Five world tour debutants to watch next season

Preparations for the 2025 season are well underway, with most of the World Tour teams gathered in training camps and the new equipment unveiled. A total of 57 cyclists will be making their debut at the top level, with a wide range of ages, from Albert Withen Philipsen's 18 years and 109 days to Aaron Gate's 34 years and 25 days.

XDS Astana Team and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team are the teams that will debut the most riders, with six each, and in this article, we'll highlight five riders we're most curious to see next season.

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Pablo Torres

The Spaniard has definitely made it to the World Tour, having already done a few races as a trainee with UAE Team Emirates in 2024. Pablo Torres has shown fantastic level this year, finishing 2nd in the Tour de l'Avenir and also in the under-23 Tour of Italy, and the best proof of UAE Team Emirates' expectations for Torres is the fact that he has a contract until 2030, just like Tadej Pogacar and Jan Christen! He'll make his debut in the 2025 Tour Down Under and the spotlight will be on him next year.

Pablo Torres during the under-23 Giro

Giulio Pelizzari

The Italian made the leap to the World Tour in a natural way, and at one of the most powerful teams in the world. Pelizzari was one of the highlights of this year's Giro d’Italia, where he was very combative, proof of which is his 2nd place in the mountain classification. He was also 2nd on stage 16, both times behind Tadej Pogačar. He was more discreet the rest of the season, but still finished 3rd overall in the Tour of Slovenia and 7th overall in the Tour of Austria. In 2025, he will make his debut for Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe and watch out for him on the toughest days. He's set to do a series of World Tour stage races, with the UAE Tour, Volta a Catalunya, Itzulia Basque Country, Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse, the highlight of which will be his Vuelta a Espana debut alongside Jai Hindley and Aleksandr Vlasov.

Giulio Pellizzari during the Giro in 2024

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Pablo Castrillo

Another familiar name on this list, who doesn't remember Pablo Castrillo's spectacular Vuelta a Espana in 2024? The 23-year-old won two stages in the last edition of the Vuelta for Pro-team Kern Pharma and put on quite a show! He also showed that he can be a general classification rider, finishing in the top 10 of the Cro Race, Vuelta Burgos and Tour of Slovenia. Movistar Team has therefore made a very good signing and has high hopes for him, as he has a strong calendar, which includes the, UAE Tour, Paris Nice, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse and Tour de France, where he could be Enric Mas's right-hand man. In any case, Movistar needs another leader for the overall and Castrillo could take on that role in some one-week races in 2025!

Pablo Castrillo's victory in the 15th stage of the Vuelta

Afonso Eulálio

A rider Portuguese fans are really looking forward to seeing make his debut among the best in the world, strengthening the Portuguese contingent. The Figueirense rider has had a great season, with highlights including 2nd place in the Joaquim Agostinho Trophy, 3rd place in the GP Jornal de Notícias and top 10 in the Tour of Portugal, where he led tenaciously for a few days. He will make his debut for Bahrain Victorious in the Tour Down Under, where the heat will be his main adversity! The rest of his schedule isn't yet known, but he's with the right team, a formation with a good mix of experience and youth, which usually gives young riders a good schedule.

Aaron Gate

The oldest of the 57 cyclists who will make their debut on the World Tour in 2025, the New Zealander will be in this spotlight for the season he had in 2024, where he won 11 titles, spread across the Asian and Oceania calendar, markets where Astana usually bets. The "new" XDS Astana Team urgently needs UCI points to avoid relegation and the signing of Gate is a very good move to get points. However, Gate's calendar will not only focus on these stops, but also on Europe, where Vinokurov, the team's sporting director, expects good results in classics and week-long races. A rider to watch. 2025!