“Italian Van der Poel”, Belgian gold nugget and Roubaix viking: 10 neo-pros to look out for
With the Tour Down Under just around the corner, it is high time to introduce a new fleet of top talents. The list of 10 promising neo-pros includes 2 Belgians, 1 Dutchman, a special Italian and a stout Swede.
Mattia Agostinacchio (EF Education-EasyPost)
He is 18 years young and is already being dubbed the Italian Mathieu van der Poel by cycling followers.
With his scorching punch, acrobatic technique and poster boy quality, Mattia Agostinacchio has all the assets to finally put Italy back on the cycling map.
Just like his idol Van der Poel, the Italian prodigy combines the road with cyclo-cross, in which he already has a world title and two European titles.
EF Education-EasyPost won the battle for Agostinacchio’s signature. We just have to wait for a bold prediction from team boss Jonathan Vaughters, who saw a Giro winner in Formolo and Rutsch already saw him win Paris-Roubaix.
Agostinacchio himself dreams of Milan-San Remo and immediately sets the bar high in his first professional year: “I want to win at least 1 professional race this year.”
Also keep an eye on British sprint talent Noah Hobbs within the pink brigade. The chance that he will hit the mark as a neo-pro may be greater than Agostinacchio does.
Maxime Decomble (Groupama-FDJ)
Thibaut Pinot is enjoying his farm, David Gaudu is already past his prime and Romain Grégoire is not made for a Tour classification.
So Groupama-FDJ will breathe a sigh of relief that they finally have another talented tour rider in the selection.
Maxime Decomble (20) wore the yellow jersey until the final day of the Tour of the Future, which he had to give up to his much more talented compatriot Paul Seixas in the climbing time trial.
Decomble’s ultimate dream? Winning a stage in the Tour. It’s a pity that we will have to miss the explosion of joy from Marc Madiot, who has said goodbye.
Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious)
Eighteen months ago, his life was hanging by a thread when he suffered a heart attack after a crash during a race.
Jakob Omrzel (19) was resuscitated several times and recovered. Although idol Tadej Pogacar feared for the cycling career of his promising compatriot.
Omrzel reassured the four-time Tour winner by immediately winning the Baby Giro last season.
He proved that Omrzel is a jack of all trades among the juniors by winning Paris-Roubaix.
Does Slovenia have a successor for Pogacar with the young teenager?
Peter Øxenberg (Ineos Grenadiers)
This time Ineos Grenadiers was quick to sign a top talent.
In times when Pogacar and Vingegaard share the Tour victories, the British formation hopes with Øxenberg (20) to finally play in the holy grail of the race again.
The signals are already promising. As an 18-year-old, Øxenberg smashed Juan Ayuso’s top time on the Coll de Rates, the hyper-popular climb in Calpe and the surrounding area.
The fact that, like Vingegaard, he rode for the Danish team ColoQuick, fuels the hope of Ineos Grenadiers.
Adria Pericas (UAE Team Emirates)
The next top product from the UAE Team Emirates talent factory.
As a junior, Adria Pericas (19) was able to open a flower shop with all the bouquets he collected.
“Thanks to his racing intelligence and his strong punch, he can also become a winner among the pros,” team manager Matxin tells us.
“Whether Pericas can also score in the big tours in the long term? He has never raced more than 5 days in a row, so we have no insight into his recovery yet.”
At UAE they will immediately play Pericas in the Spanish circuit in the coming weeks. “It is important for a young rider that he continues to fight for victories, even as a neo-pro.”
Another interesting Spanish neo-pro, although not at UAE, is Pau Marti of NSN Cycling Team. Winner of the Peace Race and 3rd in the Giro for promises 2024, then you have the credentials to make it among the pros.
Senna Remijn (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
There is a future after Mathieu van der Poel.
Alpecin-Premier Tech already has a successor in Tibor Del Grosso if their super leader says goodbye to cycling one day.
And Senna Remijn can also share in the legacy of MVDP. The 19-year-old Dutchman, who was named after the late F1 driver Ayrton Senna, is at home in many markets.
Remijn combines cross and road and excelled last year on the promising podium of both Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2nd) and Paris-Roubaix (3rd).
The fact that he finished 3rd as a trainee in a difficult hill stage of the Tour of Luxembourg ahead of McNulty and Carapaz raises expectations for the best.
At Alpecin-Premier Tech, also keep an eye on our talented compatriots Sente Sentjens and Aaron Dockx.
Jakob Söderqvist (Lidl-Trek)
According to teammate Edward Theuns, Söderqvist can perform stunts in the classics this spring.
At 1m87 and 83kg, the promising world time trial champion has the perfect body to sprint over the cobblestones.
“Söderqvist shows very good things uphill, is a phenomenon in time trial and he has already done very good leadouts,” sports director Steven De Jongh praises the 22-year-old Swede.
“This season he will be a permanent fixture in the classic core.”
Söderqvist’s big dream? Following in the footsteps of his compatriot Magnus Bäckstedt by once winning Paris-Roubaix.
Callum Thornley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Remco Evenepoel’s team has had a great reputation in the youth categories for years.
And Callum Thornley is the next exponent of that. The 22-year-old Scot first dreamed of a rugby career and only started to take cycling seriously 4 years ago.
“I don’t think he will ever win a Grand Tour. But there are signs that he is a winner in WorldTour races,” says Chief of Sports Zakkari Dempster.
This must be in the more difficult one-day races, because Thornley already has the promising version of the Tour of Lombardy on his list of honors.
Jonathan Vervenne (Soudal-Quick Step)
The European promising champion in time trial.
Jonathan Vervenne (22) is a crane against the clock and is a classmate of Alec Segaert, in the civil engineering course.
With his speed driving skills, the Limburger also made a name for himself in the Giro last year. After a monster flight of 140 kilometers, he turned pink for a day.
Will Vervenne continue to grow towards the time trial top at The Wolfpack?
Jarno Widar (Lotto-Intermarché)
The last on this list is perhaps the most talented.
Jarno Widar (20) has been the big trendsetter among the promises over the past 2 years with victories in, among others, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour of the Isard, the Giro Valle d’Aosta and the European Road Championships.
“With his status, Jarno is automatically pushed into the role of leader,” says sporting manager Kurt Van de Wouwer.
“To say now that he is a future Tour winner is a bit quick. With his enormous punch, Jarno has already proven that he can hurt that other great talent, Paul Seixas.”
“But whether he will perform best in Grand Tours or climbing classics, we still have to discover that together with him.”
