U23 races and talents

[DNP-Old]

Rafferty, who looks likely to finish second, is another of the younger element at 19. Keeping the tradition alive of there always being exactly one Irish top level junior or espoir at any one time. Never two.

Ben Healy and Archie Ryan. Or Archie Ryan and Darren Rafferty for that matter. Or Darren Rafferty and Adam Rafferty. Now what?

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Ben Healy and Archie Ryan. Or Archie Ryan and Darren Rafferty for that matter. Or Darren Rafferty and Adam Rafferty. Now what?

I was going to argue that Ryan has not been quite top level in the way Healy and Rafferty (Sr) have been, and he’s also a couple of years older than Rafferty, but then I remembered that he came fourth at Avenir last year. So fair enough.

As for Rafferty (Jr) , is he as big a talent as the older brother? I know it’s always harder to tell with 16/17 year olds because the best don’t race the best on a regular basis and there’s a very random element to how fast guys develop, but his results seem more “very promising” than “obviously elite” at this point.

 

[RedheadDane]

Foldager won the final stage ahead of Cretti and Breiner*


*Otherwise listed as 'Pedersen', but referred to as Breiner by ColoQuick and Danish media.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Foldager won the final stage ahead of Cretti and Breiner*


*Otherwise listed as 'Pedersen', but referred to as Breiner by ColoQuick and Danish media.

So calling him Pedersen would be a Brein(er) fart?

 

[yaco]

Foldager is signed for Jayco in 2024. Interested to see whether he rides as a stagiare after August 1.

 

[AlfaLum]

Rafferty, who looks likely to finish second, is another of the younger element at 19. Keeping the tradition alive of there always being exactly one Irish top level junior or espoir at any one time. Never two.

Archie Ryan isn’t too bad either. I know he has had a lot of issues recently, but I would consider him a top level espoir after last year.

 

[Marco-Sun]

I am not too deep in U23 cycling but follow the results. Can therefore someone with more insights let me know what happened to Emil Herzog? His results were mediocore this season and especially the latest MTB results are not very promising. Is there something holding him back? Or do you know about his main goals this season?

 

[DNP-Old]

I am not too deep in U23 cycling but follow the results. Can therefore someone with more insights let me know what happened to Emil Herzog? His results were mediocore this season and especially the latest MTB results are not very promising. Is there something holding him back? Or do you know about his main goals this season?

As far as the mountain bike is concerned, it's the plague every junior faces: you're back to square one, having to start from so far back you're almost out of the race immediately. Herzog did one hell of a race in Lenzerheide, but nobody saw it. He had bike issues from the get go, falling into dead last place minutes behind, but was posting lap times that would've landed him a top 10 in the latter part of the race. He had to pass a good 70 men to finish 68th...

Here you can find more about his road struggles: https://www.directvelo.com/actualite/104773/emil-herzog-j-espere-que-ca-va-changer

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Darren Rafferty (Hagens Berman Axeon) wins the Giro Valle d’Aosta ahead of Alexy Faure Prost (Circus Reuz). Interestingly the guy in third was a Mexican, Isaac del Toro.

I don’t know if the rumours about Rafferty going to EF were accurate, but either way the kid is definitely not going to be hanging around the espoirs next year.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Darren Rafferty (Hagens Berman Axeon) wins the Giro Valle d’Aosta ahead of Alexy Faure Prost (Circus Reuz). Interestingly the guy in third was a Mexican, Isaac del Toro.

I don’t know if the rumours about Rafferty going to EF were accurate, but either way the kid is definitely not going to be hanging around the espoirs next year.

I already mentioned del Toro (who'll be turning 20 towards the end of the year) in the lesser know race results thread because of his results in Sibiu (and the Italian u23 one day races before that). A strong rider, today he got his 3rd 4th place on a mountain stage in a row, this time ahead of Faure PRrost and Rafferty. Last year he also was 20th at the u23 CX WC, less than 3 months after turning 18.

IMO signing del Toro should be a no brainer for a bigger team, the guy seems to have good recovery and lots of potential upside.

 

[DNP-Old]

Alexy Faure-Prost is an interesting case, a personification as to why results ultimately do not tell the whole story. As a junior AFP flew a bit under the radar because he was a bit of a kamikaze pilot. You would always see him on the attack, when with a little bit of conservatism he might have, probably would have been able to challenge the very best. Particularly in the Peace Race, where he went home empty handed and far down the classification, but it would have been the most normal thing in the world if he was out there fighting with Morgado, Nordhagen, Herzog and Huising.

You'll see results and think mediocrity, but you look beyond it and see a low risk, high reward project, which Intermarche have been taking great care of already.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Alexy Faure-Prost is an interesting case, a personification as to why results ultimately do not tell the whole story. As a junior AFP flew a bit under the radar because he was a bit of a kamikaze pilot. You would always see him on the attack, when with a little bit of conservatism he might have, probably would have been able to challenge the very best. Particularly in the Peace Race, where he went home empty handed and far down the classification, but it would have been the most normal thing in the world if he was out there fighting with Morgado, Nordhagen, Herzog and Huising.

You'll see results and think mediocrity, but you look beyond it and see a low risk, high reward project, which Intermarche have been taking great care of already.

Interesting, the other big wildcard in Valle d'Aosta was Golliker. Really dominant wins on stage 2 and stage 5, but rather bad on the other 2 mountain stages and "only" 12th on the gc.

 

[DNP-Old]

By the way, the list of French climbers coming up from the generation 2003 to 2006 is getting longer by the minute, it is insane. Lenny Martinez, Alexy Faure-Prost, Mathys Rondel, Colin Savioz, Brieuc Rolland, Paul Magnier, Adrien Boichis, Leo Bisiaux, Paul Seixas, Maxim Decomble, Vincent Bodet, Jean-Loup Fayolle. That's more than some countries see in ten years. Whether they'll keep progressing is of course another question.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

I already mentioned del Toro (who'll be turning 20 towards the end of the year) in the lesser know race results thread because of his results in Sibiu (and the Italian u23 one day races before that). A strong rider, today he got his 3rd 4th place on a mountain stage in a row, this time ahead of Faure PRrost and Rafferty. Last year he also was 20th at the u23 CX WC, less than 3 months after turning 18.

IMO signing del Toro should be a no brainer for a bigger team, the guy seems to have good recovery and lots of potential upside.

Those are nice results for a 19 year old on a small team from a non-traditional country.

His team looks like it had a year at Conti level but then went back to being a national elite outfit? It seems unlikely that his training and development has been overseen in the same fully professionalised way as the FDJ, Jumbo, HBA guys? So yeah, you would expect one of the top development teams to pick him up quickly if no WT/PT team thinks he is ready.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

By the way, the list of French climbers coming up from the generation 2003 to 2006 is getting longer by the minute, it is insane. Lenny Martinez, Alexy Faure-Prost, Mathys Rondel, Colin Savioz, Brieuc Rolland, Paul Magnier, Adrien Boichis, Leo Bisiaux, Paul Seixas, Maxim Decomble, Vincent Bodet, Jean-Loup Fayolle. That's more than some countries see in ten years. Whether they'll keep progressing is of course another question.

The mystery of the French is how few really top riders they have produced in recent decades when you look at the sheer scale of the sport domestically. They have so many riders on organised teams at every level of the sporting “pyramid” from the WT, PT, Conti, national elite, espoirs, juniors right down to local club racing. They really are long overdue a golden generation or two.

 

[DNP-Old]

The mystery of the French is how few really top riders they have produced in recent decades when you look at the sheer scale of the sport domestically. They have so many riders on organised teams at every level of the sporting “pyramid” from the WT, PT, Conti, national elite, espoirs, juniors right down to local club racing. They really are long overdue a golden generation or two.

What is a massive benefit is that more and more of their big teams are starting to focus on the younglings, whereas others find their ways to international programs. Faure-Prost is at Intermarche, Gabriel Berg will go to QuickStep Devo. The days of juniors going to the amateurs are probably over, though there are still exceptions like the very talented Noa Isidore at Nantes Atlantique.

So much so that this focus will result in Madiot having a big problem in the not so far future. A problem out of luxury, but a problem nonetheless. At some point he'll have to cut ties with a very talented rider like Thibaud Gruel for instance, because there isn't much perspective to offer, having to compete against Romain Gregoire.

 

[SafeBet]

Yes please @Samamba make it awesome.

 

[ciranda]

It sounds like a solid plan.

 

[RedheadDane]

Well, that original post is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster! Or rather, it has turned out to be because of what happened in the time since.
From the guy who ended his career early, and then lost his leg, over a bunch of guys with various levels of success, to a guy who passed away.
At least the post doesn't mention Mäder as well...

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Meanwhile Cycling Ireland has decided that it will send a team to Avenir after all.

It seems weird that they weren’t going to when for the first time ever two of the best espoir stage racers are Irish, but CI is broke and they’ve been seriously cutting back on the number of events they send national teams to.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Those are nice results for a 19 year old on a small team from a non-traditional country.

His team looks like it had a year at Conti level but then went back to being a national elite outfit? It seems unlikely that his training and development has been overseen in the same fully professionalised way as the FDJ, Jumbo, HBA guys? So yeah, you would expect one of the top development teams to pick him up quickly if no WT/PT team thinks he is ready.

The most impressive thing is that the rest of his team dnf stage 2, so he raced the final 3 stages without any teammates and scored 3 4th places and a 3rd overall on the gc, without any help from teammates on those stages. Super impressive stuff.

 

[DNP-Old]

Colombian cycling has been drying out for a bit, but there is a glimpse of hope. On one hand there is the rapid Jhonatan Guatibonza, and on the other there is Diego Pescador, who has just done the unthinkable. Pescador is an 18 year old (he won't turn 19 until December), from GW Shimano, the follow-up from Androni. After remarkable results in the junior, including battling it out with Antonio Morgado, Paul Magnier e.g. in Lunigiana, he finished 11th in Vuelta a Colombia - which is not at all a kids race - a few weeks ago. Well, today he remarkably turned the entire GC in Antioquia around on the ultimate stage with the Caicedo mountain finish, and won the whole thing. Remember the name, for he might blow up l'Avenir in a month or so.

Here he comes! The team for l’Avenir. Disappointed but not surprised Guatibonza isn’t there.

Jhonatan Steven Chaves (EMP GO-RIGO-GO), Espoir 4
William Colorado (GW Shimano-Sidermec), Espoir 1
German Dario Gomez (GW Shimano-Sidermec), Espoir 4
Diego Pescador (GW Shimano-Sidermec), Espoir 1
Edgar Andres Pinzon (GW Shimano-Sidermec), Espoir 4 -
Santiago Umba (GW Shimano-Sidermec), Espoir 3

 

[RedheadDane]

Moving this over from the Junior thread, as he's a bit old for that.

Keep your eyes on this kid:

Peter Øxenberg Hansen

Peter Øxenberg Hansen (born 2005-10-23) is a professional road racing cyclist from Denmark, currently riding for Team ColoQuick. His best results are 32nd place in Liège - Bastogne - Liège U23.

www.procyclingstats.com

Today Team ColoQuick did the same lead out they did with Vingegaard in 2018, which essentially got him noticed by Visma.

Peter Øxenberg blew Vingegaard and Ayuso out of the water today:

Coll de Rates | Strava Ride Segment in Parcent, Comunitat Valenciana, Spain

www.strava.com

Btw, loosely translated "Øxenberg" means "Axe Mountain"

He's also Storm's replacement on ColoQuick, guess he can be considered a fairly good replacement.

So, maybe after international media has learned to say "Vingegaard", they'll have to learn how to say "Øxenberg".
No pressure...

 

[Boehmand]

Moving this over from the Junior thread, as he's a bit old for that.



He's also Storm's replacement on ColoQuick, guess he can be considered a fairly good replacement.

So, maybe after international media has learned to say "Vingegaard", they'll have to learn how to say "Øxenberg".
No pressure...

Thanks!

On the name, if he becomes a thing, I will advocate everyone just calling him "The Axe Man" - especially because English speakers will otherwise call him "Oxenberg" - and anyone old enough to remember Dynasty, will understand that doesn't quite work

 

[Boehmand]

Here's the video of Team ColoQuick's new Coll de Rates record.

You will notice the last two guys never got to pull, Øxenberg rode them out of his wheel

View: https://youtu.be/_5klP88RfaE?feature=shared