TT & road medallists snapped up

When looking for future talent, look no further than the results from the under-23 races at the Worlds. Many of the riders who feature have already been signed up by the Worldtour teams and although won’t be expected to win in 2022, it’s always interesting to watch their progression. Johan Price-pejtersen (Den) will be riding for Bahrain Victorious for the next two years. Not only did he take the ITT world title last year, he also won the national and euro titles too. Look out for the tall Dane (he stands at well over six feet) against the clock. Time trials are one of the clearest gauges of raw talent; second-placed Luke Plapp (Aus) signed for Ineos Grenadiers and third placed Florian Vermeersch (Bel) was already with Lotto-soudal.

In fact all riders in the top 10 of that race are now in the Worldtour this year with the exception of Søren Waerenskjold (Nor) who rides for

Uno-x. Winner of the under-23 road race Filippo Barancini (Italy) had already been fitted out in the colours of Treksegafredo for his stagiaire ride with the team. He’ll stay with them for two years.

For the women, with no under-23 events at the worlds, the results are less of a gauge as fewer make the leap from the junior ranks straight to the big pro teams. Alena Ivanchenko (Rus), winner of the junior women’s RR world title, is one of the exceptions. She joins UAE. Zoe Bäckstedt (GBR), the dominant junior women’s rider last year across road, track and cross incredibly still has one more year in the junior ranks.