Key Takeaways: Why Are Young Riders Dominating So Far in 2024 & What Does it Mean For the Rest of the Season?
Breaking down an interesting shift towards youth through the first first weeks of the 2024 road racing season
It may still be incredibly early in the 2024 professional road racing season, but a noticeable trend has emerged from the overwhelming number of races in just the last week: Young riders are finishing on the podium and oftentimes winning at a historic and somewhat mind-blowing rate.
While it is important to stress that it is still incredibly early in the season and that these results don’t necessarily translate into success further down the line when the stakes increase, the sheer number of riders aged 23 or younger consistently finishing on the podium so far in 2024 is staggering, and continues a trend of more and more young riders doing better and better every season for the last few years.
To highlight just how far things have shifted, let’s take a look at every high-level race that has seen a rider aged 23 or younger either win, or finish on the podium, in just the last week (rider age displayed in parentheses before time gaps):
Trofeo Ses Salines-Felanitx - 1/25/24
1) Paul Magnier (19 & neopro) +0
2) Alberto Dainese (25) +0
3) Luke Lamperti (21 & neopro) +0
Trofeo Serra Tramuntana - 1/26/24
1) Lennert Van Eetvelt (22) +0
2) Aleksandr Vlasov (27) +0
3) Brandon McNulty (25) +0
Trofeo Pollença - Port d'Andratx - 1/27/24
1) Pelayo Sánchez (23) +0
2) Marius Mayrhofer (23) +0
3) Aleksandr Vlasov (27) +0
GP La Marseillaise - 1/28/24
1) Kevin Geniets (27) +0
2) Alex Baudin (22) +0
3) Kévin Vauquelin (22) +10
Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race - 1/28/24
1) Laurence Pithie (21) +0
2) Natnael Tesfatsion (24) +0
3) Georg Zimmermann (26) +0
AlUla Tour Stage - 1/30/24
1) Casper van Uden (22) +0
2) Dylan Groenewegen (30) +0
3) Tim Merlier (31) +0
AlUla Tour Stage 2 - 1/31/24
1) Søren Wærenskjold (23) +0
2) Henok Mulubrhan (24) +0
3) Nils Eekhoff (26) +0
AlUla Tour Stage 3 - 2/1/24
1) Tim Merlier (31) +0
2) Arvid de Kleijn (29) +0
3) Casper van Uden (22) +0
For the sake of time, bandwidth, and everyone’s sanity, I have abstained from clipping out videos of how each of these above bunch, or reduced bunch, sprints have been won, but I did want to call attention to today’s second stage of the Etoile de Bessèges (yesterday’s opening stage was canceled due to protests blocking the road), which was won by current U23 Road Race World Champion, and first-year WorldTour rider, Axel Laurence, in spectator fashion and highlights the staggering level of raw power and ability these young riders are now coming into the WorldTour with.
Etoile de Bessèges - Tour du Gard Stage 2
1) Axel Laurance (21) +0
2) Mads Pedersen (28) +0
3) Kévin Vauquelin (22) +0
9.5km: Heading into the final 10kms, Mads Pedersen’s Lidl-Trek team is lining out the peloton with a hard pace to set Pedersen up for a stage win on the tough uphill sprint.
1km: Heading under the 1km-to-go banner when the road starts to tilt upward, Lidl-Trek is still on the front, with two domestiques setting an extremely hard pace for Pedersen. Alpecin’s Laurence, with a bit of deft positioning, is sitting comfortably on Pedersen’s wheel in 5th.
400m: The group’s pace decreases as Lidl runs out of pacemakers. Sensing an opportunity due to the slowing pace, Rémy Rochas from Groupama-FDJ attacks.
250m: Rochas’ attack strips Pedersen of his last remaining teammate and forces him to respond personally. Laurence smartly doesn’t hesitate to jump right on Pedersen’s wheel.
175m: Laurence, apparently believing he can hold a near 30-second all-out sprint, explodes around Rochas, with Pedersen following close behind.
100m: Laurence drives clear of the rest while putting out what must be an overwhelming amount of power, but Pedersen, who is right on his wheel, appears to have the upper hand due to the superior positioning.
Finish: However, not even a former world champion and world-class stage finisher like Pedersen can come around Laurence in the last 10 seconds of the effort, and the 21-year-old can hold on for an extremely impressive victory on the back of a 25-second all-out uphill sprinting effort.
Key Takeaways
1) Why are we seeing so many ultra-young riders winning races?
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