The 2020 U23 scene is a little different to what we witnessed in the previous year, as Jumbo-Visma’s new U23 arrives, but the Monti-Deceunick-QuickStep team fails to launch and Wiggins leaves the field.

With most of the teams listed below racing or about to race, either domestically or in UCI races, it’s time for our 2020 roster analysis ahead of the U23 season kicking off proper in March. The teams are listed alphabetically.

Beltrami TSA-Marchiol (Ita)

Team: Filippo Baroncini, Davide Cattelan, Federico Chiari, Giosue Crescioli, Luca Cretti, Leonardo Dalla Costa, Matteo Domenicali, Matteo Freddi, Marco Grendene, Miguel Angel Hoyos, Massimo Orlandi, Nicolo Parisini, Thomas Pesenti, Simone Raccani, Matus Stocek

Rider to watch: Nicolo Parisini

After a fairly anonymous debut season last year, things are not looking too much better for the squad in their second season. Italian racing is tough, and with Colpack’s monopoly on most of the best talent, winning races may prove hard. Nico Parisini is an interesting rider to follow, having done well in the Autumn Classics last year and started well at Etoile de Besseges this year too.

Casillo-Petroli Firenze-Hoppla (Ita)

Team: Pasquale Abenante, Gabriele Benedetti, Samuele Carpene, Lorenzo Cataldo, Andrea Cervellera, Luca Coati, Edoardo Faresin, Davide Ferrari, Moreno Marchetti, Marco Murgano, Alex Raimondi, Laurent Rigollet, Frederik Thomsen, Alex Tollio, Alessandro Verre, Matteo Zurlo

One to watch: Moreno Marchetti

Newly promoted to Continental level, Casillo have a couple of riders to follow. Marco Mugano was ever-present in the U23 Italian Classics a year ago, and Moreno Marchetti arrives back from a failed year at Pro Conti level, so he has a point to prove about his ability as a potential pro. Danes in Italy have done well in recent years, so Thomsen should also be followed.

CCC Devo Team (Pol)

Team: Michal Galka, Dominik Gorak, Michal Jaskot, Petr Kelemen, Szymon Krawczyk, Savva Novikov, Damien Papierski, Piotr Pekala, Szymon Tracz, Kacper Walkowiak, Karol Wawrzyniak

One to watch: Savva Novikov

Whilst predecessor BMC Devo Team was a force to be reckoned with at U23 level, the CCC version serves mostly as a base for Polish riders. But like last year with Attila Valter, their best rider hails from another Eastern European country. Russia’s Savva Novikov won the Tour of Iran and was second in Tour of Romania, so is clearly a gifted climber. We need to see how he gets on in the U23 events, since he has never ridden a single U23 stage race. The rest of the team is made up of Poles (and one Czech) who will be good in breaks and may sneak a few wins here and there. They will badly miss sprinter Stanislaw Aniolkowski, who remains with the team but is no longer an U23.

Chambery CF (Fra)

Team: Alex Baudin, Clement Champoussin (until 01/08), Alois Charrin, Thomas Delphis, August Hoglund, Anthony Jullien, Paul Lapeira, Joe Laverick, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Antoine Raugel, Valentin Retailleau, Hugo Toumire, Loris Trastour, Kevin Vauquelin, Simon Verger, Eric Voigt

One to watch: Anthony Jullien

Jullien is an elite one-day racer who impressed as a stagiaire with the AG2R team last Autumn, and Champoussin is headed there as a full-time pro in August. He is the star, but there is more to this team than the French duo. Joe Laverack’s move away from the UK is one to follow, the same for USA rider Eric Voigt. Retailleau, Toumire, Trastour, Vauquelin and Paret-Peintre headline a young core who could all be on the WorldTour team one day. They don’t race much on the U23 scene, but will be present and active in France, so look for them in Isard, Roubaix and Paris-Tours, but their riders are usually selected for Nations Cup rounds.

Colpack-Ballan (Ita)

Team: Davide Baldaccini, Davide Broscaro, Yuri Brioni, Aldo Caiati, Francesco Della Lunga, Michele Gazzoli, Francesco Giordani, Nico Gomez, Alessio Martinelli, Leandro Masotto, Giulio Masotto, Sergio Meris, Michael Minali, Davide Persico, Andrea Piccolo, Nicola Plebani, Luca Rastelli, Alessio Riccardi, Tommaso Rigatti, Antonio Tiberi, Thomas Trainini, Gidas Umbre, Karel Vacek, Samuele Zoccarato

One to watch: Karel Vacek

The team to beat in Italy, Colpack are stacked with talent. They secured almost all of the nation’s top juniors, including WorldTour bound Tiberi, (and Piccolo may be joining him in 2021 too), whom Trek-Segafedo have trusted the team with for a development year, as well as securing Gazzoli and Vacek from other big U23 teams. A very young squad, Tiberi, Piccolo and Martinelli are the brightest young names, but the pressure for results falls on Gazzoli, Zoccarato and Caiati. The biggest storyline is Vacek. A brilliant junior, he was quiet on Hagens Berman Axeon last year, but in just his second season he is back in the nation he loves racing in, so we should hopefully see the Czech fulfill his U23 potential on his new team.

CT Friuli-ASD (Ita)

Team: Pietro Aimonetto, Giovanni Aleotti, Elia Alessio, Davide Bais, Riccardo Carretta, Andrea Debiasi, Matteo Donega, Filippo Ferronato, Jonathan Milan, Martin Nessler, Gabriele Petrelli, Andrea Pietrobon, Edoardo Sandri, Matteo Vettor

One to watch: Jonathan Milan

Whilst Giovanni Aleotti is the unquestioned star here, the future WorldTour rider (no destination confirmed as of yet, but CCC are heavily linked), for a team of riders from just one region of Italy, CT Friulli punch well above their weight. Milan sprinted very well in some pro races last year and will be worth tracking in the Italian races, whilst Pietrobon has shown real flashes of talent in the one-day races. Ferronato had a down year last season after a great 2018, so a bounceback is expected as of right now. Aleotti has free rein to try win hilly one-day races and stage races alike before moving elsehwere for 2021.

EFC-L&R-Vulsteke (Bel)

Team: Louis Blouwe, Gilles Borra, Jens Bouts, Vito Braet, Toon Clynhens, Gil D’Heygere, Luca De Meester, Dries De Schrijver, Ceriel Desal, Milan Fretin, Jules Hesters, Thomas Naudts, Michiel Nuytten, Siebe Roesems, Kasper Saven, Aaron Van Der Beken, Jarne Van Grieken, Alex Vandenbulcke, Jens Vanoverberghe, Mauri Vansevenant (until 01/07), Jago Willems

One to watch: Gil D’Heygere

Another team you won’t see in too many U23 races, the Belgian squad produce a lot of Belgian riders for pro teams, and Willems is a really big coup from the junior ranks for the team. D’Heygere is another strong one-day racer to watch, and Vanoverberghe was on Sunweb Devo’s 2018 roster. Vansevenant is the big name here, and will ride a few U23 stage races and Classics before departing for Deceuninck-QuickStep.

Groupama-FDJ Conti (Fra)

Team: Lewis Askey, Alexandre Balmer, Clement Davy, Yakob Debesay, Ziga Jerman, Sylvain Moniquet, Theo Nonnez, Hugo Page, Mattia Petrucci, Jake Stewart, Lars Van Den Berg

One to watch: Lars Van Den Berg

Simply put, the best U23 roster of 2020. They have sprinters in Stewart and Jerman. Climbers in Van Den Berg, Nonnez and Moniquet. There are three young talents we are yet to see race as U23s in Balmer (a second year who did MTB last year following a brilliant 2018 Junior Worlds RR rider), Askey and Page. Davy, Jerman and Stewart are worth watching in the Classics, especially the former duo, whilst 2020 is Petrucci’s first full year on the team and Debesay’s first in Europe. An amazingly strong team with four or five riders with potential to be on the WorldTour by 2021. No pressure lads.

Hagens Berman Axeon (USA)

Team: Edward Anderson, Pedro Andrade, Cole Davis, Jarrad Drizners, Jakob Egholm, James Fouche, Michael Garrison, Liam Holowesko, Sean Quinn, Jens Reynders, Kevin Vermaerke

One to watch: Sean Quinn

Along with Colpack, Groupama, Sunweb and SEG, Hagens Berman Axeon round out the U23 royalty. Stepping back to Conti level, the team has again recruited shrewdly for this year. Drizners was a little known rider when he joined, but he secured the Aussie U23 RR and was great at the Tour Down Under too. Andrade is a promising Portuguese climber, and Fouche is super versatile and a rider who would be welcome on ever WorldTour team. We’re still waiting for final year U23 and former junior World RR champ Egholm to break out, but Reynders is a star in the making as a sprinter and Classics rider, whilst Garrison hopes to continue brother Ian’s legacy in his first year at this level. Vermaerke won Liege as a first year, and Quinn was fantastic at the U23 Giro, so they will keep the US flag burning and are sure to have WorldTour suitors. Another strong roster from Axel Merckx and co.

Iseo Serrature-Rime-Carnovali (Ita)

Team: Giacomo Ballabio, Victor Bykanov, Krzysztof Domin, Omar El Gouzi, Matteo Furlan, Pasquale Lamanna, Sebastiano Mantovano, Alberto Marini, Mattia Pellizzer, Luca Regalli, Enrico Spadini, Leonaro Tabarelli, Matteo Tarolla, Samuele Zambelli

One to watch: Samuele Zambelli

Another relatively new team on the Italian scene, they have managed to get riders from a lot of the other squads for this season, and I actually think they will have a pretty good season on home soil. Zambelli is a very fast sprinter, and El Gouzi is a good prospect they’ve signed from Tirol, so he will be good to watch. Ballabio is a confusing rider, as he beat Max Kanter and Alfdan De Decker to win an Olympia’s Tour stage two years ago, but has done little since. But they certainly have a few riders worth tracking over the season.

Team Jumbo-Visma Academy (Ned)

Team: Maurice Ballerstedt, Lars Boven, Finn Fisher-Black, Owen Geleijn, Michel Hessmann, Olav Kooij, Gijs Leemreize, Rick Pluimers, Archie Ryan, Axel Van Der Tuuk, Mick Van Dijke, Tim Van Dijke, Hidde Van Veenendaal

One to watch: Lars Boven

A new team, the squad is mostly made up of first years. Predicting how good they’ll be as U23s is hard, but in Boven, Van Veenendaal, Kooij, Fisher-Black, Hessmann and Ballerstedt, they have a core of some of the best juniors of last year. They will be coached well, and I think a few of these guys will be on the WorldTour team by 2022. It’s always hard to predict who will adapt well to the U23s, and which riders will do well in certain areas. Early on (1 European race to be exact), Olav Kooij looks like a really fast sprinter. The rest, it’s way too early to judge, but I’ll be watching closely to see how the youngsters adapt to U23 life. One thing I can say is that it’s great to have this team here on the scene, and I hope this encourages more WorldTour teams to start up legit Continental level U23 teams.

Kometa-Xstra (Esp)

Team: Alessandro Fancellu, Erik Fetter, Sergio Garcia, Mathias Larsen, Antonio Puppio, Alejandro Ropero, Daniel Viegas

One to watch: Sergio Garcia

Fancellu is a real contender for the U23 Giro, and is Trek-Segafredo bound for 2021, after starting the season on fire. Garcia was 8th overall in Murcia after a strong U23 Giro last year, so he is our man to watch. Larsen and Fetter have also shown a lot of promise, as a sprinter and stage racer respectively. Puppio is a good TT rider too. I like the roster, it’s just a little small and I’d like to see the guys compete at more U23 races if I’m honest. Fancellu might be the best rider the team has had since becoming a Conti team though, he’s an amazing climber

Leopard (Lux)

Team: Loic Bettendorff, Ken Conter, Miguel Heidemann, Colin Heiderscheid, Arthur Kluckers, Misch Leyder, Emil Lindgren, Filip Maciejuk, Cedric Pries, Mauro Schmid, Mathias Skjelmose, Bas Van Belle

One to watch: Miguel Heidemann

After last year’s roster severely disappointed me, I really like this year’s Leopard roster. Skjelmose has had his issues, but he remains an elite talent, and I hope Maciejuk can re-find his 2018 form. Conter, Lindgren and Heiderscheid are all names to track and can get a result (and Conter’s Luxembourg U23 RR jersey is beautiful), espcially in breaks. Heidemann started well with 10th overall in Antalya, so I hope he continues riding that well deep into his last season at this level. A solid team put together by management, a season of aggressive racing awaits.

Lotto-Soudal U23 (Bel)

Team: Ruben Apers, Loran Cassaert, Sebastian Grignard, Arne Marit, Steven Pattyn, Thibaut Ponsaerts, Harry Sweeny, Tosh Teare, Jarne Van De Paar, Lennert Van Eetvelt, Maxim Van Gils, Henri Vandenabeele, Ward Vanhoof, Florian Vermeersch (until 01/06), Viktor Verschaeve, Xandres Vervloesem

One to watch: Henri Vandenabeele

A talent conveyor belt for Belgian cycling and, yes, as per usual, this team is stacked with WorldTour potential riders. Verschaeve and Vermeersch are already contracted to the WorldTour team, whilst Marit looks like he will join them. Vandenabeele is another great climber who did so well already in his first year last season. Vanhoof is a great Classics rider who could go pro in 2021, and Van Gils faces the same fate potentially if he climbs like he did in 2019. Sweeny is an experienced name and Van De Paar is an up and coming sprinter. New year, same old strong Lotto-Soudal U23. Some things never change.

Team NTT Conti (RSA)

Team: Negasi Abreha, Riccardo Bobbo, Connor Brown, Drew Christensen, Frederik Eriksen, Mattia Guasco, Martin Lavric, Leonardo Marchiori, Henok Mulubrhan, Marc Pritzen, Samuele Rubino, Natnael Tesfatsion

One to watch: Natnael Tesfatsion

After a few years of leaning on European talent coupled with some strong Africans, Team NTT Conti are finally led by African talent once more. Tesfatsion has won two pro races already this year and is on course to win Tour of Rwanda at the time of writing. Muubrhan is also flying high in the same races, so they look a great double act for European roads. Both also showed well in Europe last year so I hope their form continues. Brown, Bobbo, Rubino, Lavric and Christensen are all capable of delivering European results too. Marchiori arrived having won a lot of smaller Italian races, and he has started 2020 in the same vein, but we need to see him take a leap to the big U23 races this year. It’s great to see two elite African talents lead this team, so I am personally rooting for Henok and Natnael this year.

SEG Racing Academy (Ned)

Team: Thymen Arensman (Until 01/07), David Dekker, Marco Frigo, Daan Hoole, Wessel Krul, Jordi Meeus, Milan Paulus, Jesper Rasch, Corbin Strong, Stan Van Tricht, Harrison Wood, Maikel Zijlaard

One to watch: Maikel Zijlaard

Even with Adam Hartley’s retirement this week, the team is still seriously strong, like it has been for years now. Dekker and Rasch can sprint, Van Tricht and Meeus are great Classics prospects, and Krul looks to be a good time triallist, learning from one of the world’s best at this level in Hoole. Dekker is actually off to a flying start to his season, winning his first race Ster Van Zwolle before coming a brilliant 3rd at the pro race Le Samyn. Thymen Arensman gets one last crack at Roubaix before going pro at Suweb, whilst Frigo, Italian RR champ, is one to watch in the hilly Classics, and Wood for the climbs. Strong is a good rider but the Olympics will curtail most of his road season this tea, Zijlaad has always shown talent, but on a new team and in year three now, he has to take the step to winning big races. Another fantastically assembled squad from one of the world’s best.

Sunweb Devo (Ger)

Team: Leo Hayter, Leon Heinschke, Ben Katerberg, Enzo Leijnse, Niklas Markl, Marius Mayrhoffer, Jarno Mobach, Tim Naberman, Nils Sinschek, Vegard Stokke, Casper Van Uden, Ludwig Wacker, Hannes Wilksch

One to watch: Niklas Markl

It’s the usual plan for Sunweb, as the WorldTour team raided this squad for riders and replaced them with elite juniors. We need to see how Hayter, Leijnse, Stokke, Van Uden and Wilksch develop, but Mayrhoffer and Wacker must step up in year two. Mobach entered 2019 on a high but disappointed, he must bounce back in the Classics and less hilly stage races. Sinschek is the man for the hills, and he is also TTing well too. Markl is seeking to step up to the top of the sprinting list after a successful but also injury-laden 2019. Heinschke could be on the pro team’s radar after winning the German RR and taking 12th overall in Slovakia last season. A very young roster, but I hope they can develop quickly and take some results.

Tirol-KTM (Aut)

Team: Tobias Bayer, Felix Engelhardt, Marco Friedrich, Florian Gamper, Mario Gamper, Florian Kierner, Florian Lipowitz, Leslie Luhrs, Samuele Rivi, Georg Steinhauser, Max Veraszto, Markus Wildauer

One to watch: Florian Gamper

A team that has lost a few riders to the pros, but has rebuilt via the best talent Germany and Austria has to offer. I like a lot of the riders here, and expect good seasons from Bayer, Rivi and Kierner. Wildauer has been a good rider for two years now, but misses the statement win to attract the pro team. After elder bro Patrick left to go pro with Bora-hansgrohe, one half of twin bros Florian is my rider to watch after impressing in 2019 in the sprints. They also have a few young guys to track, especially Leslie Luhrs and Steinhauser. Still a good team and they will do well at U23 level whilst trying to show themselves via the pros.

Trinity Racing (GBR)

Credit: Trinity Racing

Team: Sam Culverwell, Thomas Gloag, Ben Healy, Zachary Johnson, Cameron Mason, Finley Newmark, Tom Pidcock, Oliver Rees, Jacques Sauvanargues, Max Walker, Matt Walls

One to watch: Ben Healy

This team has been formed sort of from the ashes of Wiggins (there’s the same management company and a few riders), but has managed to attract a core of Britain’s best U23s to pair with superstar Pidcock and track and road talent Matt Walls. Gloag and Walker are two I am really keen to follow. We await the big breakthrough from Jacques Sauvanargues, whilst Healy is a terrific rider who excelled all year in 2019, including a l’Avenir stage win. This is a good team, and they are much more than a star-vehicle for Pidcock. He is of course the main attraction, and will be box-office all season. A successful season awaits.

UAE-Team Colombia (Col)

Team: Daniel Arroyave Canas, Adrian Bustamante, Marlon Fernando Castro Ortega, German Dario Gomez, Julian David Huertas Cruz, Carlos Andres Ospina, Rafael Steven, Pineda, Juan Tito Rendon Franco, Juan Pablo Restrepo, Roosbelth Rojas Maldonado, Miguel Angel Sarmiento, Esteban Toro, Juan Pablo Vallejo

One to watch: Adrian Bustamante

After securing a few of Colombia’s top talents, Joxean Fernandez Matxin helped put into place a plan to set up an U23 team based in the nation, and I myself saw him speak with the road race team at the Yorkshire Worlds. Not too much is known about the team’s calendar, and whether we shall see them in Europe or not. The same can be said about the riders too, with few well known names to those outside of Colombia. Bustamante is a name Europeans should know, and Gomez was famously crying at the roadside at the junior Worlds this past year. A new team, ambitions should be kept low until we see their schedule.

Uno-X (Nor)

Team: Idar Andersen, Jacob Hindsgaul, Morten Hulgaard, Jonas Hvideberg, Julius Johansen, Sindre Kulset, Andreas Leknessund, Frederik Rodenberg, Iver Skaarseth, Martin Urianstad

One to watch: Jacob Hindsgaul

The Olympics, combined with moving to the pros, will see a real reduction in U23 racing for the riders on Uno-X, but there should still be some involvement. Leknessund, contracted to Sunweb for 2021, is the big star, having won the Peace Race and taking second overall in Isard. His big aims will be pro races, as well as the Peace Race, Isard and l’Avenir. Johansen and Rodenberg are track bound but will race on the road at times this year. Hindsgaul is the future star here, producing a number of good climbing performances. Andersen and Hvideberg have worked hard and have developed more and more each season, whilst Hulgaard was really good last season. A strong core of guys, the only question is how often will we see them on the U23 scene?