Canadian amateur blasts Vincenzo Nibali's Strava KOM on Mortirolo: "I just want a chance at a WorldTour team, I'll do whatever you want"

The best Strava time on the Mortirolo was long held by Vincenzo Nibali, but an 'amateur cyclist' has managed to wipe the climbing time of the four-time Grand Tour winner off the charts. The cyclist is Jack Burke, a 29-year-old Canadian who didn't even ride at a continental level for past two years.

Burke showed that he has a gifted pair of climbing legs this week on the flanks of the particularly steep and iconic Passo dello Mortirolo. The Canadian took just 43 minutes and 45 seconds to complete the mythical climb, a full minute faster than Vincenzo Nibali who set the previous during Giro d'Italia 2019, and recognized WorldTour pros such as Giulio Ciccone and Jan Hirt.

And it doesn't stop there, because Burke also has the best Strava time on the flanks of the equally legendary Passo dello Stelvio. The amateur hopes to attract the attention of WorldTeams with these cracking times.

"I just want a chance at a WorldTour team. Anyone, anywhere, anytime. I'll do whatever you want, I just want a chance against the best riders in the world," he makes an appeal via Strava.

The 29-year-old Burke has attempted to break through continental ranks in Europe between 2019-2022, but despite several promising performances - 4th at Tour du Jura 2019 (2.2), 6th at Oberösterreich Rundfahrt 2022 (2.2) and 18th at Tour of Slovenia 2022 (2.Pro) - never really stood out and eventually it seemed like his road career has ended in 2023 after failing to find even a semi-professional team and had to find a "normal" job instead. But he never stopped pedalling and perhaps some time off the competition is what Burke needed to unlock his best climbing legs.