THE RACE FOR YOUTH

Young riders are signing – and winning – for the biggest teams more than ever before. CW looks at some of the challenges facing young riders in the WorldTour, and how we got here in the first place

- James Shrubsall

It’s a weight on your shoulders, because you know you’ve got two years until you’re the same age as someone who’s won the Tour twice.”

It’s a thought-provoking view from the ranks offered up by British elite under-23 rider Tom Portsmouth. He’s talking about Tadej PogaÄar of course, and more widely the pressure created for riders of his age by seeing their peers win so big, so soon.

Referencing another prodigious early twentysomething, 19-year-old Portsmouth adds: “I’m nearly a year and 11 months younger than Remco [Evenepoel]. So my ambition is to try and keep myself in that mindset of trying to achieve the level he’s achieved at his age.

“I still believe in myself, I’ve got time,” adds Portsmouth, who rides for the Belgian Carbonbike-Discar Academy team. “But then you also don’t have time. It’s a kind of paradox.”

Teenage kicks

Less than 10 years ago, a teenager talking about not having time in a sport where the biggest races can still be won by riders in their late thirties might not have made sense.