"Anyone who claims that he can appoint me the new Remco Evenepoel in ten years is completely crazy" - Have Team Visma | Lease a Bike figured out the best approach to scouting talent?
Cycling
The competition to sign the most promising young riders has
never been fiercer, with teams across the professional cycling landscape
searching for the next breakthrough star. Team Visma | Lease a Bike is one of
the many WorldTour squads investing heavily in scouting and development, adding
four new young talents (Tijmen Graat, Menno Huising, Jørgen Nordhagen, and
Matthew Brennan) to their professional roster over the winter.
But the team’s talent identification efforts go beyond just
signing the latest prospects. Robert de Groot, head of development at Visma,
highlighted the riders already making an impression in their setup, “We have
three young guys with Patryk Goszczurny, Matisse Van Kerckhoven, and Elliot
Rowe who are showing things at the moment that we think are very interesting,”
De Groot told Wieler Revue.
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In an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws, De Groot
discussed how scouting has evolved in recent years, explaining that Visma has
been actively focusing more on youth development since 2019. "In those six
years, it has taken off enormously. When I started, there were six training
teams. Today there are 21. Almost every WorldTour team and many ProTeams have
their own youth team."
With so many teams now offering development opportunities,
young riders face a crucial decision in balancing the best environment for
their progression with the best experience early in their careers. To help
streamline this process, Team Visma | Lease a Bike has formed a partnership
with the JEG-SKIL-DJR Academy, a junior team where they can place emerging
talent. One example is Ashlin Barry, who will ride for the JEG-SKIL-DJR Academy
this year.
However, the increasing intensity of youth recruitment has
also introduced challenges. "It's just how the market works,
unfortunately. And then the question is: can you be the only one to be left
behind?"
“We are now starting to look at the newcomers, boys aged
fifteen to seventeen. Should we go even younger? I am adamant: we are not doing
it today, but I do not rule out that we will still shift downwards."
"The younger you select, the worse the predictability.
It's already a constant balancing act: 'Are we going to do this?' 'Is he really
that good?' Anyone who claims that he can appoint me the new Remco Evenepoel in
ten years is completely crazy. Unfortunately, you see that some teams still
take financial risks based on the idea: 'Then the neighbours won't have
them."
Another shift in the scouting landscape is the growing
presence of agents in youth cycling, "In 2019, I knew one or two young
riders who worked with an agency, today all our prospects do that, except one.
You can wonder whether that is a healthy situation.
“I come from football. I have seen boys there of 12, 13
years old with dollar signs in their eyes, or certainly with their parents.
That puts a lot of pressure on those children."
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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