With all the excitement at the top end of the GC, I haven't really been looking out to see how young riders in their first Grand Tour have done.
Because of Nicolas Roche's Vuelta diaries, the only one I've really been aware of has been Biel Kadri of Ag2r. He's had a very good first run out - he was in the breakaway on four or five days, and he seemed to be the last Ag2r rider helping Roche out on most of the mountain stages. He finished well down in the GC, in 81st, but that's hardly a surprise when he was looking to get into the break or burying himself for Roche on pretty much every important day. He was certainly the second most prominent member of his team.
If he improves a little more, Ag2r may have found a chief mountain lieutenant for Roche for the next couple of years, and with a bit more experience who knows how far he could go?
So well done, Biel. However, I'm curious about the other debut riders. Who else have people been keeping an eye on? Who has shown promise?
Because of Nicolas Roche's Vuelta diaries, the only one I've really been aware of has been Biel Kadri of Ag2r. He's had a very good first run out - he was in the breakaway on four or five days, and he seemed to be the last Ag2r rider helping Roche out on most of the mountain stages. He finished well down in the GC, in 81st, but that's hardly a surprise when he was looking to get into the break or burying himself for Roche on pretty much every important day. He was certainly the second most prominent member of his team.
If he improves a little more, Ag2r may have found a chief mountain lieutenant for Roche for the next couple of years, and with a bit more experience who knows how far he could go?
So well done, Biel. However, I'm curious about the other debut riders. Who else have people been keeping an eye on? Who has shown promise?
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