Top talents to watch out for in 2023: All 10 talents from the TOUR series at a glance
TOUR Online
· 17.01.2023
The year 2022 was a turning point in professional cycling. Numerous top stars ended their careers. Alejandro Valverde, Vincenzo Nibali, Philippe Gilbert, Sonny Colbrelli - to name just a few. But the next generation is already waiting in the wings.
2023 could be a year in which some highly talented young men make the leap to the top of the world. In the run-up to the new season, TOUR editor Andreas Kublik has picked out ten talented cyclists who have great potential.
The 10 cycling talents of the TOUR series at a glance
The 21-year-old is considered one of the greatest talents in Italian cycling, but has already had to change teams many times. Will 2023 be his year?
One of the many Norwegian cycling talents shaking up the peloton. Leknessund made a name for himself in 2022 with a stage win in a traditional tour in the run-up to the Tour de France.
A Dutch talent for the bunch sprints. However, he could soon reach the limits of his current team.
One of the promising youngsters from Groupama-FDJ's new generation. Can the Frenchman follow in the footsteps of his compatriots Alaphilippe, Pinot, Bardet and co.
The Brit was a stagiaire in 2022 and is now a professional at Ineos Grenadiers, where his brother has already made a name for himself.
The US American already rode into the limelight in 2022. He already won a semi-classic last year.
Is the Dane one for the big national tours? He has proven his qualities in smaller races.
The only German rider in our list of cycling talents for 2023, the professional from Team DSM narrowly missed out on a stage win in his first Grand Tour in 2022.
The Belgian is under contract with the top German team Bora-Hansgrohe. With his victory in one of the most important young riders' tours, he has fuelled great expectations for 2023.
Already among the top ten riders in the world rankings at a young age. The athletic youngster is reminiscent of another great Belgian rider.
Cycling talents in the World Tour at a young age
In our series, we present the youngsters and their prospects. Most of our candidates are already riding in the World Tour, the premier league of international cycling. Skipping the U23 class and signing talented riders at a very young age is a trend that has recently become established in professional cycling.
Another common model is to sign talented cyclists and let them ride in a junior team for a year or two. UAE Team Emirates does this with Jan Christen, for example. The 18-year-old top talent from Switzerland will still be riding for Hagens Berman Axeon in 2023, a Continental-level team from the USA, where German junior world champion Emil Herzog also rides.
Ineos Grenadiers focuses on cycling talent
Britain's Joshua Tarling, who became junior world champion in the individual time trial in Australia in 2022, will be thrown in at the deep end. The 18-year-old is to start directly for the World Tour team Ineos Grenadiers. His team-mate Magnus Sheffield (also only 19 years old) already proved last year that this can work. He is one of the talents we have included in our list.
Other top teams such as Groupama-FDJ, on the other hand, use their own junior team to recruit talented cyclists. All seven of the French team's new signings for 2023 come from its own junior team. One of them, Romain Gregoire, has also made it into our selection.
