The distance of the junior males’s street course on the 2024 UCI Road World Championships is a carbon copy of Glasgow’s 127.2km route however the climbs on the town circuit round Zürich are slightly completely different, opening the door for rivals to defending champion Albert Philipsen (Denmark).
Most of the 1,913 metres of elevation acquire takes place on back-to-back sections of the Zürichbergstrasse and Witikon, whereas final 12 months there have been brief, punchy climbs round Glasgow for 1,863m whole.
The course is extra suited to the climbers relatively than Classics-style racers, however adrenaline and aggressiveness can flip issues the other way up in any juniors competitors.
Cyclingnews appears to be like at just a few of the highest contenders for the medals from among the many deep discipline.
Albert Withen Philipsen (Denmark)
Last 12 months Albert Withen Philipsen (Denmark), at 16 years, 11 months, grew to become the youngest winner of the junior males’s street race. On high of that he added a second gold medal whereas in Glasgow, profitable the junior males’s cross-country title at UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. He competes in his remaining 12 months as a junior in Switzerland and can be one of many favourites within the street race.
Philipsen added extra {hardware} at Danish nationals this 12 months, profitable the time trial and cyclocross on a remaining season with a Norwegian-based novice staff, Tscherning Cycling Academy as he’s set to show professional in 2025 with a four-year deal at Lidl-Trek.
A powerful street marketing campaign noticed him place fourth in Paris-Roubaix Juniors and earn GC wins at a pair of stage races, the four-day Bourse de la Paix Juniors and the UCI 2.1 Ain Bugey Valromey Tour, the place his two stage wins got here on medium-sized distances of underneath 90 kilometres.
Ashlin Barry (United States)
Team USA may have a bonus as 4 of the 5 athletes named to the squad are like household, competing as teammates on EF Education-ONTO – Gray Barnett, Ashlin Barry, Peyton Burckel and Noah Streif. Joining them is Braden Reitz (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale U19), the reigning males’s junior street race silver medallist.
Barry is the reigning US junior champion in each the street race and time trial so he’ll compete in each disciplines in Zürich and will get the nod because the more than likely rider on Team USA to seize a medal. He’s been sturdy in different competitions as effectively, ending within the high 5 on all 5 phases at LVM Saarland Trofeo to complete second total, going seventh at Paris-Roubaix Juniors and profitable GC titles at Tour du Bocage et de l’Ernée and Valley of the Sun.
Add to that, a win on the Blue Mountains Gravel Fondo, a 120km professional gravel race. Burckel, who received the general on the prestigious Green Mountain Stage Race, so he needs to be the teammate to look at if Barry falters.
Paul Seixas (France)
The Lyon-born rider celebrates his 18th birthday two days earlier than the junior males’s street race and he’d like nothing higher than to complete off the celebration on the rostrum.
Paul Seixas is making a behavior of ending races among the many high spots this 12 months with an incredible tally of visits to the rostrum which additionally contains race wins at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Classique des Alpes Juniors in addition to GC wins at Tour du Pays de Vaud and Giro della Lunigiana. He additionally received the time trial nationwide title and had third locations at street races of the French National Championships and European Championships.
Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Norway)
The newly-crowned junior champion from UEC European Road Championships is Norwegian Felix Ørn-Kristoff. In Switzerland, he’s main a five-rider squad that may attempt to flip his bronze from final 12 months right into a gold medal. He excels on longer phases in street races, taking podiums at Giro della Lunigiana, Eroica Juniors and Course de la Paix Juniors, with fifth total at Nation’s Cup Hungary to comply with his GC win there in 2023.
The 18-year-old has already carved a path to comply with his older brother and WorldTour veteran Alexander Kristoff. The youthful Kristoff will trip for growth staff Wanty-ReUz-Technord in 2025 after which transfer to the Intermarchè-Wanty squad in 2026. He can also be expert on the observe, the place he received a number of nationwide titles and races within the Apeldoorn Next Generation occasion.