Reigning Tour de l'Avenir winner is all about being realistic ahead of a possible Tour de France debut

Blackmore has joined an impressive list. Over the last ten seasons, the Tour de l'Avenir has been won by Marc Soler, David Gaudu, Egan Bernal, Tadej Pogacar, Tobias Foss, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Cian Uijtdebroeks, and, in 2023, Isaac del Toro. All of them are highly regarded professionals, not to mention the careers of Pogacar and Bernal.

In recent years, we have seen that winners of the Tour de l'Avenir are being catapulted into the Grand Tours much faster than, say, fifteen years ago. The trend is towards younger riders, although this is primarily due to the youngsters themselves: they are proving that they have what it takes to compete for the prizes.

For Blackmore, last year's winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the U23 category, 2025 will mainly be a journey of discovery. The British rider competed in all the classic races in the spring, from the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He made a particularly strong impression in the Ardennes, pulling away from Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert in the Brabantse Pijl, who complimented him for his performance. He also finished in the final of the Amstel Gold Race.

After such a busy spring, Blackmore took a step back to prepare in Mallorca for what may lie ahead: he is on the shortlist of Israel-Premier Tech for the Tour de France. He rode the Tour of Switzerland in the run-up, finishing 19th in the GC.

We shouldn't expect too much from Blackmore in the Tour, the British rider emphasized to this site. “I didn't win the Tour de l'Avenir in the tough mountain stages, but on the other days. I was able to minimize the damage on the climbs,” he explained. Still, we should note that he won the stage to La Roseriere and finished second on the Finestre.

For Blackmore, it is essential not to put too much pressure on himself at this stage. “I'm just doing my job to the best of my ability. I get to ride in great races and visit amazing countries as a cyclist, and I really enjoy that,” says the versatile British rider, who isn't putting any pressure on himself for a possible Tour. “The first few days look good, but when I go, I'll mainly be focused on how the team wants to use me.”

“This week was all about getting in shape and preparing for what's to come,” he said about the Tour of Switzerland. “My goal was to support the other guys as best I could and get some kilometers in my legs. On the first day, I just couldn't keep up on that steep climb, so there was still some work to do. But overall, I feel good,” said Blackmore, who proved that after Matthew Riccitello's withdrawal with a strong final weekend.