Neo-pros to watch out for in 2024: Henri Uhlig - on course for the classics

Expectations will rise. Henri Uhlig is certain of that. The 22-year-old from Hagelstadt near Regensburg, who grew up in sport at RSC Kelheim, will tackle the new season in the team colours of Alpecin-Deceuninck, as he has done recently. Not in the development team, however, but with the professionals in the World Tour.

His first race with the new, but somehow familiar team will be the Tour of Antalya (2.1) on 8 February. Nothing special, no big names at the start, only one other team from the World Tour besides Alpecin with Bahrain-Victorious. And so it might be just the right thing for Uhlig to make a direct appearance. At least on the first stage, which could be decided in the sprint of a larger group.

Henri Uhlig: "The team knows my potential"

And that's exactly what Uhlig does best. "I see myself as a classics rider who still has a really good sprint at the end of a hilly race," the rider from Lower Bavaria told radsport-news.com. "Also in the big World Tour classics," is the route for the medium-term future. He proved this last year, most visibly at the U23 World Championship race in Glasgow. He finished 14th on the difficult course, but had to keep his feet still for a long time because his compatriot Moritz Kretschy was part of the leading group. He finished tenth at the U23 European Championships a month and a half later on the VAM mountain in the Netherlands.

Uhlig finished further up the field in the junior version of Gent-Wevelgem, where he took third place on the podium - in his first race of the season. In addition to many top 10 results in .2 tours, he also went all the way to the top in the Baltic Chain Tour through Estonia. He finished the three-day tour in second place overall with a stage win. "I was in my best form there," he said cycling-news.com. That was shortly after the World Cup.

The fact that the German made further progress, which also convinced the team to offer him a professional contract, was also due to the fact that Uhlig was able to focus even more on the sport after completing his training with the police. But that was just the beginning. "The team recognises my potential and wants to build me up carefully."

Battle for classic places at Alpecin

The younger brother of Oscar Uhlig, who also tried his hand at cycling but didn't make it as a professional, has always shown talent. In 2018, he became German junior champion on the track in the omnium, three years later he won the German derny championship. His past on the track is probably one of the reasons why Uhlig can also deliver in short time trials. He finished second in the junior prologue of the Peace Tour and was faster than, among others, runner-up U23 European champion Carl-Frederik Bevort from Denmark.

Uhlig only allowed himself a short break in the winter to ensure that the direction he had taken would continue to lead upwards. A first team training camp in Spain at the beginning of December, a short visit home over the holidays, including training of course. He then travelled to Spain again privately at the beginning of January, before continuing to train with the team on Mallorca. As with every other Neo, it remains to be seen how well Uhlig will cope with the further increase in volume in the professional sector.

A good result at the start of the now decisive part of his career would only increase his motivation for everything else. And perhaps even increase the chances of getting one of the coveted places in the Alpecin team, which specialises in the classics. The competition for Uhlig, even in the helper positions, is great, perhaps greater than in any other team. Even in races below the World Tour. And with Timo Kielich, another neo-professional has provided even more breadth in this respect.

However, the fact that Alpecin-Deceuninck is still keen to have Uhlig in the squad is a good sign. And he can learn from the best.

Henri Uhlig

• was born on 1 August 2001 in Regensburg
• holds a German passport
• is 1.81 m tall and weighs 71 kg
• previously rode for Team Drinkuth-ABUS-Focus (2019), rad-net Rose (2020 and 2021) and the Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team (2022 and 2023)
• will ride for the Alpecin-Deceuninck World Tour team from 2024 and has signed a contract there until the end of 2025