"It feels like a WorldTour team, just with different races" - World Champion looks forward to get racing with Red Bull's new U23 team, but first comes school

Since Lorenzo Finn became the junior World Champion, it's been clear that the gem of Italian cycling is destined to have a great career. But the still 17-year-old climber doesn't want to rush things and opts to spend some time in the U23 category to fully learn the ropes first. And also to have time to complete his high school studies before going off to the world.

"What I achieved last year has sunk in now," Finn told cycling journalist Daniel Benson. "I’m really looking forward to next year. The Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies group is fantastic, and we have an amazing program. It feels like a WorldTour team, just with different races. The structure of the team has provided the perfect environment for me to keep growing without feeling too much pressure. We are treated like WorldTour riders and given the tools to develop both as athletes and as people."

During the first training camp, Finn got to know his teammates well, but also the media. "We received some media training from Red Bull, which taught me a lot about how to present myself to the press. It was a valuable experience, especially with the WorldTour riders there."

"When we made the list, Finn was one of the first names we put on it," John Wakefield, manager of the German U23 team, also told Daniel Benson. "He’s still the youngest, so there’s no pressure for him to move up quickly. For now, the focus is on racing, resting, and school."

Due to his school commitments until the summer of 2025, Finn will follow a lighter race schedule in the first months of the new season. The focus will be on select one-day classics and the Giro d’Italia Next Gen in June. After a short break, the attention will shift to the World Championships.

"Until the summer, we are working on creating a realistic race calendar. We don’t want him to go from 35 to 65 race days. That wouldn’t be development; that would be throwing him in at the deep end."