Andres Camilo Ardila

Age: 20

Nationality: Colombian

Team joining: UAE Team Emirates

Nairo Quintana, Esteban Chaves, Miguel Angel Lopez, Egan Bernal, Ivan Ramiro Sosa – next off the seemingly endless production line of Colombian climbing talent comes Ardila, who dominated the 2019 under-23 Giro d’Italia by winning two stages and the overall title by a commanding 4min 10sec. UAE Team Emirates were already in talks with him by then and subsequently signed him up to a four-year deal.

Andrea Bagioli

Age: 20

Nationality: Italian

Team joining: Deceuninck – Quick-Step

Bagioli is a climber who can turn his hand to both one-day and stage races. On the one-day scene, he finished second and then first in the last two editions of the under-23 Il Lombardia, and also finished runner-up at the under-23 Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2018 (behind Almeida). In multi-day races, Bagioli’s stand-out performance was at the 2019 Ronde de l’Isard in France, where he won two stages and the overall title. He will now join Almeida by turning pro with Deceuninck – Quick-Step in 2020, also on a two-year deal.

Stefan Bissegger

Age: 21

Nationality: Swiss

Team joining: EF Education First Pro Cycling

2020 is going to be huge year for Bissegger, who will aim to win a medal in the team pursuit on the track for Switzerland at the Tokyo Olympics before turning pro on the road with EF Education First Pro Cycling on August 1. Bissegger caught the attention of the American team after a string of early-2019 victories at the New Zealand Classic, Tour du Jura Cicliste and then, most impressive of all, in a sprint against established pros at the Tour de l’Ain. Victory in the Swiss under-23 time-trial championship, a stage win at the Tour de l’Avenir and a silver medal in the world under-23 road race in Yorkshire confirmed EF had snapped up a gem. Bissegger specialises in time trials and sprints – “the harder the better”, he says.