British track sensation to continue road development at WorldTour squad
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Great Britain's Fred Wright(Image credit: Getty Images)
Great Britain's Madison duo Matthew Walls and Fred Wright got the silver medal, behind winning team from Denmark(Image credit: Getty Images)
Fred Wright and Matt Walls finished second at the 2018 Track World Cup in London(Image credit: Getty Images)
Fred Wright and Madison partner Matt Walls(Image credit: Getty Images)
British rider Fred Wright will ride as a stagiaire for the rest of the 2019 season with Polish WorldTour outfit CCC Team, the squad has announced.
Wright is a former European junior champion on the track in the omnium and the team pursuit, and in July won the under-23 European Madison title with Matt Walls, who will also ride as a stagiaire for the rest of the year with US WorldTour team EF Education First.
While he has found success as part of British Cycling's track endurance squad, Wright has also had opportunities on the road, and in June won a stage of the 10-day Giro Ciclistico d'Italia stage race – better known as the 'Baby Giro' – and took 11th at last month's Tokyo 2020 test event, which followed much of the road-race route for next year's Olympic Games.
And it's his road abilities that 20-year-old Wright says he's looking to explore further with his apprenticeship at CCC, starting with the Deutschland Tour on August 29.
"I didn't think I would necessarily be prioritising racing on the road, but the way that this year has gone, I would like to step up and try to race on the road for the next few years, so I'm really looking forward to racing with CCC Team as a stagiaire," Wright said on the team's website.
"It's an exciting step in my career. I've had a few chances to race with the top guys on the road but this will be on another level. I'm hoping to gain as much experience as possible and really just see what it's like racing at the top level in a WorldTour team. I just want to enjoy it, too. I like the look of my race schedule and I think the races will suit me as a rider," he said.
CCC general manager Jim Ochowicz said that he'd been impressed by Wright's win at the Baby Giro earlier this season.
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"Like many other riders in the professional peloton who've come from a track background, Fred's strength and his ability to dig deep will be a real asset to him as he continues his development," he said.
"Fred already has experience racing against WorldTour teams, at the Tour of Britain and Tour de Yorkshire, for example, but he will now have the chance to learn from some of our most experienced riders, as well as working with our performance team, starting at the Deutschland Tour," said Ochowicz.
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