Brits abroad

Brit thinks Grand Tour plan will impede progress

Up-and-coming British road star James Shaw has criticised the UCI for cutting the numbers of riders that each team can field in Grand Tours to eight, claiming it will have a negative impact on young riders making their way in the sport.

The 22-year-old Lotto-soudal rider claims that the ruling, which reduces teams by one rider, means established riders will take the places while others miss out.

“I’m obviously at the age where I’d like to think I could make a Grand Tour debut,” said the Nottingham born rider, “but it’s all a bit up in the air.

“It’s something that’s on my mind, and that I’d like to do, but the UCI bringing the number down to eight riders for the Grand Tours hasn’t helped at all. I don’t see what the point was. All it has done is make it harder for young riders to get contracts and ride the bigger races. The top eight guys will still get to go — so it’s not de-strengthened anybody. It’s just made it harder for guys like me to get a ride.”

Shaw hopes his chance to make a mark will come in this year’s Tour of Britain. “I’d hope I could get a crack at something this year,” he said. “I’d like to think I could do something in the Tour of Britain, whether that’s a top 10 in the GC or a stage. I’d like to get involved in a couple of breakaways and see if I could go to the finish.”

Shaw certainly seems as ready as he has ever been to seize his chance. “From here [Ruta del Sol] I’ll go home and do a bit more training,” he said.

“It’s nice to get some races under the belt, to get on with it, and start to feel a bit more race ready.

“There are a couple of one-day races in Belgium coming up that I’ll take a look at and then we’ll take it from there. I’d like to think I could make a real step forward this year.”