The youngest of the group this year is the American Andrew Augustwho will make his professional debut directly from the junior platoon, like the Basque Markel Beloki and the danish Theodore Storm. More than twice his age Cameron Wurfwith more than 40 years and also in the INEOS team.
These are the 5 youngest cyclists in the peloton this 2024 season, in a bold bet by the teams that decided to take their services and bet on them.
1
ANDREW AUGUST (USA)
18 years and 95 days
All-terrain cyclist and time trial specialist, Andrew August has the honor this year of being the youngest cyclist in the peloton. He has signed for the Ineos Grenadiers team until 2026 and the British team itself refers to him as “an exciting cyclist, a young man who has impressed on the junior scene and is now making the step up to the elite with us for the next three. season. That American – who takes part in road races as well as in cyclocross or gravel races – is a talent waiting to be exploited,” he summarized. In 2022, he shone in Spain, finishing 2nd in the Vuelta Junior a la Ribera del Duero, a race he attended after being 2nd overall and the best youth in La Ronde Des Vallées. His first victory came in the second stage B of the Watersley Junior Challenge in the Netherlands; and in the last year it has experienced a remarkable jump in quality. He won a stage at the Redlands Bicycle Classic ME in his country and finished 2nd overall, won the Grand Prix West in the Czech Republic, was 2nd in the Course de la Paix Juniors, won the time trial of the SPIE Internationale Juniorendriedaage of Countries Netherlands, swept the Ain Valromey Tour (Netherlands) with two stage and overall wins and finished 9th in the World Championship time trial.
2
MARKEL BELOKI (ESP)
18 years and 172 days
The son of Joseba Beloki – a three-time winner of the podium of the Tour de France – is one of the most coveted pearls of the main cycling teams, and he chose the American team EF Education-EasyPost. The reason for this interest, winning the five most important youth races in Spain, including the Spanish Time Trial Championship; that is, the Chely Álvarez Memorial, a stage in Itzulia, another stage in the Vuelta Junior a la Ribera del Duero, where he finished 2nd overall, and the Beasaingo Proba. Markel has the soul of a climber. When he was 12, Markel joined a local club and began running enthusiastically. He often rode his father’s bicycle who taught him to be a cyclist, but did not force him to follow the wheel, although the day he left him on his favorite climb, Zaldiaran, outside his town, saw by Vitoria-Gasteiz. that his son has the makings of a cyclist. His dream is to compete in a great three-week cycling tour, be it the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia or the Vuelta a España. He signed until 2025.
3
THEODOR STORM (DIN)
18 years and 290 days
Looking at his results in 2023, the Roskilde rider is a safe bet. 3rd overall in the Paris-Roubaix junior, 1st in the EPZ Omloop Van Borsele, 5th overall in the Junior World Championship and 2nd, with a stage victory, in the Rüebliland Grand Prix. On the website of his team, Ineos Grenadiers, they highlight that “the young Dane is very talented. He joined the team before the 2024 season and turned professional at the age of 18. He has a bright future ahead of him and is an all-terrain cyclist .” In the soul of a classic, in 2021 he was 6th in the Danish Junior Championship time trial and 8th in the road test. In 2022 he signed for NPV-Carl Ras Roskilde Junior, where he was the best youth at Aubel-Thimister-Stavelot (Belgium), where he won a stage and finished 5th, and 3rd overall at the Grand Prix Rüebliland ( Sui). He signed with Ineos Grenadiers until 2026
4
EMIL HERZOG (GER)
19 years and 101 days
After making his debut in 2021 in the ranks of Team AutoEder and racing in 2023 in the Hagens Berman Axeon, this year the rider from Simmerberg will defend the colors of the German team Bora-hansgrohe. Junior road world champion in 2022 and bronze medalist in the fight against the clock, put together by Emil Herzog, we will see if from this season, the road with mountain biking, and one of the many cyclists represented by the Corsosports agency. In 2023 he ran only 22 days, with the best results in the time trial of the German Championship and 7th in the Gran Premio Palio del Recioto-Trofeo C&F Resinatura Blocchi
5
JAN CHRISTEN (SUI)
19 years and 203 days
After spending the first part of the 2023 season learning his cycling trade with Hagens Axeon Bermans, Jan Christen makes the jump to the World Tour with UAE Team Emirates. Christen, who won an impressive solo stage at the Giro Next-Gen in May, will debut in UAE colors in the coming weeks, with a program dedicated to learning and developing professionals that rank. The young Swiss was recently crowned European under-23 time trial champion, a feat which adds to his list of European and world titles at junior level. Mauro Gianetti (director and CEO of the team) defined it like this: “Jan is a cyclist we have been following for a long time and we are very happy to give him the opportunity to take a step forward and show what he can do. “He is a very young cyclist who we hope will continue to grow and develop as a cyclist and as a person in our team.” He, for his part, is clear that “the first goal now is to learn and grow as much as possible and find the my place in the professional peloton and get my first professional victory as soon as possible. It’s a dream come true and I can’t wait to get started.” “He is signed by the Emirati team until 2028.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
