Joe Blackmore – the name to watch in the Under 23 men's World Championship road race

Nice Britain’s Joe Blackmore stands out within the begin checklist for the lads’s underneath 23 highway race on Friday, with the winner of this 12 months’s Tour de L’Avenir seeking to proceed his quick monitor improvement from a mountain biker to skilled highway racer. 

Blackmore will tackle fellow prodigious skilled riders in what might be the final time WorldTour and ProTeam riders can compete for the Underneath 23 world title. Subsequent 12 months the UCI is predicted to drive younger professional riders to race in opposition to the elite males, with the underneath 23 race reserved for newbie and Continental workforce riders.   

The 21-year-old from Sidcup in southern England will race in opposition to UAE Staff Emirates riders Jan Christen, Isaac del Toro, Jan Christen and António Morgado, Italy’s Giulio Pellizzari, who will experience for Purple Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in 2025, and Lidl-Trek stagiaire Tim Torn Teutenberg, Canada’s Michael Leonard and the USA’s Andrew August, who each experience for Ineos Grenadiers.  

Different threats embrace new underneath 23 time trial champion Iván Romeo who rides for Movistar and his younger Spanish teammate Pablo Torres, rides for the UAE Staff Emirates Gen Z workforce. 

The 173.6km race will likely be a battle of the tremendous abilities however Blackmore is aware of find out how to race sensible and strike when wanted.  

“It is good there are another WorldTour guys dropping right down to the Underneath 23 race, it ought to be a high-level race,” Blackmore informed Cyclingnews as he watched the chaotic junior race on Thursday afternoon. 

“It may flip to chaos fairly rapidly however hopefully most of our race will likely be within the dry. I believe being on the entrance foot will likely be necessary. I’ve performed a recon and the corners are tight and so there will likely be a number of accelations. I am wanting ahead to it.”  

Blackmore raced cyclocross and mountain bikes till his highway racing abilities emerged quickly in 2023. He then joined the Israel-Premier Tech improvement workforce for 2024 however his spring success on the Tour du Rwanda and a string of different races rapidly earned him promotion to the ProTeam in Could. 

The Tour de L’Avenir remained a aim, as did the underneath 23 world title. He has his entire skilled profession to focus on hilly Classics and weeklong stage races.

“I by no means noticed myself making such fast development this 12 months,” Blackmore admitted.  

“I began the 12 months with the Israel Continental workforce as an Underneath 23 rider, so the plan was with GB that I would race L’Avenir and worlds as an U23.” 

Blackmore rode the Baloise Belgium Tour and the Arctic Race of Norway with Israel-Premier Tech in the summertime, then headed to altitude to arrange for the Tour de L’Avenir. He gained the celebrated French stage race with a intelligent experience on sage after which restricted his losses to higher climber Torres to win total. 

I’ve gone from race to race and stepped up every time,” Blackmore defined. 

“I constructed a strong endurance base within the winter and likewise constructed my confidence, so I used to be capable of put myself in the suitable place. I additionally assume I’ve learnt so much from my teammates to maintain getting higher. The plan is to simply preserve it going.  

“Because of racing at professional stage, you study one other stage of racing, because of the management in professional races however then the actually onerous racing. You construct additional depth.”   

Blackmore will likely be watching his younger skilled rivals and little doubt they are going to be watching him on the testing Zurich circuit.  

“There will be a number of riders to regulate and watch who goes in an early transfer. On the circuit it is going to be tough to convey a break again,” Blackmore defined. 

“There are a number of locations to assault or be attacked on the Zurich circuit, so I believe it’s going to be necessary to avoid wasting vitality for the ultimate lap. I will be watching Switzerland’s Jan Christen for positive, plus Morgado, del Toro and the opposite guys who had been on the sharp finish of the Tour de L’Avenir.”  

Blackmore will likely be Nice Britain’s aggressive, onerous race choice, with Matthew Brennan the workforce beat dash choice. 

“Matty Brennan is among the quickest guys within the race however I fancy my probabilities in a smaller dash after a tough race.” 

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