like to speak with them and see how they love their sport and how they try to do their best. Clearly, we also look at the physical values and how it works in terms of results. Another Important thing is the ability to stay in a big group, the ability on a descent, for example. After the race, often I also look at their behaviour with team staff and teammates."

Looking at a rider's data or power numbers is one element of identifying talent, but when it comes to spotting riders teams might want to tap up for the long term, pure numbers are not enough to go on, and big wins or high power aren't everything.

"Values are really important, but for me they are only the base to start looking at the rider on the road," Visconti explained. "There are riders with fantastic values that don’t show it on the road and riders who don’t have great values but show more. There has to be a compromise between results and values. From there, you know that you can work to improve."

At a race like E3, a scout like Visconti will be at the start and finish, but also out on the course, picking out the key moments to go and watch. With no TV footage of these races, and little other reporting, being on the ground is essential.

Visconti spends a lot of his time on the road, and will be looking for specific things at specific races.

"In races like E3, I go to see the ability of the rider to keep positions, to stay in a group in a race with small and difficult roads," he explains. "If I’m looking for a 'Classics man', I'm also watching the ability to read the race, to move in the right moment."

Representatives from teams are one big part of the scouting ecosystem, but the other big part is agents and agencies. Independent agents might do it all themselves, whilst bigger agencies will have dedicated scouts, but all the agents will also have half an eye on rising riders.

"It's crazy how competitive it's getting now on the women's side. People are looking at under 17s already, which, for me, is insane," Loren Rowney, former pro and now rider agent at The Team – formerly Wasserman – says.

For Rowney, scouting is a smaller part of her job, as The Team have David Bartelet in that dedicated role, but it's something she's attentive to all the same, and takes a lot more than just looking at results, or even just at the main races.

"This is a good example. We had Binda a few weeks ago, and they have the Piccolo Binda race. And that actually came down to a bunch sprint. Now if you just look at the top three there, you'd think 'OK, it came down to a bunch sprint' but if you didn't see the race and didn't know [how] it panned out and you didn't know which riders spent time off the front, it would be really hard to know what kind of athlete you're looking at. Did they just sit in the whole race and then kick at the finish?," she says.

"Where you can sometimes get a glimmer of the potential of an athlete is coming to these kermesses in Belgium. One of my clients was racing one on the weekend, and the girl who got second at Binda under 19s, a German rider [Edda Bieberle], I was blown away by how she rode that race.

"She had a crack and she put a minute and a half into the peloton, and there were some other strong riders there, but the way that she just attacked the race, I was like 'this is a rider who has talent'."

The next steps

Getting onto a talent scout's radar is very much just the start of the story for any promising rider. A thousand different factors will come into what happens next, whether it's how they perform in the next races, what a scout thinks of their personality off the bike, what they're looking for in a team, and much, much more.

"After an impressive performance, I'll try to find out if the rider has an agent or not so I contact the agent or the rider in some way and ask the permission from his parents to speak with him, and also have access to his training platform," Visconti explains.

"Then I introduce the rider to our scouting group to discuss and decide how to act with him. From there, we try to keep in contact and see each other again in another race."

Might there be more performance tests that the team wants to undertake with a rider? Maybe, but that's probably less common than you think, with less tangible qualities more important to many scouts.

"Sometimes, when looking at their training platform is not enough, or there’s something not so clear, we can ask them to do a short test during their training. Nothing special. I think every team has its protocol. But often we don’t need to ask for a test," Visconti says.

On the agent side, the goal is somewhat the same, to make connections with talented young riders – and Rowney also points to gaining the trust of a young rider's parents as a key part of the process. However, the next steps and the aims of the partnership are different.

Agents won't be testing a rider's FTP, and indeed the goal of their relationship is often to be a support off the bike to help navigate the journey into pro cycling.

"A lot of WorldTour teams now will admit that they don't have the means to develop these 18-year-olds, because it's not just the talent side of things; you're dealing with a very young human being here," Rowney says.

"At the races, they're there in a very safe environment with the team, but once they go home and the races are done, and maybe things didn't go well, then you've just dropped them off in a foreign country and said 'OK, good luck processing that'.

"And with the demands on WorldTour teams now too, sometimes that's just not right for you, and for a lot of athletes it's sink or swim."

Why so early?

The big question in all of this is, why is this all happening so early nowadays? Why is the start of E3 now half race, half business meeting?

For teams, it's clear that top riders' careers are peaking earlier, and in the era of ultra-long contracts, it's imperative to lock talent in early. You can't let them be snapped up by someone else. Many team managers also talk about the importance of getting a rider enmeshed in the ethics and working style of a team early, too.

It means that there's not a lot of choice in whether you get involved with this rat race or not.

"Junior scouting is certainly more important now than in the past. Cycling and sport in general is moving forward quickly. We can’t stop this process," Visconti says.

"So we have to do our best to try to find talents, but also pay attention to their correct [development] and give them the best to grow up well, without forgetting that they are so young and life is not only cycling."

On the agency side, the very fundamental reason is that the sooner you sign a rider, the sooner you can be taking a cut of their salary, which these days can be huge even for very young riders. Rowney admits that, like in any industry, there will be agents more motivated by that than anything else, but many are also very interested in caring for and nurturing their clients, particularly the youngest ones, and perhaps not pushing the pro pipeline too soon.

"OK, you can have those generational talents like Cat Ferguson, but for both men and women – women more so when you consider our hormones and everything – just because you're a phenomenal under-17 doesn't necessarily mean it's going to translate into being an elite athlete. Plus at that age, they shouldn't feel that pressure," she says.

"You can still start learning the aspects of what it means to be an elite athlete and what that looks like, the importance of good food, recovery, all those sorts of things, you can learn as a junior, but the pressure now on these young athletes is insane. And I do wonder sometimes about the emotional toll it's taking."

Navigating contracts is one part of an agents job, but many also help riders get set up with a new home, help them find proper rehabilitation after injuries, and many other smaller, more pastoral things.

From the outside, watching the start of E3 and prevalence of scouts, it's easy to wonder if young riders are becoming commodities for teams and agents to fight over, or if the two sides of the scouting world are at odds, trying to get to talent before the other.

"I've never really though of it as like, we've got to get to them before they get to a team," Rowney says. "But I'm sure that is why some agents are trying to sign under-17s, to get in there before they start making any decisions."

"There are many agents now and they are working more every year with young talent, so we have to work with them," Visconti adds.

"Sometime it’s easy, sometimes it's not, but it’s part of the game. It’s not so important to find riders without agents, I think most important is that agents can give the right advice to their riders, not forgetting that the family must be the first place where important choices should come from."

At E3 juniors, Italy's Brandon Fedrizzi won the race, whilst Matilde Rossignoli won the important Piccolo Binda. Edda Bieberle, the second-placed rider Rowney spoke about, has already taken two more wins in Belgium since then.

These might not be names you know yet, but talent scouts will know them and everything about 50 other talented riders, too. Whether it's on a quiet street in Belgium or in an Instagram DM, the process of unleashing the next generation of talent has very much begun.

Fleur Moors looks very young and very cold as she steps into the Sporza studio in Wevelgem, flanked by Greg Van Avermaet and Marijn de Vries to dissect the biggest result of her career, and step firmly onto the radar of cycling fans in Belgium and beyond. The talented rider is no longer just rising; she has made it.

Moors is not new to the WorldTour. She may still be only 20, but she's now in her third year, signing straight out of the juniors and taking a whirlwind journey towards the top, with second at In Flanders Fields offering a breakthrough result.

If anyone didn't know her name before Sunday, they certainly do now, after she came perilously close to beating Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) on the line from an elite group that formed in the finale.

What's more, this isn't even the first time this year she's gone toe to toe with Wiebes; Moors went away with the Dutchwoman in the finale of the GP Oetingen, beaten on the line but the only rider who could follow her acceleration.

So who is the 20-year-old who will now be on absolutely everyone's radar this Monday morning?

Early promise, teething problems, and a breakthrough

From Bree, in northeast Belgium – practically the Netherlands – Moors quickly made waves as a junior, finishing 12th in her first World Championships in Australia in 2022, and third the year after. She also picked up a fourth in the junior Tour of Flanders, and impressed on the cyclo-cross field, so it was no surprise that Lidl-Trek picked her up, signing her from the start of the 2024 season when she was still 18.

Her talent was clear, and she wasn't alone in joining Lidl-Trek young in 2024 – they signed five riders straight out of juniors that year – but she wasn't a precocious neo pro.

"I didn’t know anybody, and my English was also not good, so that was really scary for me,” she told Cyclingnews at the end of her first pro season, for a feature exploring the junior to WorldTour pipeline.

"I came to the airport on my own, I never did that before, so all those things were so stressful."

Thrown straight into tough races, the Belgian, who is small but not a climber – more inclined to the mud of cyclocross than long Spanish climbs – initially felt the shock of the step up.

"It was really difficult because on this level on those climbs, I was really dropping off every time," she recounted. "But then Ina [Teutenberg, Lidl-Trek DS] said to me ‘you don’t have to be so hard on yourself’. Then after that I had some races with not so much climbing, more my kind of race, and I did some good things which gave me confidence."

An injury at the start of 2025 put the brakes on Moors' development, but coming back in June, she quickly flew to her first pro win, taking a sprint victory at Dwars door de Westhoek, ahead of riders much more experienced than her.

A tough Giro d'Italia Women debut followed, and then a big week at the Tour de l'Avenir Femmes, finishing her season in Rwanda. Those two years were a good start to her pro career, and anyone with a keen eye on women's cycling definitely took note of her rise, but she's really announced herself in 2026.

Being older and more experienced obviously helps, but Moors doesn't put her step up this year down to anything in particular, more just circumstances allowing her to show off the potential she's always had.

"I think just the rhythm, not becoming sick, no bad luck," she told Cyclingnews on Sunday. "Last year I had quite a lot of bad luck, but now I can build up and build up, and you see that it pays off.

"These are the races that fit me well. Bigger climbs are still not my thing, but I'm happy I can do my thing in these Belgian Classic races."

Praise from all angles

Though the youngest member of the Lidl-Trek team that started on Sunday, Moors is a highly respected and important part of the squad.

"She's amazing," a tired but buoyed Emma Norsgaard told Cyclingnews in Wevelgem. "For sure she's one of the biggest talents coming into women's cycling at the moment. She's super cool.

"She's for sure a Classics rider, and mentally she's just a real go-getter, so it's amazing to be teammates with her, it's really inspiring to see a young talent like her."

Moors also garnered respect and praise from the rider she nearly beat on Sunday.

"I think Fleur showed really good progression this year. She's still super young and she's doing really strong, also with these hills," Lorena Wiebes said. "In Oetingen I knew also that she was able to follow when I attacked. I think it's good to see young riders like Fleur becoming stronger and I think it was a good opportunity for her. She's also quite explosive after a race like this."

The young rider has clearly been lifting the level in the team this Spring, but it's a two-way street. On Sunday, she again thanked Teutenberg, the DS who told her stop being so hard on herself back when she started.

"Ina told me in the meeting I needed to be in the attack so I was saying to myself 'I need to do it!'", Moors said. "She’s really good on the radio and is also the reason why I made it on to the podium. It’s so nice to have her."

It's certainly nice for the German team to have her, too. Results have not come in abundance so far this season, but with Moors' second place on Sunday, they put themselves back in the headlines this Classics campaign.

The most exciting thing is seeing what the 20-year-old can do next.

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After 170.5 kilometres (106 miles) of red dust kicked up by the Oklahoma winds and an unrelenting pace of a strong elite men's field, the final 250 metres confirmed Colorado youngster Cobe Freeburn (Trek Driftless) was ready for prime time.

The 24-year-old from Durango won Mid South Gravel when he hit the afterburners on the pavement in Stillwater and ignited a final surge to hold off Unbound Gravel 200 champion Cameron Jones (Scott-RCC) at the line.

It wasn't just your typical crazy-fast sprint to decide an off-road endurance race, it was a forecast for the new guard of gravel. The two are just separated in age by one year, with Jones a familiar name with two strong seasons of gravel, and a Life Time Grand Prix title, on his resume. Freeburn comes from mountain biking and lines up for the first time in the Grand Prix this season, the opening round April 16 at Sea Otter Classic Gravel in California.

"I wanted to be a part of the Life Time Grand Prix because that is where the best competition in off-road cycling is. It is an incredible opportunity to compete against the best in the country and some of the best in the world," Freeburn told Cyclingnews after he was named to the early-season roster of 22 men in the LTGP field.

"The majority of the best cyclists in the gravel/off-road space are in the Grand Prix or at least compete in some of the races. There is also a lot of attention on the series and the athletes competing in it, so it's a nice opportunity to get my name out there more."

Freeburn sells himself a bit short, as his name is already out there. He added his name to the list that has won the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic - Quinn Simmons, Sepp Kuss and Howard Grotts - and won the race twice. 2025 was his breakout year on gravel, winning Bighorn Gravel and finishing third at SBT GRVL, just behind winner Brennan Wertz and runner-up Keegan Swenson. He was fifth at Chequamegon MTB and finished 15th at Leadville Trail 100 MTB.

Peter Stetina called him a "big prospect" last year after SBT GRVL, while Wertz noted that he was more than just a high-altitude "rider to watch," saying "I've seen him perform in all sorts of different courses.

After the Oklahoma matchup, Jones took to social to say Freeburn's form was "spot on" and the new LTGP rider "would be one to watch this year, killer sprint in the end there".

An attritional race that started with 65 riders came down to 20 then seven at the front of the race with 55km (34 miles) to go, and Wertz was the first to drop from the steam engine with a flat tyre. A water crossing with 27km (16 miles) caused another disruption and soon there were just three on the pavement in downtown Stillwater, with Michael Garrison (SpeedStudio p/b Basso), another 24-year-old, just three seconds behind the sprint duo for third.

"That was definitely the best sprint I have ever put together at the end of a race, it was also my best 5, 10, and 12-second power I have ever done. I have typically not done as well in sprints at the end of races but this time was different I guess," Freeburn told Cyclingnews.

"Cam and Michael were probably stronger than me most of the day so I was very surprised that I was able to outsprint them at the end."

The victory for Freeburn was his first riding for Trek Driftless, his teammate Daxton Mock leading the chase group for fourth.

"This year joining Trek Driftless has been nice so far. It really allows me to focus more on the racing and less about the other small things that go on during race weekends. I don't have to worry about going to the store or how I'm going to get to the venue. It just really allows me to put all my energy into performing on race day," he said.

"The next few races on my calendar are Sea Otter, Traka 200, and Unbound. They are all big targets for me so hopefully I can carry some momentum into them."

He and Mock had been in the pipeline for the gravel squad since racing several years together in MTB and some cyclo-cross with the Trek-supported Bear National Team. Mock is among the wild card entries for the Life Time Grand Prix this year.

The third men's rider on Trek Driftless is Torbjørn Røed, who finished third overall at the Grand Prix last year. He often trained with Freeburn last year and will be part of a formidable trio for the six-race Grand Prix.

"I was also very fortunate to have an incredible teammate. Daxton Mock and I worked together seamlessly and we were always in the right place at the right time. I can’t thank everyone enough. Hopefully this is just the beginning," he added in a social post.

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our gravel cycling coverage in 2026. We'll be on the ground at the biggest races of the season, bringing you breaking news, expert analysis, in-depth features, and much more. Find out more.

Lidl-Trek have added a second stepping stone on the development path to WorldTour racing, Lidl-Trek Junior Racing launching for the 2026 season with 10 full-time riders, and British rider Leon Atkins confirmed as one of three guest riders.

The squad for 16 to 18-year-old junior men completes a structured programme for the WorldTour team alongside the Lidl-Trek Future Racing squad, launched in 2024 for under-23 riders. The new team partners with a regional German squad, Baden-Württemberg, and will begin their season at the Tour du Bocage et de l’Ernée 53 on March 28-29.

"Creating Lidl-Trek Junior Racing gives us a level of structure in our scouting process that we haven’t had before – one that allows us to detect talent earlier and give young riders a clear, supported pathway toward the development team," Josu Larrazabal, head of coaching, scouting and academy at Lidl-Trek, said in a press statement.

"Because the team is registered as a Club Team, it doesn’t conflict with races where national federations take part, which means we can build the best possible race programme around each rider. It’s also a significant step forward in managing the transition from junior to under-23 level."

Club teams are becoming a preferred path for young riders who may have previously chosen national teams. They offer a consistent environment for coaching and competition, and now that Nations Cup races are no longer on the calendar, development teams can compete in top races like Tour de L'Avenir, which were formerly only for national teams.

Ten of the 13 riders are from Germany in alignment with the regional team affiliation and will be the team's full-time roster.

Three further riders will "join the team as guest riders for select events", Lidl-Trek said, racing with their existing teams for the rest of the year.

Those three international guest riders are Austrian junior road champion Michael Hetteger, Trophée Madiot-Crédit Mutuel champion Julien Breugnot of France and British junior time trial champion and track star Atkins.

Breugnot rides for CC Étupes whilst Atkins is on the CAMS Majaco team, which is supported by Ineos Grenadiers, but he is already pinned to join Lidl-Trek Future Racing as an under-23 in 2027.

"Just as we’ve seen with the progression of our U23 riders to the WorldTour, knowing athletes from race situations, from training day-to-day, from how they handle their lives outside of cycling – that knowledge is invaluable. This programme improves our ability to find and develop the very best junior talent, and I’m genuinely excited about what that means for the future of this team,” Larrazabal added.

As a club team, Lidl-Trek Junior Racing joins the ranks of four other development squads that are directly affiliated to a WorldTour team: Cannibal-Victorious U19 Development, Decathlon CMA CGM Juniors Team, Groupama-FDJ United and Soudal-QuickStep U19.

Several top-tier teams have partnerships with existing club teams: EF Education works with EF Education-ONTO (USA), Visma-Lease a Bike with JEGG-SKIL-DJR (Netherlands), Ineos Grenadiers with CAMS Majaco (Great Britain) and Hot Tubes Development (USA), while Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe works with Grenke-Auto Eder (Germany).

Many of these junior club teams will use the Tour du Bocage et de l’Ernée 53 in France as a barometer to test talent. Past winners of the two-day race include Jarno Widar, now with Lotto Intermarché, and Ashlin Barry, who competes with the Visma-Lease a Bike Development team.

Other races planned for this season include Côte d’Or Classic Juniors in France, RF LVM Saarland Trofeo in Germany and RF Keizer der Juniores in Belgium.

Lidl-Trek Junior Racing 2026 roster

• Sean Arnold (Germany)
• Timo Burger (Germany)
• Luan Elsäßer (Germany)
• Louis Joos (Germany)
• Noah Kunz (Germany)
• Mathis Müller (Germany)
• Moritz Schwarzer (Germany)
• Josh Tietjen (Germany)
• Baltasar Waldmüller (Germany)
• Timo Zabel (Germany)
• Leon Atkins (United Kingdom) – guest rider
• Julien Breugnot (France) – guest rider
• Michael Hetteger (Austria) – guest rider

Note: this story was updated on March 19, 2026 to reflect a clarification issued by Lidl-Trek about the guest rider status of three riders.

The Spring Classics season is upon us, with Opening Weekend kicking off almost two months of thrilling action in Belgium, Northern France, Italy, and the Netherlands, taking in four of cycling's Monuments along the way.

We'll all be looking out for the big-name Classics superstars to make their mark this spring, with the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Lotte Kopecky, Tadej Pogačar, Demi Vollering, Wout van Aert, and Lorena Wiebes all due to make the headlines in the cobbles and hills between now and April.

But every year, of course, a host of new names leave their mark on the spring Classics. Faces old and new make the step up with memorable breakaways, palmarès-topping results, and breakthrough performances.

We've pored through the men's and women's peloton to pick out some of the riders most likely to take the next step this spring. Here are our breakthrough riders to watch in the 2026 spring Classics.

Lidl-Trek's youngsters

The news that Lidl-Trek Classics leader Mads Pedersen fractured his collarbone and wrist earlier this month has opened the door for several of his teammates to step up, at least in the early weeks of the spring Classics. It remains to be seen when the Dane will return to action, but in the meantime, his team can look to a host of promising young riders on the cobbles.

Czech champion Mathias Vacek has shown much promise since joining the team in 2023, including finishing runner-up at Paris-Tours two years ago. He's also featured in the break at Paris-Roubaix and Amstel Gold Race in recent seasons, but hasn't yet raced spring as a team leader. It'll be interesting to see how he tackled Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Joining him in the Opening Weekend team will be a clutch of first- and second-year pros in Tim Torn Teutenberg (aged 23), Jakob Söderqvist (22), and Albert Withen Philipsen (19).

Under-23 world time trial champion Söderqvist and Paris-Tours podium finisher Withen Philipsen both fit the profile of tall, strong Classics men, as does German racer Torn Teutenberg. Withen Philipsen and Söderqvist went one-two at last year's Paris-Roubaix Espoirs, while Torn Teutenberg won the race two years ago.

Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto)

Twenty-one-year-old Zoe Bäckstedt is building towards something special. Will this spring herald another breakthrough for the multi-talented racer who has already won world titles at junior and under-23 levels across road, track, and cyclo-cross.

2026 marks Bäckstedt's third season at Women's WorldTour level with Canyon, with her 2025 campaign bringing much success. Last year, she took out a three-stage-and-the-overall win at the Baloise Belgium Tour and then a second career WWT stage win at the Simac Ladies Tour.

Bäckstedt has the Tour of Flanders junior title to her name, and she's also finished 13th at Paris-Roubaix. She's also improving every year, so we could be in for something big this spring.

Look out, too, for Bäckstedt's Dutch teammate Maike van der Duin. The 24-year-old is a fast finisher and took sixth and third at the Classic Brugge-De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem three seasons ago. The latter half of her 2025 campaign was derailed by illness, but she returned to action at the recent Setmana Valenciana.

Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike)

Visma-Lease a Bike's rapid 20-year-old Matthew Brennan has already made his big breakthrough, bursting into the pro ranks last year with 12 wins, including four at WorldTour level across the Volta a Catalunya, Tour de Romandie, and Tour de Pologne.

A win at the GP de Denain and a stint working for Wout van Aert deep into Paris-Roubaix showed that he's clearly a name to watch during cobbled Classics season in future, too.

This year, he's already taken out a win at the Tour Down Under, and he's set for a full Classics campaign, including Opening Weekend, Milan-San Remo, and the big cobbled races heading into Flanders and Roubaix. Van Aert may be Visma's leader, but Brennan will be one to watch.

Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ)

It's inarguable that Irish racer Lara Gillespie has already made her Classics breakthrough. After all, the 24-year-old enjoyed a dazzling run of results last spring – second at the Omloop van het Hageland, third at Le Samyn and Nokere Koerse, fifth at the Classic Brugge-De Panne, sixth at Gent-Wevelgem, and a top-20 at Paris-Roubaix Femmes.

Can she take that next step and come away from this spring with a Women's WorldTour podium or a Classics win? She's shown all the potential to do so, and after last year's run of results, she'll be a watched rider throughout this spring.

In order to get a result, Gillespie will no doubt be battling Lorena Wiebes, who took four big wins last March, once again. At the UAE Tour earlier this month, she opened her season account with two second places and a fifth behind the mighty Dutch sprinter.

Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep)

Following the departure of Remco Evenepoel, one-time Classics powerhouse Soudal-QuickStep have recalibrated their squad to go at the spring Classics once more. Jasper Stuyven and Dylan van Baarle join as major additions, while Yves Lampaert, Casper Pedersen, and young sprinter Paul Magnier stay on board to form a powerful group.

The 21-year-old Frenchman came close to a big win this time last season, finishing second at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, while he finished second at the Ename Samyn Classic a few days later, too. Later on, he rounded out his season with 14 wins in two months.

This spring, he's tackling Omloop and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne before heading to Milan-San Remo, Dwars door Vlaanderen, and the Tour of Flanders. Don't be surprised if the two-time Volta ao Algarve stage winner walks away from the period with a breakthrough Classics victory.

Demi Vollering's support team (FDJ United-Suez)

With a spring Classics palmarès packed with six wins across Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liége, it won't be a surprise to see one of women's cycling's superstars, Demi Vollering, competing for the biggest prizes once again this spring.

She'll be backed up by one of the strongest support squads around, too, with the likes of Vittoria Guazzini, Juliette Berthet, Elise Chabbey, and Amber Kraak set to support the Dutchwoman. But these riders, while lacking a similar big Classics win themselves, have all the quality to step up themselves, too.

All four riders have been there or thereabouts in the biggest races of the spring. Guazzini is a former Le Samyn winner with top fives at Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Trofeo Binda to her name. Berthet has scored top 10s at Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, and the Ardennes Classics. Kraak has done the same at Paris-Roubaix and Amstel Gold Race. Meanwhile, Chabbey finished top 10 at Flanders and Roubaix last season, and has done the same at Strade Bianche, Flèche, and Liège.

Vollering will be leading FDJ United-Suez this spring, but the strength of her support team is such that any of them could score a big win themselves.

Cristian Scaroni (XDS-Astana)

XDS-Astana came back from the dead last year to fly up to fourth in the UCI rankings, securing their future in the WorldTour for another three years thanks to a single-minded pursuit of UCI points throughout 2025. Italian racer Cristian Scaroni, with five wins and 2,399 points, led the charge for the Kazakhstani squad.

Last year, he took out wins at some smaller hilly Classics – the Classic Var and the Giro dell Romagna – in addition to mountain victories at the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes and the Giro d'Italia. There were 14 further top-10 placings in other hilly one-dayers, too, plus a fourth place at the Road European Championships.

Only one of those, the Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa, came at WorldTour level, but Scaroni will surely be a watched rider come the Ardennes Classics. XDS-Astana directeur sportif recently drew a comparison between the Italian and the "early days" of Alejandro Valverde. We'll see whether that comparison rings true come April.

Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Rose Rockets)

After six years in the Continental ranks, Slovakian champion Lukáš Kubiš got his first shot at ProTeam level with Unibet Rose Rockets last season, and the 26-year-old grabbed it with both hands.

Kubiš impressed throughout the spring and the rest of the year, recording 33 top-10 results between February's Etoile de Bessèges and October's Tour of Holland. Along the way came top 10s at both Opening Weekend races plus Nokere Koerse and the Muur Classic Geraardsbergen, showcasing his ability to perform on the cobbles at the highest level.

This year's spring campaign will see him given a chance at an even higher level, with Unibet Rose Rockets scoring invites to every major Classic between Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Paris-Roubaix. Kubiš will be at all of them, including the Tour of Flanders, and he'll be the most-watched man on his team.

Magdeleine Vallieres Mill (EF Education-Oatly)

It may be odd to include reigning world champion Magdeleine Vallieres Mill in our list, but the Canadian's big win in Rwanda came before any big breakthrough in the spring.

The 24-year-old shot to a surprise breakaway victory in the hills of Kigali last September, but, despite her relative lack of Classics success beforehand, it was far from a fluke as she attacked at the lead of the race on the last lap.

She finished her season inside the top 10 at the Giro dell'Emilia and Tre Valli Varesine, having earlier finished 12th at De Brabantse Pijl and 14th at La Flèche Wallonne in the spring. Her Worlds triumph will certainly raise expectations for this year's Ardennes Classics.

Bastien Tronchon (Groupama-FDJ United)

FDJ's longtime Classics leader, Swiss nearly man Stefan Küng, has departed after seven years, and so a Classics leadership role has opened up at the French squad. 29-year-old Valentin Madouas is the man most likely to step up, with podiums at Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders to his name, but there should be opportunities for others, too.

Bastien Tronchon, 23, will race the full complement of cobbled Classics for the first time this season after being let go by Decathlon-CMA CGM over the winter.

He's already shown form on rough roads, having finished second at the Clásica Jaén two years ago and taken victory at Tro-Bro Léon last spring. Both races are run on dirt rather than cobblestones, but Tronchon will surely be a name to watch, both this spring and in the coming seasons.

Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We'll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Find out more.

Ethan Brown has grown up in the heartland of the US, just north of Indianapolis, Indiana. It's a landscape scattered with endless rows of cornstalks and soybeans and is a hub for motorsports with the IndyCar and NASCAR racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But a simple red bike caught the attention of a young Brown and it turned simple pedal strokes into a growing passion.

He then developed a need for speed on the grounds of the Major Taylor Velodrome, between his family's suburban home and the auto racing speedway, but not on the steep concrete banks of the outdoor track. Instead, he gravitated to cyclo-cross, with the home course of Major Taylor Cross Cup and local races becoming a fixture for the past eight years.

Brown has gone from top 35 placings at Major Taylor 'Cross Cup as a 10-year-old to US men's 17-18 junior national champion. This season at age 17 was a breakout year for the Indiana native, earning six regular-season wins in the US, going runner-up for junior men at both US Cyclocross Series and Pan-American Cyclo-cross Championships and riding to his first top 20 at a World Cup (Flamanville in November). In the new calendar year, he then finished as the top US junior men's rider at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships with 16th place.

With the 'cross season melting away in the approach to spring, Brown is back to classes at Hamilton Southeastern High School to finish his junior year. He's done with junior racing and spoke to Cyclingnews about a move to the U23 division, how he would like to develop like Dutch rider Tibor Del Grosso, silver medalist in the elite division of Cyclo-cross Worlds at just 22, and next steps to continue his education.

Cyclingnews: Tell us about where you grew up in the US and how you fell in love with cycling.

Ethan Brown: Prior to my discovery of cyclo-cross, I was introduced to cycling through a junior triathlon race series. I was always an active kid, tried all the typical sports of the community - soccer, baseball, gymnastics, wrestling, even had a small career in break dancing at some point, but never seemed to feel at home with these sports.

My mom, on a whim, signed me up for a summer series of triathlons. I loved it so much, I quickly told her I needed a better bike. The search began, a red Diamondback was found, and in the process so was Midwest Devo. With my arms draped over the velodrome walls watching practice or racing, I turned and said, "I want to do this".

I joined Midwest Devo, and really just never looked back. Midwest Devo really emphasizes the importance in the younger years of having fun while riding your bike. I found friends, bikes, trails, and we rode as much and as often as we could. I was probably a bit late to the game as compared to others with actual planned training schedules and coaching.

CN: What do you enjoy most about cyclo-cross and what has been your favourite US race?

EB: Over the many years of racing and being on a team, I have realized that I think I love all the bike skills you learn in cyclo-cross. I have always been one to love a good challenge, and cyclo-cross always seemed to provide that for me. When I was younger, I remember one of my only goals at Trek CX Cup was to be able to ride up the log steps. Trek CX Cup was actually one of the first big races that I traveled to, and I don't think I have missed a year since we started going.

CN: ⁠You've raced primarily for Midwest NXT and attended 'cross camps in 2023 and 2024 in Montana with EuroCrossAcademy. What else do you attribute to your breakout performances this season, winning the US men's junior cyclo-cross title?

EB: My favorite highlight of the last couple years is the training camps we do every year at my teammate's cabin in Brown County, Indiana. We camp, have a fire, build trails and jumps, and ride lots of miles on the gravel of Hoosier National Forest.

Looking back over the years, I love how many people that I have gotten to meet all over the US and the world. I travel with my teammates' families a lot, and at some point we all just blend together into one extended family. This extended family that surrounds me with support, friendship, and guidance is what drives me.

Of course, my national championship win is a big highlight. It was many years in the making, but really a part of my daily thoughts and training for 12 months. I still have a hard time putting into words how that one felt, but I replay the memory frequently. I have met so many people throughout this process that have contributed to my success.

CN: You have now competed at Cyclo-cross Worlds twice as a junior. What made racing in Hulst for Team USA special this season?

EB: My mom, sister, and aunt were all in Hulst this year for Worlds - I knew my mom was coming but my sister and aunt actually surprised me. My teammate was also in Hulst, and his entire family was there too cheering us both on. I know my grandma was up watching on FloBikes, along with teammates and friends that I have grown up riding and traveling with. The amount of texts and messages I got after the race was amazing, knowing that even if people weren't up watching, they were following along on social media. I'm pretty focused on my routine before races, but once the race was over I could really take in all the support people were giving. I have raced at Hulst once before, and really like the technical aspect of this course.

CN: Tell us about the race itself, and what you recall doing differently than 2024.

EB: Starting the race, I envisioned myself in a tunnel, being catapulted forward. My favorite part of the race was when I passed three riders on one of the downhills. My coach saw it and said it was pretty crazy!

I honestly am so much in the zone when I am racing, I don't really hear the crowds too much. I did hear a few familiar voices yelling a couple times though. But after, I had a chance to really soak up the crowd vibe and watch the men's elite race for a while before I left. The crowds are definitely so different in the US, and I love how hyped everyone gets in Europe.

CN: ⁠⁠Who have been your role models in the sport of cycling growing up? What do you appreciate about that person/people?

EB: When I was younger, I really looked up to a lot of the older riders on Midwest Devo and wanted to ride just like them. Now that I'm older, I look up to Tibor Del Grosso. When I watch him ride, he seems very calm and in control, and like his bike is just a part of him. His whole body is still except his legs are moving. He just seems to be very focused and determined. I guess he just looks cool to me when he rides.

CN: You move out of the junior division in the fall so do you have any goals at a new level?

EB: Moving up to U23 is going to be a challenge, but like I said before, I love a good challenge. I really feel like I am ready for this next step. I haven't set any specific goals yet, but a call soon to my coach is probably on the books. You can find me as I continue my cycling journey with Midwest NXT.

CN: What other objectives have you set for yourself in 2026, off the bike?

EB: I have also started my college search, planning a trip to Colorado for spring break but also plan to look locally too. It's pretty set though that I want to continue competing at a high level hopefully on a collegiate team. When I'm not training, I love to do anything outdoors. I've been skiing a couple times since I have been home from Worlds, and I also love to camp and ride my scooter.

This week's Volta ao Algarve sees a host of big GC names go head-to-head for the first time in 2026, including João Almeida, Juan Ayuso, and Oscar Onley. But besides those established stars, the race also marks the first high-level stage race for one of cycling's hottest young talents.

20-year-old Belgian Jarno Widar will lead Lotto-Intermarché at the race. In the past two seasons, he has won the Giro d'Italia Next Gen, the Ronde de l'Isard, two editions of the Giro Valle d'Aosta, the under-23 European road race title, and the under-23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

All those achievements, in addition to last year's second place at the Tour de l'Avenir behind Paul Seixas, mean his neo-pro season this year is widely anticipated.

Widar has already made his professional bow, racing to fourth place at the Figueira Champions Classic at the weekend, and now he's ready to test himself in the Algarve.

"I've been scouting both the finishes in Fóia and Malhão these past few days. They suit my abilities, but have you seen the field yet? I'm still five steps away from that level," Widar told Het Nieuwsblad, calming any hype before he takes on Almeida, Ayuso, Onley, as well as Seixas and Florian Lipowitz.

"I was still lacking some racing rhythm [at Figueira]. The feeling was okay, but it didn't have any punch yet, which is what I expected. I'll get better the more I race. The explosiveness will come naturally."

Despite his remark that he's some way away from matching those established racers listed above, Widar is still looking forward to testing himself against them. He is the Lotto leader, after all.

"I'm really looking forward to competing against all those top athletes. It's a unique opportunity, so early in the season," he said.

"What do I expect? That I'll suffer. I'm not at my best yet, and that's not allowed. But I've taken another step this winter, and I do feel that way.

'It's a dream to be able to compete against these guys for a result. And you always want the very best, that's understandable. The team has also appointed me as their leader; I shouldn't sacrifice myself for anyone. So yes, I'm going for a result."

My View

Widar's 2026 has already been planned out, with plenty of action at WorldTour level, too.

Strade Bianche, Itzulia Basque Country, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège are the highlights of his spring. Later in the year, there are appointments at the Tour de Suisse, Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa, and the Vuelta a Burgos en route to a planned Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España.

Coming up in the near future are a host of one-day races on the way to Strade Bianche, however, with the Faun-Ardèche Classic, Faun-Drôme Classic, and Trofeo Laigueglia on the menu.

"Those are ideal races to secure a result," Widar said.

"A top-five finish in Laigueglia is, by the way, a bit easier than in Strade Bianche. The real top riders are at the start there, and I'll also be racing against Tadej Pogačar for the first time. He's a huge role model for me; I watch him race every day with amazement.

"I shouldn't really say it as a Belgian, but for me, he's the best cyclist of all time. In an era of specialisation, he simply does everything. That's what's unique about Tadej."

As the European season gets underway in Spain, a new generation of Spanish riders is coming through to try and make their mark, with riders like 22-year-old National Champion Iván Romeo (Movistar) very much amongst their number.

Now in his fourth season, Romeo had a breakthrough 2025, following up his victory in the World Championships under-23 time trial in 2024 with a spectacular solo stage win of the Critérium du Dauphiné last year and then another lone triumph a few weeks later at the Spanish Nationals.

However, while Spanish interest will logically be high in seeing how far Romeo can push the bar in 2026, it will likely be even higher elsewhere. The ongoing achievements of Juan Ayuso, coupled with his dramatic switch to the Lidl-Trek team from UAE Team Emirates, mean the 2022 Vuelta a España podium finisher – at 19, the second youngest in the race's history - and 2025 Tirreno-Adriatico winner remains the top young Spanish rider to watch this season.

"There's a very promising group of young riders coming through, but they are still eclipsed by Ayuso," Fernando Ferrari, a longstanding Spanish cycling journalist and editor of the specialist website Ciclo21, tells Cyclingnews.

"Ayuso's still only 23, so he can qualify for the Tour's Best Young Rider classification, and he's still on an upward curve."

Others to watch Spain's younger generations, says Ferrari, are Haimar Etxebarría (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), formed in the Kern Pharma team and its feeder squad, and now progressing under the close eye of fellow Basque and Red Bull sports director Patxi Vila. Meanwhile, Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), a double Vuelta stage winner in 2024 and, like Etxeberría, a former Kern Pharma racer, could well impact in 2026, too.

This season should also see whether Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers), previously touted as a major new Spanish hope alongside Ayuso, but whose career has been blighted by injuries, can finally put his career back on track this year.

That's just in the men's side of the sport. 22-year-old Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) already had a brilliant first year in the pros, taking five one-day races, including a stage of the Tour de Romandie as well as the U23 European Championships road race and a bronze in the U23 World Championships equivalent event. She has already followed that up with third overall in the Tour Down Under in 2026.

Then the newest kid on the block on the elite women's side is Paula Ostiz (Movistar), whose spectacular run of success at Junior level last autumn – a silver medal in the Worlds Junior TT followed by three gold medals in the World Championships road race and both European titles - precedes her first year as a racer.

"The jump from Junior to Elite is a big one, and we'll see how she adapts to the new category," Ferrari added. "For example, Cat Ferguson" – already the winner of a race in Mallorca this season at 19 – "managed it very well. But maybe we'll have to give Ostiz some time to progress. For now, Blasi is the one to watch the closest."

As for Romeo, already fourth in the European season-opening Classica Camp de Morvedre on Friday, he will be taking part in all five of the Challenge Mallorca events before going on to the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, Paris-Nice, Tour de Romandie, Critérium du Dauphiné, Tour de Suisse and Tour de France. Then in the second half of the season, he'll be at the World Championships.

Regarding what he hopes to achieve, "It's very difficult to know," he told AS in a recent interview.

"Obviously, I've got better, but everybody's getting a lot better these days.

"I've got some unfinished business with the Tour" - where he had a bad crash, but still made it to Paris - "so I want to try and win a stage, that'll be the big goal of the year. Anything after that would be a bonus."

Gaining experience at this stage is vital, and Romeo already got "a heck of a lot out of the Tour already. It's much more of a rollercoaster than I imagined."

"I'm very consistent, I don't tend to have too many bad days, but the Tour is something else. You're not 'you', you're another person; the Tour changes you completely. I hope this year I can improve a lot more."

"The crash I had was the only one I had in the whole of 2025, so I can't blame myself even if I am a real perfectionist."

Romeo recounted to AS that he had had a "really bad time of it" in the stage over the Loze in the Alps, and he was "fed up to the back teeth with everything."

"I had some muscular problems, and I was in a bad place, really close to abandoning. I was so sick of everything, I just wanted to get to Paris." As a result, he was inattentive during a storm, took a curve "way too fast" and fell heavily."

He still reached Paris, though, and is now looking for new challenges in 2026.

"I'm just hoping I don't have any serious injuries, that my brother" – Sergio, racing with Kern Pharma's devo team – "doesn't have any either, and we'll handle the rest," he said confidently.

Meanwhile, Ferrari is more convinced that Ayuso is the rider who will keep the flame flying in the Grand Tours.

"Right now, I don't see anybody in Spain who's capable of reaching Ayuso's level one day in Grand Tours. Romeo's more for time trials, one-day races, stages and so on," he told Cyclingnews.

"But saying that, I felt the same way about Miguel Indurain back in the day before he started winning, so who knows?"

Until Simon Yates made the surprise decision to retire before the start of the 2026 season, his Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Ben Tulett did not have a Tour de France debut on his calendar. However, since the Giro d'Italia winner hung up his bike, that has opened doors for the 24-year-old Tulett.

Speaking to Wielerflits, Tulett explained how Yates' decision changed the trajectory of his season.

"Simon is a rider that I've looked up to my whole career - he's achieved so much in this sport. Congratulations to him. I was really happy to have been a teammate of his for one year, and to have learned a lot from him during that time."

Yates made the announcement that he was retiring at age 33 on January 7, and Tulett said, "It was also a big shock for the team and, of course, the riders in the team as well.

"We had a plan for 2026, already with Simon as a part of those plans. That's now changed, so it looks like there's definitely some changes coming to my calendar, personally. So that's also exciting. One door closes, another one opens - take the opportunities where they come."

Tulett will start his season at the Vuelta a Andalucía Ruta del Sol, with Strade Bianche, Itzulia Basque Country, and the Ardennes Classics on his schedule, too. Although a return to the Vuelta a España, where he finished 24th overall while helping Jonas Vingegaard to the overall victory, was on his calendar, that could change.

He has been provisionally listed on the Tour de France roster alongside Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss, Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson, with Victor Campenaerts, Christophe Laporte and Bruno Armirail also likely on the team.

The Tour de France, Tulett said, "Is definitely a possibility, and it's something that if it does happen, we'll be there and we'll be ready to race. That's also something really exciting and motivating."

Tulett has shown his stage racing talent with the overall victory in the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali last March and a podium in the Tour de l'Ain behind then-teammate Cian Uijtdebroeks last year. He also won the Tour of Norway in 2023 while racing with Ineos.

Despite his talent and racing at the highest level since turning pro with Alpecin-Fenix in 2020, Tulett has only competed in two Grand Tours - the Vuelta last year and the Giro d'Italia in 2022 - racing as a contender in these high profile races is his career goal.

"My long-term objective is to target the GC in the Grand Tours. I want to be competitive when I pin the number on, and of course, I want to win races, so that has to be the priority. Every time there's an opportunity to win, I want to be there and take those opportunities."

Tulett should get plenty of chances to follow up on that promise as he's been named to Visma-Lease a Bike's 'white jersey group' - a list of 11 under-25 riders the team is committed to developing.

"I think it's definitely a really nice project from the team to develop the younger riders in this team into doing the bigger races and trying to win the biggest races in the WorldTour program. If you look at the history of it, it's worked very well, and we can learn a lot from it."

With the departure of Yates and, last year, Uijtdebroeks, Tulett and his young teammates have a couple of pairs of shoes to fill, too.

"I believe in the next years I can get the best out of myself here as a rider. Of course, that brings a lot of trust - trust from the team, and trusting myself as well. So yeah, that's what we focus on and just keep building step by step."

In a revamp to the race's long-standing format, the men's Tour de l'Avenir, the leading stage race for riders on the amateur and under-23 circuit, will open up to development squads of professional teams from this year.

The race, which holds a reputation as a 'young rider's Tour de France' with past winners including Greg LeMond, Miguel Indurain, Egan Bernal, and Tadej Pogačar, has been contested by national selections since 2007.

This year, however, race organisers A-VELO have requested that the UCI classify the race as a 2.2U, meaning that, from this season, Continental development teams will be able to take part alongside any national teams that continue to participate.

"This evolution of the rules of participation in the Tour de l'Avenir is fully in line with the reality of today's high-level cycling, which has seen, as a consequence of the reform of professional cycling initiated by the UCI, professional teams gradually investing in the reception and training of (very) young riders by creating development teams, veritable nurseries of the UCI WorldTour ecosystem," the organisers announced in a statement released on Thursday.

"The Tour de l'Avenir thus confirms its vocation as a talent scout, wherever they come from, whether they are part of a national team or a professional team."

This news comes after the UCI announced the end of the under-23 Nations' Cup series, which was raced by national teams, in favour of development team-led UCI races. UCI president David Lappartient initially said in September that the Tour de l'Avenir would remain an exception raced by national teams, but that appears to have changed in the last months.

The Tour de l'Avenir Femmes, launched in 2023, is expected to continue with national teams for the time being, given the very small number of women's U23 development outfits.

The 2026 edition of the men's Tour de l'Avenir will run from August 19-27, although the route has yet to be announced. Recent winners Isaac Del Toro, Joseph Blackmore, and Paul Seixas will not be taking part, with the trio currently racing on WorldTour squads.

The race has been held since 1961 and has been through several iterations. At times, it has been open to professionals, and, after 1992, it was open to all riders under the age of 25. Since 2007, the race has been run as part of the UCI Nations Cup, with only riders between the ages of 18 and 22 racing in national teams invited.

A-VELO confirmed that 10 WorldTour development squads will be taking part in 2026, including those of Ineos Grenadiers, Soudal-QuickStep, and Visma-Lease a Bike. A list of national teams taking part will be released at a later date.

If the quietly promising Valentina Cavallar wasn't already on cycling fans' radars before, she certainly will be in 2026, after becoming one of just two new recruits to one of the peloton's most important teams, SD Worx-Protime.

Following a rapid ascension from non-cyclist to future Grand Tour contender, Austria's Cavallar joined the Dutch squad at the start of this year, and is one of the most interesting – yet still not very well known – prospects in the bunch.

A top-level rower through her teens and early 20s, the 24-year-old represented Austria at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing 14th in the lightweight double sculls. But after a decade on the water, a cycling trip to watch the 2022 Tour de France Femmes set her sailing in a different direction.

Despite only joining the pro peloton in mid-2024, Cavallar made waves very quickly with some seriously impressive results, including fourth at the Alpes Gresivaudan Classic, second at the National Championships, and then seventh atop Alpe d'Huez in her Tour de France debut.

Her clear talent had earned her a multi-year contract with Arkéa-B&B Hotels, but when that team folded, the door opened to step up to the Women's WorldTour – and it was none other than women's cycling's original super team that secured her signature. Cavallar joined SD Worx-Protime for 2026, and has a three-year contract there, where she'll be one of their next big climbing hopes.

Just a few days into the new year, Cavallar made her first appearance for the team at their launch in Antwerp. Cyclingnews sat down with other media for a roundtable discussion with the young Austrian, to discuss her entry into the sport, the challenges in the peloton, and her dreams for the future – which are already big.

Q: You were in the Olympics as a rower and now you're in one of the best cycling teams in the world, how did that happen? When did you know it was time to change sports?

VC: I started rowing at 13 and I was rowing until 2022. I have been a passionate rower for 10 years, so a really long time, but we always trained a lot on the indoor bike. It was not on the road, mainly indoors, as endurance trainer. I was at the Olympics in 2021, and the year afterwards I still tried to pursue my rowing goals because yeah, I was at the Olympics, but I was only in the B finals, so it was not a super success for me personally and I was also quite young at only 20.

But then at the training camp the next year, we were on the German-French border, and we went with our road bikes and it was when the Tour de France Femmes happened and we followed one of the stages on the Petit Ballon. There I fell in love with my bike, and it was so special that I thought 'yeah, I really want to do this, it would be a dream to become a professional cyclist'. A year later, I thought 'OK, I will give myself a go and just try it' and I think if you love what you're doing, you can achieve the goals you set for yourself, and this is what I did.

Q: Can you tell us a bit more about what you did for work whilst you were a rower?

VC: I worked a little bit as a fitness coach alongside rowing. I did this for maybe one or two years, and then before the Olympics I stopped, and my parents helped me a little bit financially. In rowing, you don't get paid for being a rower, only if you go to the military [in Austria] but I waited really long for a spot in the military. In 2022 I got a spot, but it was already too late, because I already knew that I wanted to become a cyclist, so it wasn't an option anymore.

I'm still studying law, but just more as a hobby, a little bit in the winter.

Q: What do you love most about cycling, and what is the biggest change in your life after switching sports?

VC: It's a completely different sport of course. First overall, a rowing race was only eight minutes long, and you had your own lane and you only had to go all-out, you didn't have so many tactics, you didn't have a team radio, you didn't have to figure out how to fuel during the race because it's so short. In cycling, you have so many different components, like the nutrition on the bike, the other teams, the team tactics and different race tactics, the length of the race – it's three to four hours longer – so this makes it also exciting.

There are so many areas, I'm still so inexperienced so I can still learn a lot and there are still areas I want to improve and can improve a lot. This is for me the biggest difference between the two sports. The biggest benefit is that in rowing, you couldn't make a living from the sport, I was also working alongside training and racing, and this made it really not sustainable. Luckily the women's side is developing rapidly in cycling, and I caught a good timing, so you can make a living out of it, so this is a big, big privilege.

Q: There are a lot of riders who come from other sports and have big engines, but we hear stories of them struggling with riding in the peloton, how was that side of things for you?

VC: Definitely this also still one of my biggest weaknesses, riding in the peloton, the descending, and finding my space in the peloton, this is definitely something I struggled with a lot in my first season. Which is completely natural, I think, and especially not being a sprinter kind of rider, it's even harder to learn those things. But as I also said before, this is one of the things that makes it so exciting, because I love to learn and improve, and I know that I can be a good rider in the peloton and a good descender, but it needs time and I still need to make those improvements. But it's not something I see as a really bad thing, because it's another thing I can improve to be a better and more successful rider.

Q: What is the challenge about being in the peloton, is it the mentality?

VC: I had my first race last year [2024] in Chambéry, it was a 1.2 race I think, so not a WorldTour race, but my first time riding in the peloton, and I remember that the first thing I noticed, even before the race started, I was standing in the peloton and we were all waiting for the start, and I could feel how close we were to each other. You heart rate is already elevated, it's already a bit loud, there are a lot of noises. This made it hard to not lose too much energy.

Now I'm a bit more used to riding in the peloton, but I waste a lot of energy, because there's so much you need to be attentive to, sometimes it's noisy or hectic, you're touching each other, touching wheels, maybe there's a crash or road furniture you didn't see. There's so many factors that make your nervous system be a bit more alert, and this uses a lot of energy. For me this is the main problem, because when I'm riding all the time in the peloton, I can feel that I'm getting really tired, so sometimes I couldn't ride there for the whole race, and then I'm at the back of the peloton and then you waste more energy closing gaps.

Q: The first time you showed yourself at a world-class level was at the Tour de France in 2024, and it surprised people when you were there in the final of the Queen stage. Did you surprise yourself there too?

VC: It was for sure a really big achievement. I can't exactly define it as a surprise. I mean, it was only afterwards that I really realised that it was a big achievement to climb with the best in the world. I didn't believe myself that I would manage to do this in my first season as a cyclist, and I hadn't done any races before last year. I did my first stage race at Itzulia and then my first Tour de France, it was only my fifteenth race or something so I didn't have any big expectations. But deep down I always knew that I love climbing so much and that I'm at home at the mountains and I can climb really well if the shape is there, if the training goes well, and my endurance capacity helps me a lot on the climbs.

Q: What are you main goals for this year, your first season with SD Worx-Protime?

VC: It's a huge step up. Everything is completely different, in a positive way. First of all, for me the biggest advantage is that I can learn from some of the best riders in the world, and this is exactly what I always wanted to have, that I could learn from teammates – ride with them, for them, and help them to win races. I want to race because I want to win, and this is exactly what this team is made for.

Q: Has it been a shock to be in a Dutch team with all these Dutch riders and staff, who can be quite direct?

VC: Honestly I love it! It's really one of the things I appreciate. For me, being honest but also direct is one of the most profound characteristics, and this helps to be more professional, to get feedback ASAP, no matter if it's harsh or hard or you don't want to hear it or something. It's important, especially in terms of mistakes or the professional side, to have it this way. I have already had some bad experiences where if people are not completely direct they can talk behind each other's backs, and for a team that's not worth it. So I like this Dutch way of communicating between each other, it's a positive thing.

Q: What will your programme look like in 2026?

VC: The team is taking it a little bit more slowly with me, so I don't have any races before March basically, and then the programme is still not completely clear. For sure I will do Itzulia and the Vuelta, so the Spanish block, and Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. But before then, what my first real race will be, the team will sort out a little bit later in January.

Q: Are there any particular races where you want to get a good result for yourself?

VC: For this first year, I will try to take it one step at a time, but I definitely want to win stage races, and I definitely want to win Grand Tours in the future, maybe starting this year already but in the future this is a long-term goal. This year I definitely want to win one climbing finish in a stage race.

For a group of 14 US teenagers who have enjoyed success at home cyclo-cross races, competing for results in Belgium with the EuroCrossAcademy took an unexpected back seat to lessons in humility and patience during the intense two weeks of racing at 'kerstperiode'.

Graden Daume of Missoula, Montana, and Matthew Crabbe of Buford, Georgia, both 16 years old, who will race in the 17-18 division in 2026, admitted that he larger fields, elevated level of competition, and highly-touted course conditions were indeed formidable and downright "fast and messy".

The Christmas period adventure finished with the Superprestige in Diegem, the Exact Cross in Mol, and in Zonhoven for the non-World Cup junior race for the seven women and seven men on the ECA's 17-18 team.

Zonhoven featured the same technical plunge into De Kuil, 'the pit' of deep sand, as conquered later in the day by elite winners Mathieu van der Poel and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, both with Alpecin-Premier Tech.

Three of the US junior women finished with top 15 honours at Zonhoven: Tessa Beebe came in sixth, Kira Mullins in ninth, and Daume in 13th. A trio of US junior men finished in the top 20: Crabbe in 16th, while his compatriots were close by, Noah Scholnick in 13th, and Jacob Hines in 17th.

“ECA worked with a total of seven women, seven men during this recent kerst block, and we couldn’t be prouder of how they all put their best foot forward and finished what they started, fully invested, and fully motivated," said Geoff Proctor, ECA founder and director.

"To date, it was probably one of our best European blocks. Holistic relationship and character-building, caring coaches and mechanics, optimal performance environment, and great communication and organization. With this culminating kerst' block, I really feel like we helped bring these athletes to a competitive European level.”

Both Daume and Crabbe had raced in Europe prior to the ECA block, coming off stellar seasons at home. Crabbe earned a silver medal at US Cyclo-cross Nationals in the men's junior division, a year after winning the 15-16 men's title and a national junior title on the track. He started the 'cross season in the US, winning two of four races before he traveled to Europe for two blocks racing, netting top 20s in half of eight races.

Daume came off a fourth-place finish at US Cyclo-cross Nationals in the women's junior division, having stacked up 10 top 10s at US races in the fall. Last year, she earned a silver medal at 'cross nationals in the 15-16 division as well as silver at Pan-American Cyclo-cross Championships.

The ECA provides an opportunity for the 17-18 juniors to experience different cultures and nurture life skills while developing cyclo-cross talents along the way. Daune and Crabbe provide their insights with journal entries about the knowledge they gained, coming on a slippery slope for both athletic and character discovery.

Graden Daume - Within the chaos come lessons about humility and pride

Cyclo-cross racing is fast but messy, painful yet joyful, individual but deeply communal. Riders line up with clean bikes and high hopes, only to be swallowed minutes later by mud, sand, barriers, and fatigue. Within this chaos, cyclo-cross teaches a powerful lesson about humility and pride.

Humility in cyclo-cross is really important. No matter how much preparation and training you do, nothing can truly prepare you for race day. There will be crashes, mistakes, and heartbreak. But if cyclo-cross has taught me anything, it’s that every time you cross that finish line, you have learned something new.

Whether the race was horrible or the best race of your life, you come out of it with humility because you know that everyone on that start line desires to be the best, to be the one who stands on the top of the podium. Even when you are doing your best, you must stay humble and thoughtful to the people around you.

Being able to listen to your teammates, provide support, understand how they are doing, and keeping in mind what it feels like to be in that moment where something did or didn't go the way you wanted, is part of what makes cyclocross so communal. Cyclo-cross humbles riders by forcing them to accept failure publicly and sometimes repeatedly.

Pride is also very present in cyclo-cross. Pride fuels perseverance. So many things can happen or go wrong in a cyclocross race, between your body, bike mechanics, the weather, and finishing a race despite everything builds a deep sense of self-respect, resilience, and grit.

Crossing the line, muddy, tired, and spent, brings a quiet confidence. You feel proud of what you have accomplished and learned, and when you look back to see just how far you have come, it makes you realize that one bad race is not going to define you; if anything, it will help you grow and discover what you need to work and build on. Pride is a strong emotion, don't try to hide your pride, be happy and be proud of what you have accomplished but it's important to balance pride with humbleness to continue growing.

In the end, cyclo-cross is more than a race; it is a mirror. It reflects strengths and weaknesses. Riders learn to accept both with grace. The mud strips away ego, while the struggle builds confidence.

Through every lap, cyclo-cross teaches that true pride is grounded in humility and that the most meaningful victories often happen far from the podium.

Matthew Crabbe - I need to be more patient

The cyclo-cross season isn’t very nice most of the time. It’s long. The weather is crap. I had six travel days of 14 hours each across the Atlantic (three trips to Europe). The season is especially hard when the results I had hoped for at the beginning aren’t coming my way.

For the last three or four years, I have found a good bit of success domestically, but also internationally last winter. I had won four straight US National Championships. Half of my races in Europe were over the EuroCrossAcademy 15-16 November block.

I think I carried this success into the season with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I felt like I would be able to jump straight into the new UCI 17-18 category with the same level of success. I was misled by early success in Rochester and Waterloo, with two wins and another two top 5’s. I went to Belgium at the beginning of October to try my hand at my first set of European UCI races. I was hoping for some top 10’s and maybe even a podium or two. I ended the month-long trip with half of the races ending with top 15 finishes and the other half ending with costly mistakes.

The Pan-American Championships (in Washington, DC) were very shortly after I came home, but I was hoping to feel recovered enough to give it a good go for a boost of confidence. I was in fact not recovered and burned the only match I had left too early in the race that ended with a fifth place.

Going into the end of November was the first US National Team trip of the season to the first two World Cups in Tábor and Flamanville. These were a big step from the races I had done in October. Those were only the best of Belgium, but this was the best of every country in Europe.

A mistake that costs you one place at home costs you almost ten places here. Those kinds of mistakes led to two top 35 finishes. It was okay, but still not what I wanted.

I had a strong showing at the National Championships with a second place, and that was good confidence coming into the ECA block we are in now. I was hoping to carry that great form into the upcoming seven races in Belgium with ECA.

I almost did that at our first race, Antwerp, where I came 12th. It matched my best result from October and I wanted to build on that into a top 10 finish. This hunger became too much.

In the following races, I went out too hard or too aggressively trying to achieve this. It led to mistakes or blow ups halfway through the race. What was once within touching distance now seemed miles away. The results were falling down a slippery slope.

The racing is different in Europe. Nothing is handed to you. Forcing things leads to catastrophic mistakes. I was striving too hard and trying to force a result. The struggles of the season were bearing on me. I needed a result that I could look back on the season and could say it was good enough. But this panic and over-eagerness led to mistakes that could have been easily avoided to get me to a better finish.

Going forward, I need to let the races come to me. I need to be more patient. More resilient. Smoother.

I caught myself on this slippery slope in Diegem. I made no major mistakes, no crashes. There was still room for improvement, but it was an improvement, 22nd. This is compared to the bottom of the slope the day before in Loenhout, 73rd.

I want to be one of the best. I want to ride at the front. But it will take time. For now it is still learning. But learning I am, so, soon I will get there.

ECA 17-18 December 2025-January 2026 races

• December 20 - Antwerp, Belgium (non-world cup for juniors)
• December 22 - Hofstade X2O Trophee, Belgium (MJR only)
• December 23 - Zolder SuperPrestige, Belgium
• December 26 - Beernem Concap CX Cup, Belgium (WJR only)
• December 29 - Loenhout X2O Trophee, Belgium
• December 30 - Diegem SuperPrestige, Belgium
• January 2 - Mol Exact Cross, Belgium
• January 4 - Zonhoven, Belgium (non-world cup for juniors)
• Roster note: Graden Daume was among four riders joining ECA for the final three races

The Yuletide festivities of December mean one thing for cyclo-cross enthusiasts and racers - Kerstperiode - a Dutch/Flemish term used to describe the cluster of 'cross races that take place between Christmas and New Year's Day. Most of the races are in Belgium and that is where 14 young US athletes will train and race for two weeks with the EuroCrossAcademy.

This group was exclusively for 17-18 year olds, something the ECA and founder Geoff Proctor have done for more than 20 years; the 15-16 block for ECA took place in November. Among the pinnacles of racing in Europe was a chance to ride the sand of Belgium. And not just any sand, but the celebrated sand of Antwerp, where Mathieu van der Poel excelled eight times, and the "terrifying" deep sand at Zolder.

On a day after the first race of the block in Belgium, at Antwerp, the teenagers took part in a recon ride in Hofstade, a course used for X2O Trophee series, with French Technical Coach and former junior and U23 cyclo-cross world champion Arnaud Jouffroy. The junior men then competed in back-to-back races at Plage Cross and Heusden-Zolder while the junior women raced at Zolder only.

Hadley Molnar, a 17-year-old from Cary, North Carolina, just outside Raleigh, won three women's junior 'cross races this season, including both days at Charm City Cross in Maryland. In her first race overseas, she finished 11th at Cyclocross Antwerp, with the world's best elite racers taking the same course in the afternoon for the fifth round of the World Cup series.

In the men's junior race at Antwerp, 16-year-old Jacob Hines of Baltimore, Maryland finished 19th. Then two days later at Plage Cross in Hofstade, Belgium, part of the X2O Trofee series for junior men, Hines was the top US rider in sixth place. He had participated in the ECA European block of racing last year with a group of 15-16-year olds, so was one of the 'veterans'.

The primary goals for young athletes with ECA are to experience different cultures, gain cyclo-cross skills and develop personally, and the racing was actually a way to incorporate all these learnings on legendary courses. These two US riders came into the first week of the trip with general goals - Molnar wanted to build race confidence and Hines wanted to develop mental toughness to earn a top 10.

The duo described for Cyclingnews in the latest ECA journal how they reached these goals. See the full roster below.

Hadley Molnar - Learning to race bikes and to 'race'

The tactics and skills I am learning while racing with ECA here in Belgium are very valuable, but I am also learning a lot of valuable things about myself. I tend to doubt myself a lot. But with these races, there's no time to have doubt. Every moment when you think about anything other than the next turn or the next feature is a moment gone, and you have already lost.

I rode through the hole shot at the back of 40-plus riders [at Heusden-Zolder]. I didn’t think I could make it in that big of a field. I got to the tricky turn of course. I ran up the first few laps because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to ride it.

When you think you can’t do it, you can’t.

The sandy downhills were absolutely terrifying. I didn't know if I would make it down to them. I was doubting myself and my capabilities.

What was I holding back for? Fear? No. This is cyclo-cross. This is where I want to be. I remember watching this exact race, Zolder, on the TV as I rode on my trainer pretending I was racing along with the pros. And now I am here, actually on the course. This is more than just a race. The value of each pedal stroke is more than just to make it to the finish.

Lap three I came up to the same tricky turn that I had run before. I am going to ride this, I can ride this, you can race this. “Look up, look up” Arnaud [Jouffroy, our ECA Technical Coach] said.

I made it. And I made it again on the fourth lap. What makes this time so different than the other laps? As I approached this feature, I thought in my head that I can do it. I never knew how much of a difference that makes until this moment.

I have already made a lot of mistakes. I used to think that was embarrassing or something to be ashamed of, but I understand now that when you try something new or different, mistakes are how you learn. This may be repeated a lot, but I didn’t realize until I got here that failing is what drives you to learn. And how losing can drive you to win.

I am trying to embrace the drive. The drive to learn and the drive to win. If I don’t believe I can make it, then I can’t. I remember what was said to me while I was warming up for our first race at Antwerp, “Take every opportunity, this is the moment.” This is the moment, this is the time and I am going to take aim.

It is true when they say that it doesn’t matter if everyone else believes in you, if you don’t believe in yourself then it really isn’t possible to achieve anything. But this idea goes both ways. If you believe that you can do it, you have a real shot.

I am learning here both how to race bikes and how to really 'race'.

Jacob Hines - Mental toughness through mistakes

Racing cyclo-cross at the highest level in Europe has a way of magnifying every mistake. The races are short, intense and relentless. One little mistake can shuffle you back multiple positions and if you let it happen, that moment can instill a negative thought. The difference is whether you let them take over.

It’s effortless to take the easy way out and let the negatives drag you down. But I’ve learned that toughness isn’t about ignoring mistakes but rather refusing to let them define your whole race.

I came to this ECA trip with two European racing blocks under my belt already, the 2024 ECA 15/16 block and a November World Cup trip with USA Cycling. So, I had some understanding of European culture and the European way of racing.

Prior to this block, ECA Director Geoff Proctor asked all athletes to set goals for the block. My two major goals were, a top 10 finish in a European series race and to learn more about the European approach to racing.

The first race of our ECA block was in Antwerp. I was first call-up with big goals. It was a lower tier junior race at the Antwerp World Cup, so it felt that with a slightly less-competitive field compared to the World Cups earlier in the year, I could fight for a top 10 position. I had a good first lap but crashed in the first sand sector on lap two, immediately passed by five riders. I found my head filled with negative thoughts that probably stopped me from immediately making those spots back up.

Rather continuing to make more mistakes and lose more positions. This cost me the result I was looking for and I ended up finishing 19th. I wasn’t quite satisfied, but neither entirely disappointed. After the race, I had to reset and remind myself of the level of racing here.

After a rest day, we drove to the X20 Trofee Hofstade. We reconned the course with our French Technical Coach, Arnaud Jouffroy. I came into this race with a new mindset. I already had one more race under the belt and was ready to apply what I learned.

We started and I found myself racing in the top 10 after the first lap, eventually working my way up to fighting for fifth place. I then settled into a group of three fighting for sixth.

As we approached the final two laps, I heard Geoff [Proctor] yelling from the pit, “Win your group,” something he also told me before the start. This really stuck with me.

At the start of the final lap, I caught myself almost settling for eighth, but I stayed strong and fought it out to the end. I ended up riding one of the final sand sectors smoothly and applied pressure out of it, which let me slightly gap my group and hold it to the end.

I crossed the finish completely empty but incredibly proud. Finishing sixth at Hofstade meant a lot to me, not just because of the result, but because of the mental resilience it took to earn it. More than anything, that race reinforced what mental toughness truly means to me, staying present, refusing to settle, and continuing to fight until the very end.

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EuroCrossAcademy 17-18 December Euro Block 2025 roster

• Hadley Molnar — Cary, North Carolina (Blue Ridge Cross)
• Anna Olesen — Appleton, Wisconsin (Dirt Camp Racing)
• Annabelle Norris — Lebanon, New Hampshire (Bike Reg / Share Coffee)
• Stella Lehman — Littleton, Colorado (Donovan Racing Development)
• Dylan Reid — Golden, Colorado (Donovan Racing Development)
• Jack Billowitz — Bend, Oregon (Donovan Racing Development)
• Rylan Zacharek — Sheboygan, Wisconsin (Linear Sport Racing Team)
• Roman Lin — Concord, Massachusetts (New England Devo p/b Cadence Health)
• Kira Mullins — Littleton, Colorado (Bear National Team)
• Graden Daume — Missoula, Montana (Team Stampede)
• Tessa Beebe — Boise, Idaho (BYRDS Cycling)
• Noah Scholnick — Williamsport, Pennsylvania (FinKraft Junior Cycling Team)
• Jacob Hines — Baltimore, Maryland (FinKraft Junior Cycling Team)
• Matthew Crabbe — Buford, Georgia (FinKraft Junior Cycling Team)
• Note: four additional riders will be added for races from December 30-January 4

Four national champions and a Nations Cup race winner are among the 10 new riders confirmed for the NSN Development Team next season. The Continental programme enters a seventh season in 2026 with a 20-rider roster.

Following the lead of their WorldTour parent organisation NSN Cycling Team, NSN Devo also boasts a "clear evolution" with a refreshed roster and a team rebrand that includes new registration in Switzerland.

British junior cyclocross champion Oscar Amey joins as the youngest rider in the group, just 17 until December 28, while a trio of 18-year-olds include Canadian junior road champion Ben Morin, Australian junior TT champion Max Goold and Nations Cup race winner Filip Smørås of Norway. Polish under-23 road champion Dawid Lewandowski is also among the new arrivals at just 19 years of age.

Six of the 10 retained riders for 2026 rode with NSN’s professional team this past season, and Australian U23 time trial champion Zac Marriage joins the squad after a successful time as an end-of-year stagiaire, which emphasizes the pathway offered to the highest level of the sport.

"Our team is a real springboard to the WorldTour. We’ve successfully progressed riders into key roles at the highest level before, and that pathway remains a central part of what we do," said Tim Elverson, NSN Devo team manager, in a press release.

“We race as a team to win, but we’re equally focused on every part of the process required to get there. While 2025 was another strong year, the 2026 roster reflects a clear evolution of the squad. We have an exciting group of young riders, including new national champions such as Morin, Goold, Lewandowski, and Amey, alongside many other promising talents. I believe we can win a lot of races – never say never.”

Amey is an example of budding young talent that the team relishes. His cyclocross skills prove he has strong technical abilities and "explosive power", demonstrated at UCI Cyclocross Worlds in February, where he finished sixth in the men's junior division. He was also part of Great Britain's team mixed relay gold medal performance. With a Dutch club team last summer, Amey finished second overall in Austria's Junior Tour and had five podiums in British one-day races.

"Joining the NSN Devo Team means a lot to me, as it’s the next step towards becoming a professional, something I’ve been working towards since I was a kid. My main goal for the season is to fight for podiums and victories in UCI races, while learning as much as possible from the experienced staff and teammates around me,” Amey said in a team statement.

Among the familiar faces on the squad, Moritz Kretschy and Matar Peretz return for their third seasons. The 23-year-old Kretschy won two stages at the Alpes Isere Tour on the devo team, and when called up for an appearance with the parent squad in March, he scored second overall at Tour de Taiwan. Peretz, 20, is one of four Israeli riders on the squad and holds U23 national titles in both the road and time trial races.

The team scored 12 victories in 2025, Australian Brady Gilmore the most prolific winner with a GC title at Circuit des Ardennes and two stage victories at Volta a Portugal. On an appearance with the WorldTour squad, he won the overall at the Tour de Taiwan. He earned a promotion to NSN Cycling Team for next season along with Pau Marti and Floris Van Tricht.

Among the programme's alumni who have had success at the ProTeam and WorldTour levels are Canadian Derek Gee-West, who finished fourth overall at the 2025 Giro d'Italia, and British rider Joseph Blackmore, who won the U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2024.

Cyclingnews will cover all of the 2026 cycling transfers from around the men's and women's pelotons with news, analysis, and an updated transfer index, to make sure you don't miss a thing this transfer season.

NSN Development Team roster 2026

• Oscar Amey (GBR)
• Dylan Bibic (CAN)
• Patrick Casey (IRL)
• Roei Edinger (ISR)
• Imry Faingezicht (ISR)
• Alvaro Garcia (ESP)
• Max Goold (AUS)
• Alex Hewes (AUS)
• Moritz Kretschy (GER)
• Dawid Lewandowski (POL)
• Enrique Maranchón (ESP)
• Zac Marriage (AUS)
• Ben Morin (CAN)
• Matar Peretz (ISR)
• Miko Pirinen (FIN)
• Omer Ramon (ISR)
• Filip Smørås (NOR)
• Finlay Tarling (GBR)
• Jens Verbrugghe (BEL)
• Kiaan Watts (NZL)

Last year Makena Kellerman had a close-up view to a chaotic finish in the women's under-23 race at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships, with two riders battling for the gold medal colliding and crashing within a bike length of the finish line.

Kellerman followed close behind, her effort rewarded with the silver medal, while Katherine Sarkisov (CXD Trek Bikes) took the win and Cassidy Hickey (CCB p/b Levine Law Group Cycling) settled for bronze. She'll have a completely new look for her victory quest this year at Centennial Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas this weekend, as Hickey and Sarkisov are expected to square off in the elite race.

"​​The crash last year was pretty crazy," Kellerman told Cyclingnews about the race at CX Nationals in Louisville a year ago. "I was empty from that last lap. We came onto the [start-finish] straight and all of a sudden both Cassidy and Katherine were on the ground. It was pretty scary and I was nervous for them because they hit the ground quite hard."

Sarkisov and Hickey touched shoulders and the collision caused them both to hit the pavement. They quickly remounted and stopped the clock just two seconds ahead of a fast-charging Kellerman. Race officials ruled that Hickey deviated from her line in the two-up sprint and caused the crash, with Sarkisov taking the victory and her rival relegated to third. They escaped serious injuries.

Among the trio, Kellerman comes in with a three-race podium streak riding for Steve Tilford Foundation Racing, including a second place to Caroline Mani and a win at C1 races in Colorado at Boulder Cup. On the second day at Boulder Cup, she outsprinted Hickey for the victory. In her last match-up against Katherine Sarkisov, the two riders finished in the top 10 at Pan-American Championships but took no medals.

Kellerman has two stars-and-stripes jerseys in cross-country mountain biking, one collegiate title with Colorado Mesa University from two years ago and one in the U23 women's category this summer in Roanoke, Virginia. Cyclocross Nationals was the only 'cross race in which Kellerman competed last year, and that caught the eye of Raylyn Nuss, a two-time Pan-Am cyclocross champion who manages the Steve Tilford Foundation Racing team.

"Bringing Makena onto STF Racing is exciting because she represents the future of where our sport is headed. She’s already a standout in mountain biking as the current U23 national champion, and that crossover strength is exactly what cyclocross needs as it grows," Nuss told Cyclingnews.

"We’re committed to supporting athletes who can push the sport forward, and with cyclocross being championed to become a Winter Olympic sport in 2030, that mission feels more important than ever."

Kellerman focused on mountain bike competitions the past three years, competing in U23 races on the World Cup circuit the last two seasons. This year she scored her first top 10s in World Cup competitions, earning three in cross-country races and four in short track races, including sixth at Nové Město in the spring.

"2025 was a super special year for me, I think overall this year European racing finally clicked for me and I was able to enjoy the process and truly be excited to race. I feel like this year was the year I also started believing in myself instead of putting a limit on my abilities," the California native said.

"This team, Steve Tilford Foundation Racing, has helped me a lot this year with having the equipment and support to race at the front of these CX races. Being around a CX veteran like Raylyn has also been so amazing with talking about tactics, race craft and overall just cycling advice. It is so fun to also be a part of an all women's team too. I hope this inspires the future of young girls to know there are teams out there made just for them."

She's a senior at Colorado Mesa University so will line up alongside collegiate teammate Hickey for the College Women Varsity contest two days before the U23 race. Katherine Sarkisov will be part of the Collegiate Club field representing University of Maryland-College Park.

Since the tangled tale from CX Nationals last year, all three riders have continued momentum with career highlights, Sarkisov earning an unexpected bronze medal in the elite women's road race at USPro Road Nationals, on the podium beside winner Kristen Faulkner and runner-up Lauren Stephens. Hickey won the stars-and-stripes jersey in the women's U23 Criterium Championship.

Who is she watching in the U23 contest on Saturday? "I'd say Mia Aseltine and Kaya Musgrave will be up there for the U23 race. They both are coming off a mini Europe campaign and will be super strong."

Cyclocross fans can catch the U23 action as well as two days of racing on FloBikes for the 2025 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships presented by The Meteor. Saturday's live streaming features Junior Women 17-18, which starts at 1:45 p.m. CDT, followed by races for the U23 Women and U23 Men. Sunday's programming includes the Junior Men 17-18 at 1:30 p.m. CDT, followed by the Elite Women and then the Elite Men.

A subscription is required for FloBikes, which offers a month-to-month plan for $29.99, or a yearly plan billed at $12.49 each month. Updates for all races at CX Nationals will be provided on USA Cycling's social media as well as a link to live timing.

Last year at the Tour of Bright two 19-year-old riders, Jack Ward and Talia Appleton, set heads turning when they charged up Tawonga Gap on the opening stage to claim victory. Now a year later both are heading into the new season with development team contracts, Ward with Lidl-Trek Future and Talia Appleton with the Liv AlUla Jayco Continental team while the overall winner in 2024, Alli Anderson, is also joining Appleton at the Australian squad.

This three-stage race in the high country of Victoria is one where opportunity knocks. For a start there is testing terrain across the event with two summit finishes and a time trial. Then there is also the unique combination of domestic riders eager to prove they have what it takes against those that have already sealed their pathway with development team contracts and also the sprinkling of professionals that line up while back in Australia from Europe.

This year the list of top-tier riders at the Tour of Bright included Brodie Chapman (UAE Team ADQ), Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), Kell O'Brien (Jayco AlUla) and Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), who knows all too well what a big boost a young rider can get from riding alongside established professionals after his effort up Willunga alongside Richie Porte at the Santos Festival of Cycling turbo charged his career.

Given the trajectory of the riders who excelled at last year's Tour of Bright, we've decided to highlight some of the standout performances that unfolded on Saturday and Sunday from among those who are still pushing toward the dream of an international cycling career.

Tawonga Gap tearaways – stage 1

Will Cooper (St George) was the big surprise of the day, with the 21-year-old himself confessing that he "wasn't expecting that" when he continued to push on from the break even as all his rivals fell away as the climb of Tawonga Gap progressed. He looked rock solid right to the end, showing no signs of fatigue or letting up as neared the top, remaining remarkably composed as he claimed the first Men's A victory of the tour.

It was a ride that put him in the leader's jersey with a 1:51 gap to defending champion Plapp and set him up to take second overall at the end of the race. Cooper, however, wasn't the only rider in the men's field to make an impression with Oliver Ward (Team Brennan) being the last to fall away from Cooper's wheel. Despite clearly having pushed it to hang on, the 17-year-old kept his composure, only allowing teammate Tristan Saunders to pass. That meant he secured third on the stage and held off the charge of Plapp, who couldn't quite, despite a scorching pace, close down the big gap the break had pulled out before the climb.

There was also another 17-year-old who couldn't be missed on Tawonga and that was Neve Parslow (ARA Skip Capital). While last year's revelation, Appleton, may have ridden the rest of the field off her wheel with an all out effort from the bottom it was a remarkable performance on the climb by Parslow, also a strong rider on the track. She matched the pace of seasoned WorldTour professional Chapman and Parslow, in fact, finished in second place as she crossed the line ahead of the UAE Team ADQ rider who would ultimately claim overall victory at the Tour of Bright. It was certainly a powerful reminder of the strength of the developing rider who in September claimed eighth in the junior road race at World Championships.

The test of time – stage 2

There was no questioning the strength of the field lining up for the race against the clock, not with the two Australian elite time trial champions at the start, Plapp and Chapman, both of whom also helped claim a rainbow jersey for the nation in the Mixed Team Trial at the Kigali World Championships. Though behind the predictable winners of the stage, others emerged with powerful performances.

Firstly, the best of the rest behind Chapman was the 19-year-old Kirsty Watts (Meridian Blue p/b 99 bikes) who reminded her rivals that there was a reason she was the U23 time trial champion for New Zealand. Watts came second, fending off a list of powerful competitors from Sophie Marr – who is also heading to the Liv AlUla Jayco Continental team in 2026 with Anderson and Appleton – and Australian U23 champion Anderson who managed to clinch eighth in the U23 Road World Championships time trial.

Then in the Men's A time trial, even though there was no one who could match up to Plapp and O'Brien one rider came impressively close. That rider was the 19-year-old Julian Baudry (Team Brennan), who finished 36 seconds behind Plapp and just 7 back from O'Brien. The rider may have managed to sweep up the U23 men's road race title at the Australian championships at the start of this year, but now that the field knows how strong he is they are unlikely to let him go again. However, he's just shown that it is now the time trial where he could well earn his next set of U23 national stripes.

Buffalo brilliance – stage 3

There was a pivotal moment on the Mt Buffalo stage for Levi Hone (Team Brennan) and that was being in the right spot when the break of 17 went. It hadn't been the plan but it was an unexpected circumstance which the 19-year-old played to perfection. "It just happened to be that I was able to sneak away with a few guys, and everyone forgot about me, and I got pretty lucky, probably sitting on for a lot of the time there," Hone told Cyclingnews. "There were a lot of guys who were happy to work and get a handy buffer headed into Buffalo."

Although what certainly wasn't luck was that when the the strong and experienced form of Mark O'Brien (Trappist) broke apart the break with his pace on the climb, Hone was ready and able to jump in the wheel and hold it right through to the line. He knew that the sprint was just the opportunity he needed to take the place on the top step of the podium in Sunday's final stage of the Tour of Bright.

Further back, stage 1 winner Cooper may not have been able to hold the vicious pace set by Plapp so had to hand over the race GC lead to the now three-time winner but he played a clever hand, watching the rest of his GC rivals carefully, to make sure he at least walked away with the runner-up spot in Men's A.

Parslow also once again showed her climbing class, holding onto the back of the front group which just fell shy of catching the winner from the break, Katelyn Nicholson (Butterfields ZipTrak). That front bunch of Women's A included WorldTour professional Chapman and riders like Appleton and Emily Dixon (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto Generation) who have already secured their contacts with top development teams. The group was more than five minutes ahead of the rest of the field and Parslow's sixth on the stage, 12 seconds back from the victorious Nicholson, secured her fifth overall at the Tour of Bright.

While these were some of the standout performances of the weekend from up-and-coming riders, they certainly weren't the only ones so if you want to add your pick into the mix, jump into the comments below.

At 19 years of age, Ezra Caudell landed his first professional job to race as a professional cyclist, earning a two-year deal with Modern Adventure Pro Cycling. He's one of nine riders between the ages of 18 to 24 on the freshly minted team in 2026, all of them in solid positions for development under the tutelage of former WorldTour pro and team co-founder George Hincapie, and a trio of former USPro national champions as team directors - Alex Howes, Ty Magner and Joey Rosskopf.

It's a bold entry into full-time road racing for the youthful BMX and mountain bike swashbuckler. His early days growing up on the red clay of Georgia were spent on homemade BMX track in his backyard and riding on rocky, rooty mountain bike trails around Lake Altoona, north of Atlanta. By 2021 at age 15 he secured 14 MTB wins and five more top 10s across 20 USA Cycling sanctioned events, most of them in the southeastern US, and at his first US Pro Cup he finished fourth.

Caudell had a breakout season in 2024, placing fourth at Pan-American Mountain Bike Championships, winning his first US national title at US Marathon MTB championships in the 17-18 division and winning his first UCI MTB races, two in XCO and one in short track.

"Going pro was always my passion. I always wanted to make racing a bike my job. I feel when I'm riding my bike, it's not work, but if I can make it my job, I'm never going to work in my life," the gregarious US rider told Cyclingnews.

He will tower in the peloton at a height of 6'7" (2.0 metres) and his early goals are just as lofty, with aims to compete in Spring Classics and races with punchy climbs. The new year will mark his second year of living in Europe, as both his parents work for the US Department of Defense, and they will be based in Germany for several more years.

Caudell spoke to Cyclingnews just before the team gathered in early December at a team camp in Greenville, South Carolina about his different path to a pro road career and his goals for the inaugural season with the team.

Cyclingnews: A lot of people will be hearing about you for the first time with Modern Adventure Pro Cycling in the 2026 road season, but you've been cycling since you were very young. Tell us about growing up in Acworth, Georgia and how you got involved with cycling.

Ezra Caudell: When I was little, I played baseball and soccer, but around 7 years old, my parents realized I couldn’t stay focused and I hated the downtime. Just before my 8th birthday, my mom started looking for a running club or any sport that would keep me moving the entire time. She came across the USA BMX website, and we found out there was a BMX track about 7 miles from my house. I started riding a bike and dirt bike at 4 so they thought this might be a good fit. My parents took me over to Noonday Creek Park one Sunday to watch a race and I was hooked!

For my 8th birthday they got a stock Redline BMX bike and I started racing that next weekend. My sister, Emma, was 5 and wanted to do whatever I was doing, so she started racing also. We travelled all over the US in our camper racing nationals for the next three years.

CN: Did you really have a pump track in your backyard growing up?

EC: I did have a pump track in my backyard growing up! When I started racing BMX, a few of the dads told my parents it would be helpful to do some pump track practice. They told us there was one in Roswell, Georgia at Big Creek where we could practice. My parents would take us over and we would practice for hours.

Since it was a long drive to Big Creek, my dad came up with the idea of building one in our yard. We sat down and designed it, my dad ordered a couple of dump trucks of dirt, and we used my uncle’s bobcat to build it. To get speed on the first straight we would start in the corner of the back porch, and we built a ramp out of plywood to put over the porch steps.

We redesigned it a few times over the years, but I never stopped playing on it. In fact, we only bulldozed it down in 2024 just before we put our house up for sale to move to Germany.

CN: You moved into mountain bike racing as a teenager, so tell us about your development on dirt and earning spots with Team USA for international competitions.

EC: During 2023 and 2024, MTB was still my primary discipline. I raced NICA from 2018 to 2022 under the Blankets Creek Homeschool Team (in Georgia), but it was hard to fit in the proper training, so I stepped away.

I raced for Gravity Academy in 2023, and that year I was selected to race the Pan-American MTB Championships in Brazil. This was my first race in the USA Cycling National kit. Later that year, I did my first race block in Europe, and I knew then I wanted to be racing in Europe.

I raced for Gravity Collective in 2024 and hit every UCI and US Pro Cup race in the US as possible to earn UCI points in hopes of making it to Mountain Bike Worlds. I made the USA Worlds team in 2024 in Andorra and had a front row start. This was a huge moment.

CN: In 2024 you had some major off-road achievements, including your first national championship with US Marathon MTB in the 17-18 division. What were your three favorite cycling highlights from that year?

EC: Yes, 2024 was a really great year for me in mountain biking. I was selected for Pan-Ams for the second year in a row and placed fourth, just missing the podium. I did win my first national championship in the 17-18 category at the US Marathon MTB championships.

That year I traveled quite a bit and had lots of opportunities, but for my top 3 highlights of 2024, first on the list would be winning my first UCI races in Puerto Rico. I won two of the three XC races and the STXC race. Second would be taking second at the Mountain Bike cross-country US Nationals. That was a brutal race, and finishing just 10 seconds off Nico Konecky was a huge accomplishment for me.

The third highlight would be making it to Worlds in Andorra with a front row start. My family had just moved to Germany, so they were able to come watch too. I snapped my chain at the start and had to run the bike to the first tech zone to get a new chain. I was proud of myself for not giving up, though. I was dead last at that point, but I was able to finish on the leader’s lap. The finish wasn’t what I had hoped for, but it was an unforgettable experience.

CN: You began some road racing as a junior. Tell us about that and riding the first time at the Athens Twilight Criterium.

EC: In 2022, mountain biking was my focus, with Cadence Devo. During that time my parents bought me a road bike to train on and some of the coaches were big road riders. They worked with the kids that were interested in road by taking us to group rides with Free Flite Bike shop, Tuesday night crits in Marietta, 'Airport Ride' for the first time, WBL [Winter Bike League out of Athens - op ed].

Once I learned about Athens Twilight, I was super excited to race it. I was stoked to win the 15-16, but the main goal was to make it into the Cat. 1,2,3 race that night and just hang on as long as I could. I made it in, I didn’t last long, but it was chaos and I loved it!

CN: In 2025, you had a number of top 10s with Team California in Belgium and Spain, including a victory at Campeonato de Navarra road race. Tell us about being part of that programme, since you did not go through a typical road development team for racing.

EC: I was still committed to MTB in 2025, but I had hoped to get an opportunity to race on the road with USA Cycling when they came over to Europe and I was now living in Germany. That opportunity came in March of this year after Alex Pasqualina (USA Cycling Mountain Bike Director) put me in contact with Tanner Putt (USA Cycling Road Director). I was able to do a race block in Belgium with the USA Team and made some great connections. I continued to race MTB and did three World Cup races with USA Cycling.

I got connected with Team California and was invited to race in Spain over the summer. I had been feeling like I wanted to move to road, and the race block with Team California solidified that for me.

CN: What did you like about racing in Europe, and what was most challenging?

I have always preferred to challenge myself. So, an easier race that I place well in doesn’t feel as rewarding if I can’t see how it made me better or pushed me. What I have found racing in Europe for the past year and a half is the depth of talent is insane. There are no 'easier' races. At every race there are heavy hitters from different countries. It really gives you respect for the culture and how seriously they take the sport of cycling.

I feel like it’s the equivalent of how American football is in the US where it’s such a mainstream sport that the pool of talent is just massive. The other aspect I like but it is also a challenge is the fact that they race hard the entire time, and there is never a dull moment. There’s action the whole time and you have to be ready to react quickly.

When I called my parents after my first European race in 2024, they asked how it was. I said 'it was crazy'! It was a super aggressive race and it felt like mass chaos, but I could not wait to do it again!

CN: Modern Adventure Pro Cycling has three team directors, and each was asked to find US talent. Did you have a connection with Magner or Rosskopf in particular, since they are both from Georgia? How did you get an invitation to join the team?

EC: I didn’t have a close connection with Ty or Joey, but once I got into road, I knew who they were. They probably wouldn’t remember it, but I met them a few times at group rides in Georgia. I actually have a picture of me with Joey in his national championship jersey the first time I met him. I think I was like 15, so it feels like a full circle moment.

Joey was the first one to reach out to me back in May to tell me about this new team the Hincapies were starting. It was something that really interested me as well. They were looking for young American riders with a good personality and potential in the sport.

We kept chatting for a couple of months and one day I got a text saying George would be giving me a call with an offer as a rider for the next two years. It was a crazy experience going from a dedicated mountain biker at the beginning of the year who trained on the road primarily, having some good results on the road, and then getting a call from George Hincapie for this new American ProTeam. I am super grateful for the opportunity and looking forward to growing over the next two years.

CN: What are your goals for the first year with the team?

EC: My main goal for 2026 is getting experience in the pro peloton, learning my role in the team, and keeping myself healthy and fit throughout the year. I really want to focus on the road, and then there might be some gravel opportunities. I think maybe in the future, it'd be cool to try to do some mountain bike stuff as well.

CN: How would you describe your style of road riding, and what is the biggest positive you bring to the team right now, well ahead of any races?

EC: I would say I am more of a breakaway rider, to be honest. And Classic style is what I could see myself doing really well.

I guess you could say confidence. I've always loved the road because I feel like there's such little pressure. I've always felt so much pressure with mountain biking, I guess just because I've just been doing it for so long, and I feel like I almost have something to live up to. With road, I feel like I have nothing to prove, but I can just, you know, go out there and do really good and nobody knows me. So, I can really not worry about being stressed for getting a specific result. And I feel like that's a big advantage.

CN: If you could select two 'must-do' races for your calendar in the next two years, what would they be?

I would love to do Paris-Roubaix; that would be a huge one. I think that would be insane, a bucket list item for sure. And Strade Bianche. Those two are the huge ones in my mind.

CN: What would you like to accomplish as a U23 rider?

EC: My top three goals as a U23 rider would start with just learning as much as I can from the older riders and the staff who have the experience and knowledge to help teach me to be the best rider I can be.

Another big goal for me would be getting some time on a TT bike and seeing if I could do well there. I think my physiology is really suited towards a TT effort being a bigger rider. I’m interested to see how I would do since I’ve never touched a TT bike before.

And lastly, I think a big goal for me would be to show there’s more than one path to becoming a pro cyclist. I wasn’t on one of the big road development teams, but if you work hard and don’t give up, you can cross over and still have success.

CN: When you aren't on a bike, what do you enjoy in your free time?

EC: Back in Georgia, building trails with my friends was what I enjoyed most in my free time. We would spend hours in the woods just making short little loam trails or jumps and riding them. Since we moved to Germany, travelling is something I love to do in my spare time. We are always looking for a good castle, the best café, and this time of year the Christmas markets.

I also like to hike and see places from a different point of view than I would get while riding. My sister and I like baking too, even though I don’t think it counts to say that I’m the one baking, I’m just her helper.

This is the second installment of personal experiences provided by EuroCrossAcademy 15- and 16-year-old riders, men and women, who took part in the November session in the Netherlands. This 15-16 block took in races at VAM Berg and Spijkenisse, November 15-16, after initial training rides and educational sessions.

A total of 12 riders from 10 different states and nine different 'cross teams participated in the second week of skills development and racing - November 22 at Hilversum and November 23 at Venlo. A block of four Belgium races will also be held for 12 riders in the 17-18 age group in December.

Cyclingnews will feature diaries from several riders during and after each ECA block, with first-person accounts of their experiences and photos from the off-course and race landscapes in the Netherlands and Belgium. Follow the ECA on Instagram@eurocrossacademyig.

Ava White, a 15-year-old from Elkins, West Virginia, has been competing in cyclocross since she was nine years old, and Emmett Davis, 16, from Missoula, Montana also began with a few local races at a similar age. Though from opposite sides of the US, the two teens became teammates for EuroCrossAcademy the past two weeks, joining 10 other up-and-coming athletes for introductions to European everything - food, culture and cyclocross hills, mud and sand.

"Great block. Lots of strong growth both on and off the pitch," Geoff Proctor told Cyclingnews in a basic summary of a two-week block in Europe for his 15- and 16-year-old cyclocross student-athletes.

While the entire team competed in races in the Netherlands across two weekends, it was a mid-week training session in Lichtaart, Belgium where riders learned to blend physical skills and "positive mindsets" for the days ahead with challenging courses and high-level competition.

Proctor prioritises the "student" part of the equation, but his young pupils adapted quickly, with all six girls finishing 15th or better in Hilversum, and in a huge field of 85 riders, the boys finishing in 13th to 31st.

The final day of racing on November 23 was in Venlo which was a cold day for the eighth round of a regional Limburgcross Cup. The girls swept the top 5 in the elite women's category, with White going eighth. In the elite men's race, Luke Johnson finished third, with four others in the top 10 and Davis 11th.

Sven Hill and barriers

Before the final competitions on the trip, ECA participants spend a full day in Lichtaart, Belgium "skidding around in leaves and hopping over logs" as Davis described it, with special skills sessions led by former pros Tom De Kort and Ellen Van Loy.

"We first did starts, working on clipping in, getting off the line fast and sprinting for the yellow cones. Start after start, the thing I found most necessary was to have an open and growth mindset. It turns into a mental game real quick, and if you don't keep a positive mindset, you get wrapped into all the negatives," said Davis, who earned a bronze medal in the men's junior 15-16 category when Pan-American Championships were in Montana last year.

"It sounds silly but when you have multiple sets of coaches’ eyes on you and you're racing your friends, you don't want to mess up. As soon as you clear your head and focus on the task at hand, everything starts to click."

Both he and White enjoyed the tight single-track of the famous forest, but doing repetitions up Sven Hill was one of the more epic experiences of the sessions.

"I wasn't able to get the Sven Hill the first few times; I knew I had the strength and skills to do it, but I was missing the mental side," Davis said. "I was riding into the hill with no plan, just me, my bike and a super steep hill, which made me realize there was actually a huge mental aspect to it.

"Riding up a technical hill definitely requires a lot of power and technical skills but that's only part of the picture. Being able to forget the little mistakes and clear your mind before each rep is essential to success. It’s getting over that learning curve that sets you apart from the others, and it's your growth mindset that allows you to do that."

Davis said he learned to "reset and recenter" to conquer the climb. White said the wet conditions and barriers just across the top made it a double threat.

"The second part of the training was to climb a very steep, muddy hill (aka the infamous Sven Hill), sprint over the top and then get over barriers about 100 meters after the top. When it was my turn, I was so excited and eager to try to be the first girl to make it up the climb," she said.

"On my first attempt, I went straight up the climb and almost made it, except I couldn’t get my wheel over a hump and ended up running. When I got to the barriers, I tried to jump them, but I ended up crushing both at once.

"On my second try, I started the climb and could hear people cheering for me. Luckily, I made it with a little push.

"My final challenge was the barriers. As I sped up to jump, I felt my nerves kicking in. I pulled up on my bars and cleared both jumps. I was so happy because I have never cleared barriers before."

Dune field of sand

"There is no way to be fast in the sand if you don't stay focused and have a clear head," Davis assessed.

The group spent time with this obstacle as the final pair of Dutch races had large sand sections. Davis said he applied "the 2%" idea that was taught at one of the academy's evening sessions, a study that showed only 2% of a population pursues a more difficult path in the short term to benefit in the long term.

"In other words, by taking on challenges like doing reps up the Sven Hill, pushing the comfort by learning to hop the barriers, and ripping through the famous sand ruts over and over, we put into practice this idea of the 2%.

"You're braking, then pedaling, looking up, making sure your weight is centered correctly and so much more. It's a lot to think about, and as soon as you stop doing just one of those things, it's easy for everything to fall apart. It's lap after lap, fall after fall that teaches you and builds who you are."

White stepped up to Category 3 elite women's races this 'cross season, finding the podium four times, twice at Kings CX in Ohio. There is sand at US races, but this sand was different, what she called "a dune field".

"I was excited about all the training sessions, but I was especially nervous about the sand session. My heart sank at the word “sand” because I was so nervous about it," White said.

"We headed to an area that looked like a dune field. Once we got to the course, Tom coached us not to look at our front tire while riding through the circuit, but to look where we want to go. Ellen then gave me some advice about changing gears, which also helped me get through the sandy corners and turns more easily."

Whether it was smoother skills to clear obstacles like barriers or sand, or balance and focus with climbing, both White and Davis used the same word to describe what they had learned - confidence.

They'll bring it back to the US where they are expected to compete in mid-December at USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships presented by The Meteor in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Teenagers Abbygail Cole and Luke Johnson experienced their very first European cyclocross races earlier this week, as part of the 12-rider group for 15- and 16-year-olds with 2025 EuroCrossAcademy (ECA), a US-based student-athlete development programme. With the new territory came surprises in pre-race routines, language barrier, start grid placements and race positioning.

Both riders acclimatised quickly after starts deep in the fields, new territory for the accomplished juniors, with Cole scoring back-to-back victories on the weekend while Johnson earned second place on Saturday. However, racing the first day in deep mud at VAM Berg and the next on a slippery, technical course like Spijkenisse, near Rotterdam, were not straightforward rides to the podium.

Abby Cole, a 15-year-old from East Granby, Connecticut, who rides for Competitive Edge Racing with her twin sister Lilly, said she was surprised on Saturday by a fast, shoulder-bumping start, "which made me kind of panic". Johnson, a 16-year-old from Waukesha, Wisconsin, who rides for Finkraft Junior Cycling, said he had to adapt to aggressive racing where "everybody races for any position with all they can".

Throughout the various renditions of ECA since Geoff Proctor founded the development programme in 2003, young athletes have used the travel blocks, along with US-based camps, to gain cyclocross skills, experience different cultures and develop personally as a "whole person", as Proctor puts it, adding: "You want to refrain from judgment and evaluation and results, to enjoy the process, experience the joy and the surprise of watching an athlete grow and achieve."

Notable past participants who have worn the ECA kits in Europe include AJ August (Ineos Grenadiers), Danny Summerhill (L39ION of Los Angeles), former WorldTour pro Joe Dombrowski, reigning Pan-American elite cyclocross champions Lizzy Gunsalus and Andrew Strohmeyer.

The ECA 15-16 block continues for another week, with training rides, educational sessions and two final Dutch races - November 22 at Hilversum and November 23 at Venlo. Eleven of the riders represent 10 different states as well as nine different 'cross teams, with Lukas Young based out of Germany. A block of four Belgium races will also be held for 12 riders in the 17-18 age group in December.

Cyclingnews will feature diaries from several riders during and after each ECA block, with first-person accounts of their experiences and photos from the off-course and race landscapes in the Netherlands and Belgium. Follow the ECA on Instagram@eurocrossacademyig.

Welcome to the Netherlands

"This weekend I raced my first two European cyclocross races. As Americans coming to Europe, there were a lot of questions that came to our minds about racing. We came in with an open mind to learn on and off the course," Abby Cole wrote for her first entry in the ECA diary.

"I knew the racing would be different. I knew the girls would be more aggressive. In the U.S., almost all of our races are dry [this year], but the days leading up to VAM Berg were very wet."

Coming into her first racing overseas, the 15-year-old had won six races in 11 outings, including Category 2 / 3 victories at Really Rad Festival of Cyclocross and Northampton Cyclocross. Unlike most of the dry conditions across the New England events this year, thick mud and thick grass were menacing at the first Dutch race.

"The start procedures were very different as soon as all of the girls took off their warm-up pants and jackets the start official said five seconds. This was extremely different from U.S racing because they normally give you 15 seconds, and then any time within that 15 seconds.

"The girls started very fast and I was pushed out of the way by another rider, which made me kind of panic. I was able to move past girls on the cobblestone sectional, which we have never seen before.

"The mud was thin and slick, and running some sections were faster. I was able to get in the lead after the first lap and hold my lead to the finish. The podiums were right after where everyone was freezing, but the girl who got second spoke English. I don't know how to speak Dutch, so it was cool for them to speak our language."

For Wisconsin native Johnson, he was also surprised to be lined up in the last row of the start grid, not a common sight for a rider with all top 10s, including three wins, among his 10 starts in the US this season.

"I started the block by getting settled on the first day, and had my first skill session in the forest with Dutch Provincial Coach Bert Jan Hamer and Crelan-Corendan pro Manon Baker, which was an amazing introduction to European training. Then there was one day of recovery, and I geared up for the upcoming weekend of racing," he said about the start of the 15-16 block.

"For my first European race, I was one of the last to line up on the start grid, which is not an experience I am used to in the United States. Instantly, through the first few sections of the course, I was not expecting the Dutch riders to take the more muddy lines, so I was able to be more efficient and use faster lines.

"In the pre-ride, I found myself having to think much more broadly as the course was drastically wider and had many more line options than typically having one or very few lines back home. For example, there was a deep muddy section after the second pit, and riding it didn’t feel right. No line was efficient, and I planned with my teammates to run the whole section from the pit as we practiced in pre-ride. When the race came around, I changed my approach in the pit as there was still plenty of grass to ride to the first corner and then ran the whole section from there.

"This course was a power-heavy course, which I found helpful to work my way through the field. I moved up through the race to where I was chasing down the leader for the last laps and finishing on the podium in second."

Second race day

"Our second race was in Spijkenisse, at a permanent cyclocross course for a club. The club and race organizers were shocked to see Americans signed up for their regional Dutch-series race. After our pre-ride to the local club called PRC Delta, they asked to take a photo with all their young riders and seemed to view us as celebrities," Abby Cole said.

"I knew I would have a poor start position, and moving up was going to be very important due to an off-camber section, and another in the woods that followed not far after the start."

Abby Cole went on to win her second race for ECA. The six-rider men's event did not have a representative on the podium, but 16-year-old Lukas Young finished fifth. Johnson noted how different the course was from the one on Saturday.

"On Sunday, I raced Spijkenisse, which was a drastically different race dynamic from the variation between the two courses. The course was much more tight in width and had many smaller features such as off cambers, short stairs, carousels and short hills.

"The start went straight into a technical section, which turned into a big bottleneck, making it especially hard to move up. I worked with my teammates to work our way up through the field.

"There were five barriers per lap, and a few laps into the race, I made a mistake hopping the first set. The ground was not super smooth and at race pace I was not quite as confident as I would usually be, so for the rest of the race I ran the barriers. As a result, it was as fast or a little faster compared to bunny hopping. All of these little changes during the race added up to help my performance."

Life lessons

"For these two races we had to leave early, so prepping the night before was necessary in order to not be rushed in the morning. Prior to coming to Europe, I had a very specific pre- and post-race routine, but since being in Europe, I have realized that I have to be more independent and not rely on my parents because they are not there. In order to be ready on race day, I have to prepare my pre-race meal and make sure I have all of my ECA clothes," Abby Cole admitted.

"This trip has been very informative and will help me come prepared as I reach the 17-18 UCI field. I am excited to apply what I have learned on and off the bike and apply it to my racing."

Johnson said that while the impressions of how the course conditions were so vastly different, the competitiveness of the fields was similar.

"In the US, the racing is not as aggressive as in Europe. In the US, if I am racing for 15th, nobody would be very aggressive fighting for the position, whereas in Europe, everybody races for any position with all they can. This is another part of racing I have had to adapt to and change my perspective to expecting competition from each racer," he recalled.

"With my first weekend of racing in the Netherlands behind me, I am looking forward to the rest of our week together. Wednesday, we train in the Lichtaart forest (with hopes of catching a glimpse of some of the top Belgian pros), recovering, and applying the experience I gained to this upcoming weekend racing in Hilversum and Venlo."

Belgian super talent Jarno Widar has confirmed part of his schedule for 2026, ahead of his step up to the WorldTour with Lotto Intermarché, with a Grand Tour debut and two Monument appearances on his provisional plan.

After another very impressive campaign on Lotto's development team in 2025, Widar was named the 'Promising Rider of the Year' for a second season running at the Kristallen Fiets end-of-year cycling awards in Belgium, organised by daily newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.

Although the messy merger between Lotto and Intermarché hasn't yet been finalised, Widar will certainly be a part of their plan, with the ambitious plan for his first season confirming his standing among the team's stars.

"Normally, I'll be riding the Strade Bianche, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the spring," Widar told HLN.

"Maybe the Amstel Gold Race too, but that depends on how I finish the Tour of the Basque Country. After that, the Vuelta a España will be my first Grand Tour, and I'll close the season with the Tour of Lombardy.

"I'm really looking forward to it—we can only dream and do our best. It's going to be a journey of discovery, isn't it? I'm very curious about that."

Widar, 20, has been one of the dominant forces in the under-23 peloton the past two years, netting GC wins at the Giro d'Italia Next Gen, Ronde de l'Isard and Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta, along with several stages at each event.

He's also impressed in one-day races, winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège U23, Flèche Ardennaise and the European Championships U23 road race this past season. Widar suffered cramps at the World Championships in Rwanda and missed out on a big goal there, with fellow top up-and-coming talent Lorenzo Finn taking victory for Italy.

Widar also narrowly missed out on the overall title at the prestigious Tour de l'Avenir, behind the hugely promising young French racer Paul Seixas, who has already established himself in the WorldTour with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. However, the Belgian did win two stages after close-fought battles with the Frenchman.

His highlight for 2025? "The European Championship, definitely, but the two stage wins at the Tour de l'Avenir are really close," he said.

"The battles I fought there with Paul Seixas... I've rewatched that footage several times because I find it so beautiful.

"I'm especially pleased that I've made a huge step forward in terms of values. And thankfully, the results followed. I'm very happy with that. The most important thing for me is that I've seen progress within myself."

Widar was cautious to put excessive pressure on his own shoulders for his first WorldTour season, highlighting how just making it into the professional system was what he was dreaming of. He will have big targets, nevertheless, and as one of the top climbing prospects in the world, Lotto-Intermarché will be desperate to unlock his full potential.

"It's a dream come true. For me, it doesn't really matter what I achieve anymore, because when I was a little boy cycling around here, it was already a dream in itself to ride among the pros," said Widar to HLN.

"I'm going to experience that now. I've already achieved something that will make me very happy . I'm proud of that. Although, of course, I do have new dreams. [But] I've learned to just keep quiet and set goals only in my head and with the team. And then work towards them calmly."

Iván Romeo arrived at last summer's Tour de France as the youngest rider in the bunch. Not only was the Spaniard making his debut at cycling's premier stage race, but he was doing so in the national champion's jersey too – going under the radar was never going to be an option.

Yet, as the 22-year-old explains in a sit-down interview with Cyclingnews while in Singapore for the Tour de France Criterium, pressure isn't a problem for the man from Valladolid.

His body language exudes a seasoned pro, not one who made his Grand Tour debut just months earlier, but don't mistake confidence for cockiness. Romeo's development process has been carefully managed to ensure the pitfalls of modern cycling don't hamper his potential.

After catching Movistar's attention in 2021 at MMR Academy, he spent a year under the tutelage of Axel Merckx at Hagens Berman Axeon development squad before officially joining Movistar in 2023. An under-23 World Championships time trial title in Zurich last year was a promising sign, but it's Romeo's 2025 exploits at elite level that prove his development plan worked.

Just three racedays into this season and Romeo claimed his first pro win, on stage 3 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, as he attacked with 17km remaining and held off a chasing bunch that included the likes of João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers).

"Getting my first pro win was my main goal. I needed that. I needed to win, and I got it on the third day of competition," Romeo revealed.

"It was actually very important to get that win quite early as it just gave me more confidence to say 'OK, you were right, you can do it.'"

The youngster expected himself to deliver in 2025, but perhaps not in the manner that he ultimately did. Despite being the second youngest rider on Movistar's roster – which is the third-oldest in the WorldTour at an average of 27.5 years – Romeo's early season exploits rapidly progressed him up the pecking order.

A fourth place in GC at the UAE Tour followed his early-season victory, before WorldTour-level success arrived in the shape of a solo stage win at the Critérium du Dauphiné after attacking from the day's break.

Victory at the Dauphiné was big for Romeo, but not as sweet as success at the Spanish National Championships later in June.

"For sure, Dauphiné was a big win, but the most special one for me was nationals. Wearing the national champion's jersey is a dream of everyone, and in Spain, even more so, because we have a crazy [cycling] fan base."

It was a race Movistar clearly backed Romeo to deliver in, something he thrives off.

"[Nationals] was a really big goal, so when you deliver having all that responsibility, it's even better. I like pressure, I like to race that way. It makes you feel better when you accomplish the goal," he added.

The full force of Le Tour

The Tour de France was tentatively scheduled for the youngster at the start of 2025, but his results in the early season made it a certainty, especially with la Rojigualda on his back.

At 21 years and 323 days, Romeo was the youngest rider on the start line in Lille and felt the full effects of the Tour's circus-like nature in the opening week.

"They tell you it'll be hard, but it's difficult to expect how hard it is, not just physically, but mentally too.

"For a guy like me who's super competitive, to race having the next goal in five days [time], for example, a breakaway opportunity, is really difficult. You still have to wake up every morning, weigh your food, and ride 180km; it's tough."

Romeo was in awe of the level of competition at the Tour, admitting it felt "insane" and "like a different sport," alongside questioning whether he even belonged in the Grand Tour peloton.

As the stages ticked by, though, Movistar's young talent settled into the race, ultimately experiencing the full force of Le Tour.

From a bad bout of cramp on stage 18 to the Col de la Loze that nearly forced him to abandon, to a chance at a stage win, literally, sliding away from him as he crashed on a wet corner during the penultimate stage.

"I was cramping on the descent of the Col du Glandon, and we had 110km to go. I was with Iván García Cortina in the group, and if it wasn't for him, I would probably have gone home.

"This is the rollercoaster that you go through. I was almost winning the stage in the breakaway when I crashed, so that tells you how the Tour is. You can never give up. Until Paris, it is still alive."

Despite the disappointment, Romeo sees the value in these experiences and how they'll help him during three-week races in the years to come.

"It was my first Grand Tour, and now I know how it is. Whatever I do now is going to be easier," he added.

One-week racer, TT specialist, or even GC contender?

A Grand Tour looks set to remain on the young Spaniard's agenda for 2026, alongside an amalgamation of Classics and one-week stage races where he can use his strengths to target GC. Given his potentially well-rounded calendar, what type of rider does it make Romeo as he enters his fourth WorldTour season?

"I'm young, so it's difficult to say what type of rider I am. This year has helped me to know what I like more. I really enjoyed [targeting] GC at one-week races at the UAE Tour and Valenciana, so I want to try that again this year in some races that suit me.

"Races with time trials and not very steep climbs, I think I can do well there," Romeo continued.

His strong time trialling ability could well provide him with an edge in stage races, but despite storming to victory in Zurich last year, he still awaits his first pro victory against the clock. The Spanish National Championships TT is one race in particular that he's currently "missing" from his palmarès and a target in 2026.

As for returning to the Tour de France, it's naturally a race that is on the 22-year-old's radar, but his attitude towards the race is remarkably holistic for someone of his age and experience.

"The biggest goal would be to win a stage at the Tour, but I don't think I have to put that as my main goal. The Tour is so crazy that you can get very frustrated if you don't win there, but maybe [the reason for not winning] is not on you," Romeo reflected.

Handling national pressure

This clear, composed thinking is something the youngster has exuded throughout our chat, and one he carries with him despite the undeniable national pressure. This 'cool customer' personality stems in part from the group around him.

His girlfriend, Cat Ferguson, is no stranger to big expectations from a young age, having scooped up junior rainbow jersey titles in 2024 and now experiencing similar success with Movistar in the Women's WorldTour.

Meanwhile, his brother, Sergio, is two years younger than him and currently riding for Equipo Kern Pharma's development side, having also started with MMR Academy. Romeo's parents spent July following him around the Tour de France in a campervan, too.

It all adds up to making the life of a WorldTour cyclist that bit easier to come to terms with for Romeo.

"It's special [their support] and it's helped me a lot this year. It just makes life a lot easier in every way. I always say that what I must appreciate about my life is that I have a really good group around me.

"Some days you don't want to ride a bike, but you have no excuse. So, [this group] makes everything easier," the youngster admitted.

The strong support network is another aspect of Romeo's development that has enabled him to seemingly relish and enjoy all that the career of a professional cyclist entails, even when it's bitterly cold, and you need to go out for a training ride.

Of course, he's not alone when it comes to hot prospects hoping to deliver Spain glory at cycling's premier events. Juan Ayuso may look the most likely of Spain's current crop to claim a Grand Tour title – and end a dry spell stretching back to Alberto Contador's 2015 Giro win – but could Romeo prove to be the next Alejandro Valverde figure and claim more rainbow jersey success at elite level?

Whichever category of rider and race Romeo falls into, his careful development and composed mentality stand him in good stead to cut through the noise and deliver more success for the passionate, if expectant, Spanish fan base.

Babette van der Wolf grew up surrounded by bicycles. Her father, Michael van der Wolf, competed in the pro peloton for nine seasons, riding for three different second-tier teams between 1996-2000. She attributes her love for the sport to her upbringing in the Netherlands with a role model like her father, inspiration from her older sister, and an affinity for managing the ever-present wind in the Netherlands – "The wind, the fight, the chaos, I love it all".

While still a junior, Van der Wolf found success on the track, winning a European Championship on the track and finishing with a bronze medal in the Madison (with Nienke Veenhoven) at the UCI Junior Track Worlds in Israel.

In 2023 she moved from a club road team to the Continental level with Lifeplus-Wahoo as a first-year U23 rider. She got a spot on their Tour de France Femmes squad in 2023 and scored nine top 10s the next season, taking third at Antwerp Port Epic Ladies.

This past season, still just 21, she climbed again and landed at EF Education-Oatly with a three-year contract, the team expected to be WorldTour level in 2026. She finished fifth on stages at both Tour of Britain Women and Giro d'Italia Women, finished second at Bambrugge-Erpe-Mere one-day race and took part in the UCI Gravel World Championships for the home Dutch team.

"Cycling isn’t just about today. It’s your life," she told Cyclingnews.

She's carving a career path with multiple disciplines, but also has an eye on plan B for her future. Quick with a smile, the young Dutch rider shared philosophical points of view on many topics with Cyclingnews. At just 21, she has spent 15 of those on a bicycle, and she's using that youthful experience to "become a strong professional rider".

Cyclingnews: Tell us a little about your family and how your father inspired you and your sister to ride bikes.

Babette van der Wolf: My father was a professional cyclist for many years, winning numerous races and podiums. When my sister was born, he retired to be there for her, though he still raced occasionally in amateur and derny events. Seeing my sister start cycling on her bright pink bike, I wanted one too, and a little jealousy sparked my own passion.

Both my father and sister have always been guiding examples. My sister taught me how high the highs can be, but also how deep the lows, allowing me to learn from her experiences. My father showed me from a young age how to race and win, and I still follow his vision today, deeply grateful for it. My parents’ unwavering support, bringing me to every race and encouraging me even when things went wrong this helped shape my dream.

As I grew older, I raced for a club in Rotterdam and continued watching my father compete. He would guide me through what he would do, and though I was often too nervous to film his finishes and never actually got him on camera, the excitement of those moments made me certain I wouldn’t want to enter cycling any other way.

CN: You have said that you like riding in the wind, which you face a lot in the Netherlands. How it that helped you in the peloton?

BVDW: Yes, I was born in Rotterdam, but I grew up on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee. One thing this island is known for is the wind. From a young age, my dad taught me how to ride in an echelon. And once you understand the rhythm and vision behind it, you start to love it. The wind, the fight, the chaos, I love it all.

It has definitely taught me some lessons – if you’re not in the right position, you won’t be at the front. But it also shows how strong you can be, because you have to ride in the echelon; otherwise, you’ll get dropped.

CN: Tell us about your interests across many disciplines, not just road cycling.

BVDW: When I was young, I started with road and track cycling. Track shaped me into the rider I am today. I also tried cyclocross, super fun but my dad warned me not to do too much, which I’m thankful for.

I focused on track until racing became harder, and last year I decided to focus on road, with some gravel on the side. Living in Switzerland makes that a dream. I’ll never completely stop track, because it has my heart, but when I do it, I want to enjoy it and have fun without too many proving others but myself.

CN: When did you realise the bike could open your world for a career?

BVDW: I think that ever since I was a junior, I’ve always wanted to become a professional. I still remember having to write down my dream on paper, and I wrote: "I want to become a really good pro rider." When I turned U23 and started riding for Wahoo, I was grateful to have the opportunity to race all the big races. However, it also felt like a deep dive into the unknown. That experience, though, helped shape me. Both as a rider and as a person, giving me a lot of experience early on. My first real moment of realization came during my second year as a U23.

CN: The first four seasons you rode with smaller teams, but you earned a podium your first year at Watersley Ladies Challenge. And the next year you had a lot of results. Tell us what event was most special in those years to give you a contract to race for bigger competitions?

BVDW: When I was a junior, the club team I rode for taught me a lot about the [career] road I wanted to take. I had a few setbacks and sometimes faced reality a bit too harshly, but thanks to the right circle I built around me, I kept going and kept believing. I think the biggest lesson I learned was that cycling isn’t just about today. It’s your life.

I became European Champion on the track, finished third at Worlds, and raced at the World Championships in Australia as a junior. After becoming European Champion, I was offered a contract by Lifeplus-Wahoo. I was really grateful for their trust and belief in me.

I got to learn a lot from Malgorzata Jasinska, who was our DS at the time. She taught me how to race the big races, how to handle them mentally and physically, and what it truly means to be a good teammate. She helped me believe in myself when I couldn’t. Most of the time, I raced WorldTour events, so I really wanted to prove myself at the smaller races too, to show both myself and the team what I was capable of. After Antwerp Epic, I got the chance to talk with EF. They shared the same vision as me and believed in the rider I am. And still, they have the same development goals that I strive for.

CN: You landed at EF Education-Oatly for 2025, with security for two more years. Tell us about that step to a ProTeam.

BVDW: I signed a three-year contract with the team, my first real pro deal. Those three years are meant for growth, learning, and development, and I’m truly grateful for the trust the team has in me.

At first, I was a bit nervous to join such a big team with riders I used to look up to, but I embraced it. Even as one of the youngest, I have a dream and a vision. Every race or training day felt like a learning day, and I love getting feedback from DSs, coaches, and teammates. Everyone adds something unique, and that’s what makes this team so special.

Looking back, I’m especially thankful for riders like Alison Jackson and Sarah Roy, who taught me new ways of racing, helped me grow, and showed what true teamwork means.

CN: What made you want to race some gravel? You said your first gravel race at Sea Otter Girona was completed on a road bike with gravel tyres. Was that fun or a challenge?

BVDW: Yes, the Sea Otter race was super spontaneous and looking back, I was probably a bit crazy to do such a tough gravel race with my best friend in the feed zone and hoping my road bike would survive! But what mattered most was that I had so much fun, and even now I still laugh when I think about it.

That race made me want to do more gravel events. It’s something different from road racing, yet just as hard. I live in Switzerland, and riding here on my road bike is simply beautiful; sometimes I completely lose track of time. For me, it’s healthy to combine road and gravel. It keeps me mentally fresh and makes me a stronger, more technical rider on the road.

CN: You finished top 45 at the UCI Gravel World Championships in south Limburg. How did you enjoy the day on the bike?

BVDW: It was a special day. My first Gravel Worlds, and in the Netherlands, with my family cheering on the sidelines. From the first lap it was full gas, but unfortunately I started to feel more and more empty each lap and had to let the group go. I knew my form was a bit of a question mark, but at the end of the day I came for the experience and to have fun and I did.

I’m really thankful to the team for being so supportive of gravel racing, and for giving me an absolute beast of a bike, the Cannondale gravel bike.

CN: Looking back at your education process on and off the bike, what stands out to you?

BVDW: When I was in high school, I sometimes found it difficult to combine school and cycling. My sister was always a great example for me. She’s super smart, a bit of a perfectionist, and she always told me: "School first, cycling second." My sister’s advice was to make my dream happen, with a plan B on the side.

Because only when you don’t have nightmares, you don’t need a plan B to fulfill a dream. But this isn’t the reality... That sentence has always stayed with me. Still, school was a challenge. I changed schools a few times and tried to fit everything into my schedule.

After my first year as a U23, I decided to start studying Medical Science and I’m still doing it today. Not because I have to, but because it’s good to keep a balance with 'normal life' and to keep following my sister's advice.

CN: What is your 'dream' win on the road while you are still a U23 rider?

BVDW: To be honest, I have many dreams. But just like I’ve done before, my main dream remains – to become a strong professional rider. This isn’t about a single day, it’s a journey that spans years.

Of course, I also dream of winning races. As a U23 rider, I'd love to win one of the bigger races, but honestly, any victory would be amazing. One of my goals for next season is to take a win in one of the smaller races, because at the end of the day, a win is a win.