On Development Teams

At first glance the image above looks like a graphic from the Groupama-FDJ team. Well it is… but from their Continental development rather than the main World Tour squad. They’re one of six WorldTeams to have a formal UCI development team and more are likely to set them up.

This week’s “neo-pros to watch” post was already long so there wasn’t time to look at the phenomenon of junior riders turning pro only to spend a couple of years on light programs in the pro ranks instead of racking up wins and learning race craft in the U23 ranks. There’s now a pathway that represents the best of both worlds thanks to the advent of Continental development teams.

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Neo-Pros To Watch For 2022

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Ten neo-pros to watch this season, from sprinters to stage racers and some who’ve yet to decide or discover what sort of rider they will become.

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Astana’s Hard Sell

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For cycling fans Kazakhstan has meant the sky blue jerseys of the Astana cycling team. Now events in Kazakhstan and their repression are front page news and instead of blue jerseys, images of burning buildings and troops on the streets come to mind. The President has instructed security forces to “use lethal force without warning” against protestors and those he has labelled “bandits”. The regime behind these measures is the same one behind the pro cycling team.

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Paris-Nice Route

It starts near Paris and finishes in Nice. Like a sandwich, it’s what is in between that counts so here’s a closer look at the Paris-Nice route for 2022, set for 6-13 March.

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Lotto-Soudal Budget and Accounts

A look at the budget and accounts for the Lotto-Soudal team. While other squads have seen budgets soar over the years, this one’s not kept up. The team has been a World Tour stalwart but it faces headwinds if it wants to remain one.

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2022 Pro Cycling Calendar

Happy New Year. Here’s the pro cycling calendar for 2022, free to download for your diary or phone. It’s packed with racing and probably a lot more user-friendly than the revamped UCI website so if you’ve got a season to plan,  want to visit a race or just need to schedule sofa time, here it is…

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How Did The Neo-Pros To Watch For 2021 Do?

The final review of the year, a chance to see how the ten neo-pros picked for 2021 fared.

In past years you’d look at a neo-pro attacking in a mountain stage of the Dauphiné and applaud the progress and potential, likewise if they finished a grand tour with enough energy to make the breakaway in the third week, these were often clues they’d go onto big things in later years. Now performances by the likes of Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel have blown expectations out of the water. Amid the ten below there’s a mix of instant success and quiet progress.

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Christmas Quiz

Headache? Could be too much to drink, could be the virus, or it could be this quiz. As ever there’s a mix of fun and fiendish questions, and if you’re left scratching your head, don’t worry. Nobody can know all the answers and some questions should make Google DNF… so wait for the answers next week which might be more interesting that the questions.

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