One of the most important stage races on the U23 calendar is on the horizon. On Sunday 9 June, the Development Team will be at the start of the Giro Next Gen, an eight-day race in Northern Italy, starting in Aosta and finishing in Forlimpopoli the following Sunday.
6.06.2024
The race starts with a Time Trial and includes two flat, two hilly and three mountain stages.
Boris Zimine, Head of Development, explains the high hopes placed in this race: ‘We can't hide the fact that we're going to Italy with high hopes! After last year's GC podium with Hannes Wilksch (3rd last year, now in the Pro Team), we're hoping to repeat the feat this year, and why not do even better? Our main objective is the overall classification with Mathys Rondel. The whole team is built around him".
The team is made up of six riders this year (compared with five last year), which means that an additional rider will be able to support Mathys. Four of them already took part in the race last year - an added value for the team.
Mathys is looking forward to the start of the race: “I hope to be in contention for the GC victory as well as for the mountain stages. My aim is not to lose any time in the opening TT on my rivals in the General Classification and to avoid problems in the flatter stages. I hope to be in good shape and well placed for the mountain stages. My preparation for the Giro has gone smoothly and I believe I'm in good shape.”
While Mathys will be the GC leader, Fabian Weiss and Aivaras Mikutis will have the opportunity to show what they can do in the first time trial. Arnaud Tendon is a very solid and versatile teammate who will be a great support. Robin Donzé will be helping out mainly in the mountains. This will be his first Giro appearance, but he has already had experience of a long stage race in last year's Tour de l'Avenir. The rookie will be Roman Holzer, who will be taking part in his longest stage race, an important step in his personal development.
We are delighted to have four Swiss riders in the team and look forward to seeing how the team performs in this prestigious race. Daily updates will be available on our social media channels.
Photos: Andrzej Gucwa