Trinity talents get taste of WorldTour at QuickStep, Jumbo, UAE training camps
Pipeline to the pros continues at team that previously hosted Pidcock, Turner, Healy, Gloag
The team has only been in operation for three seasons following its creation around Tom Pidcock in 2020, but Trinity Racing has already established itself as a reliable pipeline to the WorldTour for young talents looking to turn pro.
Multi-disciplinary all-star Pidcock was the biggest name to make the jump, moving up to Ineos Grenadiers in 2021 after winning the U23 Giro d'Italia with Trinity. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadiers) did so in 2022, while Thomas Gloag (Jumbo-Visma) and the Jayco-AlUla pairing of Blake Porter and Rudy Quick are all doing the same for 2023.
But already the giants of the WorldTour are eyeing up the next selection of future stars currently plying their trade at the Continental development squad.
Pre-season training camps have given the likes of UAE Team Emirates, Soudal-QuickStep, and Jumbo-Visma the chance to prepare for the upcoming season but have also seen several young Trinity talents join their ranks.
French 18-year-old Paul Magnier, who was fourth at the junior Worlds road race in Wollongong and who steps up to the U23s this season, was invited by Soudal-QuickStep to their recent camp in Altea, Spain.
American 20-year-old Luke Lamperti, fourth at the Tour de Taiwan, has ridden with Jumbo-Visma. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Briton Finlay Pickering, who won the Tour Alsace, has spent time with both Jumbo and UAE this winter.
The time gives the teams an opportunity to check out the riders up close and in turn gives the riders experience in a WorldTour squad environment.
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Jumbo-Visma told WielerFlits that, "In addition to our own training team, we naturally keep our eyes open for great talents from elsewhere.
"Finlay and Luke are examples of talents. They've caught our eye in a positive way and in we want to get to know them better.
"By seeing them work up close, we get more insight into their personalities, and in addition, they also experience up close how our team works."
The experience is far from a first for Trinity riders. Tour de l'Avenir stage winner Gloag, for example, told Cyclingnews last year that he had taken in two Ineos training camps before ultimately choosing the Dutch squad and racing with them as a stagiaire late last season.
Jumbo-Visma directeur sportif Grischa Niermann told Cycling Weekly this week that, "We look at talents we think suit well into our programme. It's probably not likely that it is a Colombian rider, for example, but Northern Europeans, Scandinavians, British riders.
"We didn't sign Thomas and we didn't invite Finlay because they are British, but because they're big talents."
Trinity Racing have a 20-rider squad for the upcoming season, drawing riders from Britain, Colombia, Ireland, Norway, Brazil, France, Australia and the USA.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
Season highlights from the 2024 season include reporting from Paris-Roubaix – 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.