Cyclist
The young riders who impressed at the World Championships
The favourites for the 2024 Road World Championships surprised no one at all by winning the rainbow jerseys in the elite races. However, the competition also revealed a number of young riders who are staking their claims as stars of the future.
I’ve picked out seven young riders who left their mark throughout the week in Zürich.
Cat Ferguson, Great Britain
British rider Cat Ferguson rode to a phenomenal double gold at the World Championships in just two days. The 18-year-old won the 18.8km junior women’s individual time-trial by 35sec ahead of Slovakia’s Viktória Chladonová and then sprinted to junior road race victory against Chladonová and Spain’s Paula Ostiz, going one better than last year in Glasgow to win the rainbow bands.
It caps a phenomenal season for Ferguson who became the Junior National Champion this summer amid an abundance of overall wins from the Omloop Borseke Juniors, Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie and Bizkaikoloreak Juniors. The young star continues to develop with the Movistar squad on a three-year contract. And while writing this, she has just won Binche-Chimay-Binche as a stagiaire as well.
Puck Pieterse, Netherlands
It’s a shame that the U23 women have, so far, not enjoyed their own World Championships race. Instead they compete for the U23 title within the elite race. While this is set to change from next year, 22-year-old Puck Pieterse secured the rainbow jersey for the U23 women with her 13th place overall.
Not only an accomplished rider on the road with her new U23 title and a Tour de France Femmes stage victory this year, Pieterse has multiple titles across mountain biking that include the World and European XC Championships, plus a national title in cyclocross. Great things are expected of her in the future, but she’s already one of the world’s best in all disciplines she rides.
Imogen Wolff, Great Britain
18-year-old Imogen Wolff finished on the podium of the junior individual time-trial, 37sec down on Ferguson for her highest-placed finish at the World Championships. She followed this with an impressive sixth place in the road race.
Wolff led home a British one-two at the Trofeo Binda Juniors earlier in the season, ultimately winning by 19sec ahead of Ferguson. She then won the individual time-trial at the National Championships and finished second in a sprint against Ferguson in the road race.
She’s signed for Visma-Lease a Bike for the next few years so keep your eyes peeled for big things.
Jakob Söderqvist, Sweden
Jakob Söderqvist rode to second place in the men’s U23 ITT, finishing 32sec behind Spain’s Ivan Romeo. It’s yet another silver medal for the Swedish TT Champion who also collected one at the European Championships too, when he finished 31sec down on Alec Segaert of Belgium.
The 21-year-old has been a time-trialling force to be reckoned with this season, winning the stages against the clock at the Flèche de Sud and Giro Next Gen.
Seb Grindley, Great Britain
Seb Grindley made quite the name for himself at the World Championships with his second place in the junior road race, the result of dogged determination over multiple ascents in the pouring rain. He couldn’t claw back Italy’s Lorenzo Finn, but he did grab Great Britain’s first ever medal in the event. It comes a year after he finished eighth in Glasgow.
His palmarès is littered with victories this year, from Nokere Koerse to the Junior Tours of Mendips and Wales, and he looks like he might be stepping up to Lidl-Trek Future Racing from 2025.
Niklas Behrens, Germany
In the finale of the men’s 173km U23 road race, Germany’s Niklas Behrens and Slovakia’s Martin Svrček engaged in a fierce two-up sprint to the line, with the former coming out on top, adding to his recent silver medal in the U23 road race at the European Championships.
At the time, he was the only rider in the top five of the race that wasn’t already a professional. However it has now been announced he’s officially signed with Visma-Lease a Bike for the next three years.
Oscar Onley, Great Britain
Last but not least, Oscar Onley shone in his debut World Championships, at one point in a chasing trio behind Tadej Pogačar. His ride to 16th place overall also made him the youngest rider in the top 20. Some feat for the 21-year-old.
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