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Teams & Riders General topic for riders who don't deserve their own thread (yet)

I had this idea for a while. Every year there are interesting riders coming out of the U23, but it might take quite a while before they show us something worth opening a topic over. I guess you could talk about these guys in the U23 topic for a while, but after turning pro, that's not really what the topic is for and focuses on U23 races.

On the other hand, there are also established riders, who definitely have their place in the pro peloton, but haven't shown anything particular that they should get their own topic. Maybe more domestiques or late bloomers. If we started making topics for every rider that picks his nose, you get dozens of 2 page topics, which all drop to the bottom of the forum in no time.

So why not make a topic for all the riders we might want to discuss from time to time, but don't need to open a new thread for at this moment? So, the thread is for guys coming out of the U23 like Leknessund, Rubio, Bagioli, Arensman, Vansevenant... But also for guys like Tolhoek, Bodnar, Großschartner etc... (Also, De Plus should totally get his own topic soon.)
 
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I'll start with a new post. Like i mentioned in another topic, lots of interesting new guys coming out of the U23 (almost all of the best U23 GC riders of 2019), joining the pros for 2020. It will get more interesting as schedules get updated.

Rubio, & Alba (Movistar) will face Ardilla (UAE) in Tour Colombia (11th of Feb). Also starting are guys like Sosa, Bernal, Lopez, Martinez, Higuita, Quintana, Alaphilippe, Henao and Aru... That will be interesting to see for sure.
McNulty (also UAE) will face Evenepoel (and many others) in San Juan (26th of Jan).
Van Wilder and Tejada will face Lopez, Kämna, Nibali... in Algarve (19th of Feb).
Foss will meet Pogacar again in Valencia (5th of Feb), they're the last two winners of Tour de l'Avenir.
 
I like you're idea of a thread for riders in general. The times I've had someone I wanted to post something about but didn't think they had their own thread and what I was wanting to post, really didn't deserve starting a thread I've gone to the team thread, which sometimes isn't the best option either. Thank you for this thread idea.
 
Wasn't there a general thread for younger riders already?
Like i said in the very first post of the thread, there is a general U23 thread (and there is also a junior thread). This is for both riders that are not U23 anymore (even though they may still be only 21 or 22, but turned pro so no longer ride the U23 races) and for even older riders that simply don't need their own thread (yet). So you don't have to make a new thread to ask (trivial or not) questions about riders like Tim Declerq, Maciej Bodnar or Niklas Arndt.

Basically, a topic to talk about all and any riders for which there is no other dedicated topic to talk about.

I like you're idea of a thread for riders in general. The times I've had someone I wanted to post something about but didn't think they had their own thread and what I was wanting to post, really didn't deserve starting a thread I've gone to the team thread, which sometimes isn't the best option either. Thank you for this thread idea.
Thank you. This is exactly what it is for!
In some cases, there isn't even a team topic either, and then it seems silly to make a team thread to ask some silly question about a lesser known rider from a smaller team.
 
Van Wilder next to Benoot finally in team kit, in Calpe. He's the same size as Evenepoel.

81676194_530440564349792_3121969967495380992_o.jpg
 
People interested can run these trough Google or DeepL translate. Basically, these are some "neo-pros to watch in 2020" articles.

Battistella: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pros-a-suivre-en-2020-samuele-battistella-team-ntt
Van Wilder: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pros-a-suivre-en-2020-ilan-van-wilder-team-sunweb
Bagioli: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pros-a-suivre-en-2020-andrea-bagioli-deceuninck-quick-step
Groves: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pros-a-suivre-en-2020-kaden-groves-mitchelton-scott
Dainese: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pros-a-suivre-en-2020-alberto-dainese-team-sunweb
Leknessund: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pros-a-suivre-en-2020-andreas-leknessund-uno-x
Cepeda: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pros-a-suivre-en-2020-alexander-cepeda-androni-giocattoli
Simmons: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pro-a-suivre-en-2020-quinn-simmons-trek-segafredo
Ardila: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pros-a-suivre-en-2020-camilo-ardila-uae-team-emirates
Champoussin: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pros-a-suivre-en-2020-clement-champoussin-ag2r-la-mondiale
Bissegger: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pros-a-suivre-en-2020-stefan-bisseger-ef-education-first
Girmay: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pros-a-suivre-en-2020-biniam-girmay-nippo-delko-one-provence
Foss: https://www.velo-club.net/post/15-neo-pros-a-suivre-en-2020-tobias-foss-team-jumbo-visma

Ardila, Champoussin, Dainese, Foss, Groves, Hayter, Inkelaar, Larsen, Leknessund, Simmons, Van Wilder:
https://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/elf-neoprofs-om-op-te-letten-in-2020/

Obviously Velo-club is doing 15 articles, i'll post the remaining ones when they're published (if i don't forget).
EDIT: Seems like Velo-Club only knows 13 neo pros to watch, since they have simply republished the articles of Ardila and Champousin as 14th and 15th article :tearsofjoy:
 
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Ilan Van Wilder (3rd in Tour de l'Avenir 2019, 4th in Course de la Paix 2019) will be riding his first pro season just to learn. The only races where he wants to get a good result, are three U23 races: Tour de l'Avenir, Ronde de l'Isard and WCC U23.

---------------

Two pieces on Andrea Bagioli:

Google translate:

DECEUNINCK. ANDREA BAGIOLI, THE NEW WOLFPACK CUB*

He risked starting the year and his professional career in the worst way. On January 2, Andrea Bagioli was returning home from training when a motorist touched him with his car when passing him. In turning to the right he did not see it and the impact was inevitable. It is now a classic, unfortunately. It is only a matter of luck if the 20 year old from Valtellina has not reported any consequences. The fate has nothing to do if we meet him in Calpe, in the withdrawal of the number 1 team in the world, with which he is close to making his professional debut. The results obtained in the minor categories and the talent shown allowed him to make the big jump with the Deceuninck Quick Step.

«It was a dream, which I still struggle to believe I have realized. Little by little I'm understanding which planet I landed on and I'm learning to move among all these people »he tells us at the end of the presentation of the team led by Patrick Lefevere, which was attended by over 70 journalists from all over Europe. «Everything seems to me and is obviously bigger than the realities in which I grew up. I am grateful to every company that has taught me something, without putting unnecessary pressure on me. In this group I am settling in well, my companions are nice and even the most famous are boys in hand. You see them on television and you think they are extraterrestrials, instead they are men like everyone else. Even Remco Evenepoel, who is a real phenomenon, is in the end a very peaceful guy ».

Graduated mechanical expert, determined and stubborn, he loves sports and in general being outdoors. In his spare time he loves walking in the mountains and practicing ski mountaineering. The passion for cycling inherited it from dad Roberto. First race held by G1, in mtb. He approached the road only as a beginner. Grew up admiring the deeds of Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali, he admires the runners who attack from afar and amuse people. Multi-purpose athlete, in the minor categories he has proven to be a climber but not pure, in fact he does well both in the plains and in the narrow sprints.

Andrea shares the room with Davide Ballerini, who advised him not to train too much and to follow the indications of the team, who will protect him better and in this first year he will not deploy him at the start of any great lap or classic to allow him to grow gradually and don't pay for the category jump. One day he dreams of being a protagonist in the Giro d’Italia and Il Lombardia, but he has all the time from his to get there.

Meanwhile, the wolfpack of the Wolfpack, who in 2018 won the allBICI Under 23 Oscar at the debut in the category, pawed to attach the first backbone to the back. «I really want to start running. I will start at the Tour de la Provence in mid-February. I trained well this winter and I still have a month to be ready for the appointment. Two classics will follow in France, Ardèche and Drôme, then the Volta a Catalunya, which will be my first World Tour race. For this first season among the greats the goal is to learn as much as possible and to improve myself and then get to try the emotion to raise your arms to heaven in the highest category ».

If she has reached it, it is thanks to the support of her family, with whom she lives in Lanzada in Valmalenco, in the province of Sondrio, who also boasts another active runner, her brother Nicola, a professional at Androni Sidermec. Nicola has always said that the most talented of the two is Andrea, now it's up to him to prove it on the pedals.

(* assumed meaning by me, Google didn't know the what it meant)

Google translate:

Route - Andrea Bagioli: "The goal is to learn and improve myself"

Andréa Bagioli (Deceuninck-Quick Step) is not yet known to the general public, but the Italian could be a revelation of the season. After a good season in the hopes category last year, with a dominance in the Ronde de l'Isard, the 20-year-old runner hopes to learn for his first year from the professionals. "For this first season among the greatest, the goal is to learn as much as possible and improve myself. Then trying to raise your arms with the professionals, it would be a good thing", explains Andréa Bagioli in comments reported by TuttoBiciWeb.

The young Italian will discover the professional world with the great team of the Deceuninck-Quick Step of Julian Alaphilippe, Remco Evenepoel or even Bob Jungels. "It was a dream that I still find it hard to believe. Little by little, I understand what planet I landed on and I learn to run among all these people. In this group I settle in well, my companions are nice and even the most famous are the warmest. You see them on television and you think they are extraterrestrials, but rather men like everyone else. Even Remco Evenepoel, which is a real phenomenon, is finally a very peaceful guy, "he concludes.
 
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I had completely missed Santiago Buitrago was getting a relatively spicey first pro season program. He will also ride Flèche Wallonne and Liège Bastogne Liège, after Colombia and Catalunya after already a very respectable TDU.

A lot of nice "new" names in FW to look out for if the provisional lineup turns out to be true. Evenepoel, van der Poel, Buitrago, Higuita, Pinot, Roglic... Pogacar returns.
 
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A month or two before Pogacar won the 2018 Tour de l'Avenir (where Vlasov finished 4th), this guy won the other "big" stage race on the U23 calendar, the Baby Giro or Giro Ciclistico d'Italia. In 2019, he finished ahead of Pogacar in the Tour of Slovenia in GC, with a 3rd spot. Here's an interview with Directvelo after his win today.

Aleksandr Vlasov, Astana's new rocket


5e46daca7176f.jpg
 
So, this Miguel Eduardo Flórez dude... i had never really noticed him. But two weeks ago he won on Alto Colorado in the Vuelta a San Juan and finished 5th in GC. Now he also finished 5th in GC in Tour Colombia. Checking his results of the previous years, it seems he's been steadily progressing. He turns 24 next week. Is it me, or did he fly under the radar for more people?
 

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