U23 races and talents

[Zinoviev Letter]

I agree that not inviting them is BS, but calling all those Italian teams dog turd is just disrespectful. I have to say that just inviting half of them would probably be enough from a competitive standpoint, but look at the Tour de l'Avenir when all the other nations only have national team and the French have all their regional teams.

If you split the espoir talent of any country into seventeen squads and then put them in a race against most of the best espoir teams in the world, the local teams would be dog turds. No country has seventeen teams worth of international level age group talent.

Avenir usually has three or so French teams at it, a national team and a small number of regional teams. Which means that the race isn’t majority composed of riders who are totally out of their depth. And also means that French riders are more likely to actually win the thing as a French contender is much more likely to have the 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc best French riders on their team.

 

[Mayomaniac]

If you split the espoir talent of any country into seventeen squads and then put them in a race against most of the best espoir teams in the world, the local teams would be dog turds. No country has seventeen teams worth of international level age group talent.

Avenir usually has three or so French teams at it, a national team and a small number of regional teams. Which means both that the race isn’t majority composed of riders who are totally out of their depth. And also means that French riders are more likely to actually win the thing as a French contender is much more likely to have the 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc best French riders on their team.

You're right, but Italian cycling always used to do things a certain way and the guys who run those teams are super old fashioned and don't want to change their ways (even if some Italian teams are already saying that we have too many CT teams).

 

[Walter1234]

But who knows; maybe there is a good Spanish rider in one of the Italian teams.

But indeed; a surprising decision to not invite a team having the winner 2 years ago and having a stage win last year.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

You're right, but Italian cycling always used to do things a certain way and the guys who run those teams are super old fashioned and don't want to change their ways (even if some Italian teams are already saying that we have too many CT teams).

You know, at risk of completely contradicting myself, that is sort of charming in its own way. There is value in having this big race also be the centrepiece of the year for a big domestic age group racing scene.

But it’s pretty jarring to combine that in one event with one of the two big international espoir stage races. And I suspect that it probably reflects a development structure that isn’t great for bringing through new Italian talents into the pro ranks - as you suggest, maybe too many small teams, not enough concentration of talent in more professionalised set ups.

 

[SafeBet]

It's a terrible decision regardless of the ratio behind it. Italy should try to bring more international talents to their races, because that's what generates media interest and pushes the Italian youngsters to improve further.

This is the same BS of those soccer experts advocating for less foreign players in the Serie A.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

They should be made to explain their decision. It makes no sense. One of the top U23/development teams in the sport (and across all disciplines) and there's no invite for them. Really??

 

[Mayomaniac]

It's a terrible decision regardless of the ratio behind it. Italy should try to bring more international talents to their races, because that's what generates media interest and pushes the Italian youngsters to improve further.

This is the same BS of those soccer experts advocating for less foreign players in the Serie A.

Yeah, the main problem in Italian football is that in general they prefer picking an old guy who is +5 years past his prime instead of giving a young, homegrown talent are chance (those are sold to make ends meet). Also, if a young player makes a mistake once he'll be held accountable for it for years, while washed up players can live on their past glory days for years and years...
Back to cycling, I think it's no coincidence that many of the best Italian talents nowadays are track guys, they have better coaches who actually try to develop guys over the years and don't just try to squeeze the most wins out of them in the u23 or junior ranks. Someone like Tiberi also already had his own coach given to him by the Italian NT as a junior rider.
Things are slowly improving and some teams like team Friuli seem to be better at slowly developing riders over the years, but I still feel that young Italians are probably better off joining an u23 team outside of Italy.

 

[steffr222]

As expected African champion Henok Mulubrhan finishes his short stay with Team Bike Aid. As they write about the Giro I expect him to join Androni and his fellow countryman Natnael Tesfatsion…

Source

 

[Mayomaniac]

As expected African champion Henok Mulubrhan finishes his short stay with Team Bike Aid. As they write about the Giro I expect him to join Androni and his fellow countryman Natnael Tesfatsion…

Source

I was surprised that no PCT team had picked him up. Last year he had multiple top 10s in bigger Italian u23 one day races, a top 10 on the gc in the Giro della Valle d'Aosta and finished top 20 on the gc in the Tour de L'avenir and the Baby Giro (where he had already finished 11th a year before, when the route was harder) and he has good results in the African stage races.

 

[SafeBet]

Lorenzo Milesi wins the first stage of Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux (a race which was last held in 2019).
Very good TTer among the juniors, I'm curious to see his development.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Lorenzo Milesi wins the first stage of Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux (a race which was last held in 2019).
Very good TTer among the juniors, I'm curious to see his development.

Milesi has lots of potential. Last year at the u23 Giro he crashed badly early on, but on the consecutive mountain stages at the end he got better and better, that was a solid showing for a first year u23 rider.
He also finished 2nd (ahead of Tiberi) at the 2019 Italian TT junior NC as a first year junior who had only started cycling 1.5 years earlier, he has some serious potential. I believe that for someone like him the structured enviorment at the DSM developmental team is a good thing.

 

[SafeBet]

Milesi has lots of potential. Last year at the u23 Giro he crashed badly early on, but on the consecutive mountain stages at the end he got better and better, that was a solid showing for a first year u23 rider.
He also finished 2nd (ahead of Tiberi) at the 2019 Italian TT junior NC as a first year junior who had only started cycling 1.5 years earlier, he has some serious potential. I believe that for someone like him the structured enviorment at the DSM developmental team is a good thing.

Not for too long hopefully

 

[Mayomaniac]

Not for too long hopefully

Yeah, I think that their developmental team isn't a bad idea for a former Football player who started late like him, but I wouldn't want to see him on their pro team for too long.
Garofoli got away after riding on their developmental team for only 1 year, so who knows.

 

[Mayomaniac]

And after loosing almost 8min on the cobbled stage yesterday (apparently he had a flat tire at the worst time) Milesi also wins the ITT, stage 3a, just 2sec ahead of Segaert, but clearly ahead of everyone else.

 

[RedheadDane]

Hagenes wins stage 3b. While Paleni wins the overall.

Meanwhile, over in Italy, Marcellusi won Trofeo Piva.

 

[postmanhat]

Strand says hello to the U-23s.

And FDJ seem have a really strong development team this year. They're getting so much right at the moment as an organisation.

 

[pablohidalgo7]

Jumbo made the mistake of not putting a rider in the early breakaway in the first two days, Hagenes in the first stage went all the way to the breakaway in the last 30 km reducing a gap of 1 minute and 20 seconds with Sergaert on his wheel because Van Hemeleen was ahead. He crashed yesterday and had to fight his way into the pack and destroy everyone on the final climb, Per Strand is so unbelievably strong .

 

[Walter1234]

LBL U23 coming up;
Amazing the effort Youri IJnsen puts in his previews: https://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/voorbeschouwing-luik-bastenaken-luik-u23/ (in Dutch , I hope the Google translated version is any good...).

 

[Wyndbrook]

LBL U23 coming up;
Amazing the effort Youri IJnsen puts in his previews: https://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/voorbeschouwing-luik-bastenaken-luik-u23/ (in Dutch , I hope the Google translated version is any good...).

Seems to be much better than the normal site translation I get.
Although I do enjoy their 'drivers, semi toppers and motocross riders'.
I use browse Wielerflits most days, often first with stories and I love a bit of gossip.

 

[Walter1234]

Seems to be much better than the normal site translation I get.
Although I do enjoy their 'drivers, semi toppers and motocross riders'.
...

Lol; seems like the same translation errors when you translate a French directvelo to Dutch. Cycling context doesn't seem to be on the priority list for auto-translation...

 

[RedheadDane]

Lol; seems like the same translation errors when you translate a French directvelo to Dutch. Cycling context doesn't seem to be on the priority list for auto-translation...

You don't say! You should see some of the mess I end up with when FB auto-translates other languages into Danish. A few weeks ago, apparently several riders broke the law! And then there's the whole thing with names getting translated.

 

[Mayomaniac]

A shame that Milesi is out with a broken jaw after being hit by a car while training in the Netherlands.

 

[SafeBet]

A shame that Milesi is out with a broken jaw after being hit by a car while training in the Netherlands.

Didn't know that. Is he ok, apart from the injury you mention?

 

[Mayomaniac]

Didn't know that. Is he ok, apart from the injury you mention?

Yeah, a broken jaw and a few broken teeth, but otherwise he's ok.
Source: https://www.gazzetta.it/Ciclismo/06...n-auto-si-rompe-mandibola-4302191193437.shtml

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

In the topic of U23 racing, Romain Gregoire of FDJ U23 swept the last three races of LBL U23, Giro del Belvedere, and GP Palio del Recioto-Trofeo.