Visma | Lease a Bike launches special initiative to spot young climbing talent in the Ardennes
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Follow us on GoogleVisma | Lease a Bike has consistently managed to bring homegrown talents through to the WorldTour team in recent years — and the Dutch outfit is keen to keep that pathway flowing. To attract young riders, the team is now launching a climbing-test initiative in the Ardennes, with interested riders able to register themselves.
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“In the past six years, 24 riders have progressed into the professional peloton after joining our Development Team, with 14 of them moving up to our WorldTeam,” the team explains. “One of our long-term goals is to eventually win major Classics or the Tour de France with a rider who has been fully developed within our own programme.”
“To achieve this, we are actively searching for young, talented riders who, within our development pyramid, will get the chance to grow into the very top,” the statement continues. “Visma | Lease a Bike is launching a unique climbing-test initiative this spring for youth riders, aimed at identifying and supporting young riders with exceptional climbing talent.”
“Using standardised climbing tests in the Belgian Ardennes, we offer talented cyclists the opportunity to demonstrate their capacities in an objective, performance-focused environment,” the team says of the Future Bees Talent Days project.
Continue reading below the photo!
Tijmen Graat, one of the riders who progressed to the pros from the Visma | Lease a Bike U23 team.
Visma | Lease a Bike focuses on young climbers
The initiative is explicitly aimed at riders — male and female — with strong climbing ability. “In youth cycling, particularly in Northern and Western Europe, race courses often offer limited opportunities for lightweight climbers to stand out,” the team explains. “This initiative responds to that gap by placing the focus directly on climbing performance, allowing riders to show their qualities independent of race dynamics.”
European male riders born between 2008 and 2011, and female riders born between 2008 and 2009, who are able to travel independently to Belgium, can apply via the team’s information page. All applications will be carefully assessed by Visma | Lease a Bike’s scouting and performance staff.
Selected riders will take part in a series of standardised climbing tests in the Belgian Ardennes, run by the team’s performance and scouting staff. Every participant will receive individual feedback based on their results — and those who impress may enter a follow-up pathway within Visma | Lease a Bike’s development structure.
Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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