{"id":20808,"date":"2026-06-13T12:28:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T12:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/20808\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T12:28:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T12:28:20","slug":"giro-next-gen-youd-better-keep-an-eye-on-these-rising-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/20808\/","title":{"rendered":"Giro Next Gen: You’d better keep an eye on these rising stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Giro d\u2019Italia, it\u2019s time for the next Giro d\u2019Italia: the U23 edition. It used to be called the Baby Giro, but in 2026 it will be known as the Giro Next Gen. IDL ProCycling, highlights some interesting contenders for this year\u2019s edition, which will take place from Sunday, June 14, through Sunday, June 21.<\/p>\n

On paper, the first half of the race looks mainly suited to opportunists, while the general classification should be decided in the second part. That is partly because of stages with uphill finishes at Monte Livata and Piana delle Mele, as well as a 22-kilometre individual time trial where differences can be made.<\/p>\n

After eight days of racing, we will know who succeeds Slovenian<\/a> rider Jakub Omrzel, now racing for Bahrain Victorious. In the years before him, victory went successively to Jarno Widar (now Lotto-Intermarch\u00e9), Johannes Staune-Mittet (Decathlon CMA CGM), Leo Hayter (Modern Adventure), and the well-known Tom Pidcock and Juan Ayuso. Who will add their name to that list this year?Lorenzo Finn – Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe\"huber-finn-Schrettl\"\/<\/p>\n

The top favourite is Lorenzo Finn of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. The 19-year-old Italian became junior world champion in 2024 and simply repeated that trick last year in the under-23 ranks. Last season, he also finished sixth in the Giro Next Gen and fourth in the Tour de l\u2019Avenir. He is, however, returning from a wrist fracture suffered at the Tour of the Alps.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Giro Next Gen is a special race, and starting here in the rainbow jersey means a lot to me. After the Tour of the Alps, the recovery went very well \u2013 the doctors and the team did a really great job of getting me back on the bike. The legs feel good again and I can\u2019t wait to race. We have a strong team and a clear goal,\u201d said Finn. <\/a><\/p>\n

That strong team also includes fast Italian sprinter Davide Donati, as well as Dutchman Gijs Schoonvelde. The 19-year-old Schoonvelde had a strong season among the juniors last year, but has not yet enjoyed a top year in terms of results this season. Still, in the Giro Next Gen he will be an important support rider for Finn.<\/p>\n

Matisse Van Kerckhove – Visma | Lease a Bike\"matisse-van-kerckhove\"\/<\/p>\n

The man of the season so far is Matisse Van Kerckhove of Visma | Lease a Bike. The Spanish-born Belgian also rode this race last year in service of J\u00f8rgen Nordhagen, but this season the train has fully left the station: the 19-year-old Belgian has already won eight times, including all three stage races he has ridden as an under-23 rider.<\/p>\n

With Patryk Goszczurny, Sven Mernik, Aldo Taillieu, Elliot Rowe and William Smith as teammates, the Belgian believes the team can aim high. \u201cI think we can certainly dream of a stage win and a good GC. In principle, every one of us could win a stage. We don\u2019t have a clear leader like last year, but across the board we have a very good team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to let opportunities slip away and we are aiming for at least one stage win,\u201d sports director Robby Cobbaerts said. \u201cTowards the second part of the Giro, we will see where we stand in the general classification. That is not something we will be focused on from day one.\u201d Van Kerckhove himself added<\/a>: \u201cI dare say I am completely ready for it. The form is there, the desire is there. That is the most important thing.\u201dHenrique Bravo – Soudal Quick-Step\"henrique-bravo\"\/<\/p>\n

Another rider with serious credentials is 20-year-old Brazilian Henrique Bravo of Soudal Quick-Step. This season, he already took a professional victory at the Tour du Rwanda, but he also managed to win the Tour of Antalya and, more recently, the Ober\u00f6sterreich Rundfahrt. Now he is targeting the general classification at the Giro Next Gen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very good. We have a really strong team and we\u2019re all excited for the Giro. We have several riders who have already shown good form and taken strong results this season, so I think we can be competitive throughout the race,\u201d said Bravo, who will have strong Belgians Jasper Schoofs and Viktor Soenens \u2014 already tenth this season at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana \u2014 by his side.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never raced the Giro Next Gen before and I didn\u2019t race the Tour de l\u2019Avenir last year either, so this will be my first experience of one of the biggest Under-23 stage races. I\u2019m excited to see my level against the best riders,\u201d concluded the 51-kilogram rider <\/a>from South America.Niels Driesen – Lotto-Intermarch\u00e9<\/p>\n

Belgium can prepare for a fine week of racing in Italy, because an enormous number of strong riders from our southern neighbours will be at the start. Among them is Niels Driesen, already fifteenth this year in the Tour of Oman and recently winner of the Tour de l\u2019Isard, as well as Kamiel Eeman, winner of the Course de la Paix: the GC riders of Lotto-Intermarch\u00e9, a team that has been developing strong riders for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no bigger stage race for the under-23 riders than the Giro Next Gen. The World Championships as a one-day race and the Tour de l\u2019Avenir are obviously also important appointments, but in terms of stage races, this Giro is right at the top. All the top teams are present and everyone comes to the start with a particularly strong selection,\u201d said sports director Wesley Van Speybroeck. <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who performs well here is quickly noticed. Everyone starts in top shape and wants to show themselves. For some riders, this is even a week in which they can earn a professional contract. That is exactly what makes this race so interesting. You never know exactly where you stand beforehand. Only when the race really explodes in the mountains do you discover how far you can go,\u201d the sporting director stated.<\/p>\n

Jurgen Zomermaand – Picnic PostNL\"jurgen<\/p>\n

From a Dutch perspective, Jurgen Zomermaand is one of the cards to play. He shares leadership at Picnic PostNL with Belgian Matteo Vanhuffel, sports director Albert Timmer explained. \u201cThe Giro d\u2019Italia Next Gen is one of the highlights of the U23 calendar and a race we are looking forward to. After finishing in the top ten of the final classification with Matteo last year, we return with ambition and with a group that has shown strong form in recent weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMatteo and Jurgen are our main cards for the general classification, after they impressed at the Alpes Is\u00e8re Tour with third and seventh place overall respectively. Throughout the race, we want to race actively, seize opportunities when they arise and continue to develop as a team in this prestigious stage race.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old Frisian Zomermaand already finished fifth this season in the Tour du Rwanda. Last season, he placed seventh at the European Championships for under-23 riders. The 19-year-old Vanhuffel finished seventh in that same Tour du Rwanda and recently shared the podium with compatriot Driesen at the Tour de l\u2019Isard.<\/p>\n

Daan Dijkman – UAE Emirates-XRG\"daan-dijkman\"\/<\/p>\n

With Daan Dijkman, there is certainly another talented Dutch rider on the start list. The rider from Groningen won Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge for under-23 riders this season and prepared well for the Giro Next Gen at altitude. Dijkman, still only 18, was eighth at the junior World Championships last year and fifth at the European Championships a week later.<\/p>\n

At his team UAE Emirates-XRG, Matteo Ramirez is another rider to keep an eye on. The 20-year-old climber from Ecuador has not raced yet this season, but last year he finished sixth in the Tour de l\u2019Avenir and second in the Giro Valle d\u2019Aosta.<\/p>\n

Aubin Sparfel – Decathlon CMA CGM\"sparfel\"\/<\/p>\n

In France, much of the talk is about Paul Seixas, but in his shadow Decathlon CMA CGM also has riders such as Leo Bisiaux and Aubin Sparfel. The latter already managed to take his first professional victory at just 18 years old last year in the Tour du Finist\u00e8re, and this season he has also shown himself with sixth place in the Boucles de la Mayenne and victory in the Tour de Bretagne.<\/p>\n

Sparfel, who will make the definitive step up to the French WorldTour team next year, is not a pure climber, but in the transition stages he may well be the man to watch. For the heavier work, his team also has R\u00e9mi Arsac.<\/p>\n

Who else do we have?<\/p>\n

In addition to the highlighted names, there are plenty more serious contenders taking part in the Giro Next Gen, which can be followed daily via HBO Max. Finland\u2019s Kasper Borremans (Bahrain Victorious) is a dangerous customer, given his recent third place in Austria. XDS-Astana has a balanced team with, among others, Matteo Scalco and Alessio dello Vedove.<\/p>\n

The same applies to Lidl-Trek, which brings Liam O\u2019Brien, Jack Ward and Belgian Thor Michielsen. Other WorldTour teams such as Netcompany INEOS (Cameron Rogers, Nicolas Milesi and Dylan Sage), Groupama-FDJ (Victor Loulerge and Baptiste Gregoire), Hagens Berman Jayco (Adam Rafferty and Ben Wiggins), EF, Movistar and NSN are also present, as is the Italian national selection with Stefano Viezzi among others, plus several Italian teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Giro d\u2019Italia, it\u2019s time for the next Giro d\u2019Italia: the U23 edition. It…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,1682,13037,3057,3056],"class_list":["post-20808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-belgium","tag-belgium","tag-cycling","tag-giro-nextgen","tag-idl-productions","tag-previews"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116742803040614880","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}