INTERVIEW | Briton Paul Double on World Tour debut at 28, his time in Italy, goals for 2025 and first race with Jayco AlUla

Paul Double is making his debut in the World Tour at the age of 28. CyclingUpToDate has talked to one of the most interesting British talents, who spoke to us from the Team Jayco AlUla camp, where he has signed a two-year contract.

A Briton, born in Winchester, but one who's raced in Italy most of his career - be it in amateur or pro teams. Most recently he spent a year with Polti Kometa and he achieved 7th at the Giro d'Abruzzo, third at the Tour of Turkey and sixth at the Tour of Slovenia, amongst others. A very capable climber with a strong sprint, it had left many scratching their head why it took so long for him to reach the World Tour.

"I love cycling, I love racing my bike it gets you that buzz but I think perhaps why I’ve spent time in Italy for so long and teams. I like the passion and emotion a bit, getting so much into the tech and science, and the sport changing," he told us in Altea. "Maybe the progression was slower but there’s always been that something there just needed a bit more time and me to learn about nutrition for one. It’s been years in Italy for sure, I absolutely don’t blame anyone. In the last two years being professional I’ve still been learning about that whereas the juniors now 120 grams of carbs when they’re teenagers. I think a mixture of things, or maybe I’m just a slow developer".

However he continues to develop, and is one of the bets from the Australian team this year - alongside MTB World Champion Alan Hatherly, Ben O'Connor and several other riders. He believes he has the opportunity to improve even further here. "I hope so, the infrastructure here is going to be a different level, lots of resources to feed from, I think it’s gonna be top level…”

We asked him about what he considered his career highlight thus far, and the answer comes in the form of this year's Tour of Slovenia, where he finished second to Pello Bilbao. "I think this year in Slovenia, the queen stage, second to Bilbao. That was really nice, also he is a great rider and just after the stage we were waiting for [doping] control and he just comes up to me and he said 'you’re really strong'," Double recalls. "The big riders don’t necessarily say that to you, I think it meant a lot and I thought ‘let’s keep going’. It was a good battle, and when he went in the end there was no following him but it’s nice I think I had him on the ropes just before the finale," he smiles.

The 28-year old had an infectious energy to him, and that was perhaps why he managed to fit in so well in teams where he was the only Briton, and often an exception in an Italian environment. "I’ve spent time in conti teams as well… I spoke a bit of Italian, it was rusty when I joined last year but I feel like I’m fitting with the Italians quite well, I think they like my quirks as well. Or maybe it’s just me, but I fitted well".

Polti was invited to the Giro d'Italia this year, but Double's absence came as a surprise taking into consideration the performances he had just done in Abruzzo and Turkey. But he explains this wasn't a spat with the team, instead a matter of planning, specially after he had already raced so much at that time of year. "There’s no harm feelings there, we had a discussion before it and I had done quite a lot of racing - and then we had a lot of racing in the second half of the season…Although I was performing they didn’t know me that well and it was more of a question if I’d get through the Giro at that point," he explains.

"So we decided not to take the risk, and perform in the second half of the season. In hindsight now, if I knew I was going to be here (with Jayco Alula, ed.) this year, maybe I would’ve pushed to go to the Giro just for that experience so if this year I go to a Grand Tour I would’ve known what it’s going to be like. But it was a nice season, I had a great year, no complaints".

Modest ambitions for 2025, where he will learn how to race in different roles with a World Tour structure: "For me the last years have been great in keeping the consistency and that’s one of the reasons why I’m here and I want to continue that and hopefully improving on the performances. It’d be really nice to get a win but at the same time I’m in a team with some big names and for sure I’m going to have to adapt my racing style to a support role at times and I think I didn’t really have that in past teams so there’s going to be an adaptation there and yeah, I want to make sure I do things properly".

He is a newcomer in the team, and admits that he didn't really have connection to anyone before this week's training camp. "Honestly I didn’t know anyone, raced quite a lot with Zana in Slovenia over the last few years. But before this I didn’t know anyone, but they were super welcoming and I look forward to getting to know them more".

Asked which rider he resembled the most: "I’m gonna share my ignorance in cycling in general," he joked. "I was riding with Eddie [Dunbar] today and I said ‘I think I can learn a lot from you’, I think we’re similar type of rider, similar stature."

On the addition of former INEOS DS Steve Cummings to the team, an important change: "I’d imagine they will probably stick with the culture they’ve been using and works for the past few years. For sure Steve is a great addition to the team… I can’t imagine one person to completely change, we don’t want to fix something that’s not broken".

Double revealed where he will start his season, only kilometers away from where the team is staying this week: "I think [Volta a Comunitat] Valenciana but we’ll find out". The plans are still being crafted, but we know by this point that Ben O'Connor is aiming for the Tour de France likely with Eddie Dunbar as well, and that should give room for Double to make his Giro d'Italia debut which he says is his Grand Tour of choice.

"I just want to come in firing all cylinders, do everything the team says whether it’s a support role or if I get my opportunities to try and take them, and get the best performances I can".