Rising star Lorenzo Finn gained 'valuable experience' at the World Championships but finished 'completely exhausted'

Finn, who will turn 20 in December, completed his final season in the U23 category this year. He did so in style: as world champion, he won both the Giro Next Gen and the Tour de l'Avenir. Meanwhile, he casually claimed his first professional victories by beating Wout Poels, among others, in the Sibiu Cycling Tour.

He was then selected for the Italian team for the World Championships. Not in the U23s, but in the elite category.

It seemed like a big step, but Finn is brimming with talent. His contemporary, Paul Seixas, had shown a year earlier, aged nineteen, that it was possible: he finished thirteenth among the big names.

Italy went to Canada with a strong group of eight riders but no clear leader, so why couldn’t Finn pull off a surprise?

It didn’t work out. “I’m completely exhausted now, but it was an amazing experience,” he told Bici.Pro afterward. “The first 3–4 hours went great, but toward the end, things got a little tougher. Still, I’m glad I did it. I think it’s an important step for the future. It was a tough day at the end of a very long season.” Finn did managed to finish, placing 55th out of 58, ten minutes behind the winner, America's Brandon McNulty.

Along the way, he had to take on a domestique role. That was already difficult. “I had to try to hang with Giulio as long as possible, and we were all up front when the race exploded. At that point, my legs were a bit weak, but let’s just say my positioning was good. We rode well, and I gained valuable experience for the future. I knew it could end this way.”

And so, this top talent has no regrets after an incredibly grueling race. “Maybe I could have been more brilliant, but the world championship for professionals is two hours longer—280 kilometers—whereas a year ago I was still riding 160–170 kilometers, and mainly at a different pace. It was nice to ride at the front for as long as possible with a number of champions.”

On top of that, I wasn’t in ideal shape going into the race. “From my perspective, it was a very tough race. Much tougher than any other race I’ve ever ridden. In the last hour, my legs were completely spent. It’s clear that the illness I had after the Tour de l’Avenir may have slowed me down a bit, just like anything that keeps you bedridden.”

Finn will ride a few more races in Italy this fall, though it’s not clear whether Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe will take him along for races like the Giro dell’Emilia and the Tour of Lombardy. He’s already looking ahead to next year. “We’ll discuss whether I’ll make my debut in a Grand Tour, but it’s really too early to say right now. I’m satisfied with today and with this season.”