The increasing professionalisation in the junior cycling sector is now not stopping at one of the most important and traditional junior races. "It's a small revolution for the Tour de l'Avenir," writes the French website lequipe.fr. The Tour de l'Avenir, also known as the Tour de France for young riders, is set to take place from 19 August 2026 with many of the so-called Devo(Development) teams. These are the junior teams of the world's best professional racing teams licensed as UCI Continental Teams. Since 2007, only national teams have been authorised for the U23 class race. The race is an important stepping stone to professional cycling and regularly features tough mountain stages through the French Alps. Past winners include Nairo Quintana, Egan Bernal, Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro.
Red Bull and Visma send junior teams
"This adjustment to the participation rules is in line with the reality of current cycling," reads a statement from race organiser A-Velo, which is supported by Tour de France organiser ASO. Ten teams have already confirmed their participation, including the up-and-coming Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe squad. The invited teams at a glance: Bahrain Victorious Development Team, Development Team Picnic PostNL, EF Education Aevolo, Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy, Lidl-Trek Future Racing, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies, Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team, Tudor Pro Cycling Team U23, Visma Lease a Bike Development Team and UAE Team Emirates Gen-Z. According to the organisers, there are two other Devo teams as candidates, and the door is open for further applications until the end of January.
Will the mishmash of devo and national teams succeed?
As things stand at present, however, the professional racing teams are not to completely replace the association selections. However, this poses problems, as the organiser confirms. "The new rules are being discussed," says the press spokesperson. The list of all competing teams, both devo teams and national selections, will be published at the end of March. According to the organisers, it is not possible for racers to be nominated in the national teams if they have a contract with a Devo team that is also competing. "This can be a problem for Italy, for example, which has many riders in the Devo teams. This is not the case for other countries, such as Slovenia," explains the race spokesperson.
The associations react differently
According to Italian media reports, the Italian federation FCI, for example, is unlikely to send a national team to the start because the best riders will already be on the start line with Devo teams. For example, U23 world champion Lorenzo Finn is set to start for the Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe Rookies next August. He finished fourth overall in the 2025 edition and the German Cycling Federation (GC) welcomes the development in principle. "If we are selected to take part or qualify and we find the right conditions, we will be happy to take part in the tour," said GC sports director Patrick Moster when asked by TOUR. In principle, this opening up of the stage race does not affect GC's work with young talent: "It has been the case for years that our U23 national team has been competing against Devo teams in various competitions," emphasises Moster. The work of U23 national coach Ralf Grabsch will not change fundamentally either. According to the sports director, there will even be advantages for the young riders: "He will most likely be able to see and observe more German athletes at the Tour de l'Avenir, as we assume that in addition to the junior national team, other German athletes will also be competing in the various Devo teams." It remains to be seen whether the new planned format will actually be beneficial for everyone involved.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
