It's just a number. A value that, if it is correct at all, is truly astonishing. 92 - that is said to be the result of a maximum oxygen uptake test on Andrew August, an 18-year-old American who will be joining the World Tour as a neo-pro with Ineos Grenadiers in 2024.
The value is said to be about a year old and comes from a training camp on Mallorca that August, then still under contract with the American junior team Hot Tubes, completed as a guest in the Ineos team. "They said they didn't have anyone on the team who could do what he could do," quoted GCN Hot Tubes manager Toby Stanton, who had also brought the VO2 value of 92 into play in this context.
Andrew August goes Evenepoel's way
For comparison: The VO2max value - which is largely a predisposition - of Tadej Pogacar should scratch the 90 mark, Remco Evenepoel are 87. For Egan Bernal a maximum of 91 is recorded. Like August, Bora pro Anton Palzer was measured at 92. However, the case of Oskar Svendsen proves that the value alone is no guarantee of a great career. The Norwegian became junior world time trial champion in 2012. Shortly before this, his VO2 value of 96.7 was recorded, the highest value ever measured in an athlete. Despite this, the now 29-year-old never turned professional. In 2014, he ended his career before it had begun in order to avoid the extreme expectations placed on him.
August doesn't seem to have this problem. Stanton has already compared him to Evenepoel ("He's like Remco, but probably with even more power"). He himself is taking the same path as the Belgian super talent. He skipped the U23s, although at the beginning of the year, the US squad Hagens Berman Axeon was still considered August's favourite destination. "I'm in no hurry to get on the World Tour. But I think I'd like to be there in two or three years," he said VeloNews still in February. He wants to ride the Baby Giro and Tour de l'Avenir.
But that is now history. He is now moving directly to Ineos, knowing full well that only one rider has made the step from the junior ranks directly into the elite echelons of cycling: Remco Evenepoel. Only he was able to celebrate immediate victories as a teenager without having previously proven himself in the U23.
Also competitive in cross
August certainly has the potential to take off in the same way as the reigning time trial world champion. In 2023, he won the Tour du Valromey, the toughest junior race of the year, and the prestigious Grand Prix West Bohemia. In the one-day race in the Czech Republic, he outclassed the runner-up by six and a half minutes. It was only at the World Championships that things did not go according to plan due to health reasons. He did not finish the road race and only came 9th in the time trial.
In addition to road racing, Andrew August, who is often referred to simply as "AJ", has also enjoyed success in cross-country. Last winter, he won the Koppenbergcross and the national championship. However, he still sees his future primarily on the road, he told the Outside Magazine. "I'm still working out what type of rider I am. And if possible, I'd like to continue riding cross in the winter. Guys like Tom Pidcock prove that it's possible."
Ineos' trump card in the battle for August was Sheffield
It would almost seem obvious that August, who, as he himself says, received offers from many big World Tour teams, chose Ineos because the team not only has his role model in the squad, but has also been a cyclist-orientated team in the past, which obviously suits his strengths. The main reason, however, is Magnus Sheffield. "He was the key," he said in the press release on signing the contract. Sheffield is two and a half years older, also drove for Hot Tubes and, like August, comes from Pittsford in the state of New York.
However, Sheffield added a year at U23 level before moving from the junior team to Ineos. He will also have given this tip to his mate. But Andrew August now has to learn a different way to assert himself in a field full of adults, where things are certainly different than in youth races. But his team obviously has the confidence in him and has signed him up for three years straight away. He doesn't seem to have any doubts himself. The coming season will show whether this was ultimately the right decision.
Andrew August
- was born on 12 October 2005
- holds a US passport
- is 1.71 m tall and weighs 57 kg
- previously rode for the Hot Tubes team (2021 to 2023)
- will ride for the Ineos Grenadiers World Tour team from 2024 and has signed a contract until the end of 2026
