Global Riders to Watch 2024
Riders from Mauritius, Mongolia, Ethiopia, Chile and more are set to emerge as the stars of 2024 and beyond
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Happy New Year to you all.
2024 is set to be an exciting year for cycling’s smaller nations. The sport of cycling continues to become more diverse, despite difficulties and resistance. Passion for this incredible sport is expanding into more and more places you would never expect.
In this week’s post are ten riders to watch in 2024. Some I think will become stars of the sport this year, others have fascinating stories to follow.
Who do you think we should look out for in 2024?
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Kim le Court
27, Mauritius, AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step
Kim le Court has become the first ever professional road cyclist from Mauritius by joining AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step. It has been coming; cycling on the Indian Ocean island-nation has been growing rapidly over the last few years.
Le Court’s main focus has been on the mountain bike up to now. Her 2023 successes on the knobbly tyres include wins at the Cape Epic and Swiss Epic (both in a pair with Namibia’s Vera Looser) and a 10th place in the Marathon event at the Glasgow World Championships.
The 27-year-old has raced for UCI teams before, in 2015 and 2016. She gained experience racing events such as La Course, La Fleche Wallone and the Women’s Tour.
More recently, she has only entered into major championships with limited time training on the road bike. Her talent for the road has shone through every time. She put in an excellent ride at the World Road Race in 2023 where she just missed the initial split and finished 64th. Le Court was also second in the African Continental Championships in 2022 and won the Mixed Relay and also won South Africa’s biggest road race, the Cape Town Cycling Tour, early in 2023.
More focus on the discipline in 2024 could yield some impressive results.
Abdulla Jasim
20, UAE, UAE Team Emirates Gen Z
Is this the first genuine prospect to come out of the Middle East? Maybe.
Jasim will ride alongside two other riders from the UAE, Abdulla Al Hammadi and Mohammad Al Mutaiwei, on the brand new UAE Team Emirates development team in 2024. They are joined by some of the best under-23 talent in the world. The new team are expected to race a schedule that includes some smaller Asian races, such as the Tour of Sharjah in January, as well as a regular European program.
Jasim has already shown great promise, the 20-year-old impressing last season in his first European stint. More recently, Jasim and his team-mates finished an impressive second-place at the (54km!) Arab Road Cycling Championships TTT. They were narrowly beaten by Morocco, and defeated the mighty Algerians by almost three minutes.
Jasim followed this up with second in the under-23 TT - won by Al Mutaiwei - and 8th in the road race as the only rider not from Algeria or Morocco in the front split.
In this new environment, with world class coaching and a race schedule including some of the biggest under-23 events, expect Jasim to continue to grow. It may not be fast, and he may never reach the upper echelons of the sport, but he is the Middle East’s best ever chance.
Florence Nakagwa
19, Uganda, CANYON//SRAM Generation
Nakagwa is the least-known quantity on this list, but there is reason to suggest that she can become a star.
Having discovered cycling through the Masaka Cycling Club, Nakagwa was one of two-dozen-or-so women from across Africa to be selected by the UCI to attend their training camps in South Africa in 2023. She impressed the coaches there, and got the opportunity to race at the World Championships in Glasgow - her first major event of any sort.
The Ugandan can reportedly put out 5.2 watts per kilogram over twenty minutes - solid numbers for such a young rider with minimal top-level coaching. At just 19, and now under the tutelage of Canyon//SRAM Generation, she could grow rapidly over the next couple of seasons.
Let’s just hope she gets a visa - something which has been a big issue for Canyon//SRAM Generation’s African riders over the past few years.
Hagos Welay
22, Ethiopia, Jayco-AlUla
Is this the best climber ever to come from Africa? Discounting the Kenyan-born Brit who dominated the Grand Tours for half a dozen years, he could well be.
Welay had a year disrupted by injury and illness in 2023 - a big crash in February’s Volta Comunitat Valenciana put him on the sidelines until June. The Ethiopian’s misfortune makes his results sheet even more remarkable.
The young climber rode his first World Tour race at the Tour de Suisse where he finished 16th on GC. The following month, he was 6th overall at the Österreich-Rundfahrt, including two second-place stage results, and then he was 9th at the Vuelta a Castilla y León. These results earned him a ride at La Vuelta where he lasted 16 stages before getting COVID and having to abandon.
He goes into 2024 without his mentor, Tsgabu Grmay, who has retired when he was unable to find a contract. It will be interesting to see if this has any affect on Welay’s performance in the short term.
Jayco-AlUla have really bolstered their squad for this season, which could mean fewer opportunities for Welay. Expect him to take whatever opportunities do come his way. Welay could emerge as one of the rising stars of 2024.
Yanina Kuskova
22, Uzbekistan, Tashkent City Women PCT
Many are feeling aggrieved by the situation with Tashkent City Women PCT, who secured a wildcard for all Women’s World Tour races in 2024, despite racing a programme of smaller events and allegedly attempting to fabricate their national championships.
Hopefully some solace can be felt in the promise of young Yanina Kuskova, the team’s young climber who showed genuine promise in 2023. She won the Porec Trophy, Asian under-23 TT and Uzbek road champs. But her best result came in the Italian 2.2 Trofeo Ponente in Rosa stage race where she finished second, just behind Jolanda Neff.
This year, she will get the chance to ride the big mountains in the biggest races. The team will ride the Vuelta, Giro and Tour in 2024. What an experience that will be for the young rider.
Don’t expect huge results in these events, but do expect improvement and maybe a couple of surprises.
Thomas Silva
22, Uruguay, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
Thomas Silva was the winner of the Copa de España in 2023, the competition which decides the best rider in the Spanish amateur season. The Spanish domestic scene in among the best in the world for finding new talent.
Riding for Caja Rural-Alea, the feeder team of the pro squad, Silva won four races across the season and picked up a number of other podium results. It was an incredibly consistent season where Silva rarely finished outside the top-10 on any race at that level.
He earned a stagiaire ride with the ProTeam from August, putting in an impressive ride at the Vuelta a Burgos and securing a full contract for the 2024 season.
Silva is an excellent puncheur with an incredibly fast sprint. Looking at the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA squad for 2024, he could be an able support for Orluis Aular and take his own chances when the road gets too tough for the Venezuelan.
The ceiling is high for the Uruguayan. For me, Silva is the most underrated talent making the step-up to the pros for this season.
Catalina Soto Campos
22, Chile, Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi
Catalina Soto Campos has landed on her feet after her 2023 team, Bizkaia Durango, folded. She joins the Basque squad Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi, which is very much in the ascendency.
2023 was already Campos’ fourth year in Europe, and it was a solid one in a team that struggles to get results. Her best ride came at the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Del Sol in June, where she finished 8th and 11th of stages 4 and 5 respectively, and second in the points classification after some time in breakaways. She also had success at the Pan-American Championships, finishing third in the road race and fourth in the time trial in a high-level event.
2024 will bring more opportunities for Soto Campos to develop. At 22, and with those four European seasons already behind her, the Chilean is now ready to take the next step.
Jambaljamts Sainbayar
27, Mongolia, Burgos BH
I am really, really looking forward to seeing what Jambaljamts Sainbayar can do in Europe. The Mongolian Maestro has been a big player on the Asia Tour for several years now for the Malaysian Terengganu team (who are soon to announce a big name replacement for Sainbayar).
He picked up some big results last year, and Burgos may see him as a UCI points scorer for them after his 640 points in 2023 - more than any of their riders.
Sainbayar is a good climber, but also very fast in a sprint; perfect attributes for the small Spanish races that Burgos always look to target.
The Spanish squad lost a couple of their big leaders over the transfer season, there is a big opportunity for someone to fill that gap. Of the other signings, he is the most experienced climber. Sainbayar should be looking to be a leader straight away at Burgos.
A special mention for Sainbayar’s new team-mate Sergio Chumil also. The Guatemalan is a terrific climber. It will be interesting to see how he develops over the coming seasons.
Travis Stedman
21, South Africa, Q36.5 Continental Cycling Team
In a year where South Africa’s most experienced and most decorated male rider retired, another rider with very similar characteristics emerged as the country’s next hope.
Travis Stedman, just like Daryl Impey, is very quick, but doesn’t mind a few hills or riding on the front. He took the biggest win of his career in February when he became South African national champion, beating the likes of Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg and Stefan de Bod in a small group sprint.
The 21-year-old was riding his second season with Doug Ryder’s development team, and the progression was clear to see. He completed every stage race he took part in, including when riding for the ProTeam at the CRO Race and Tour of Turkey, putting in important work for the team.
Ryder has made it clear that his plan for African development is to recruit youngsters to the development squad and promote them. With Stedman’s impressive 2023 behind him, an equally good 2024 would surely see him as a prime candidate to make that step up.
Lilibeth Chacón
31, Venezuela, Unknown
The queen of the America Tour.
What a season 2023 was for Venezuela’s Lilibeth Chacón. She became the double national champion and won three stage races; the Vuelta femenina a Guatemala, Vuelta a Colombia Femenina and Vuelta Costa Rica (where she took a clean sweep of the four stages). She was also second behind Arlenis Sierra at the Central American and Caribbean Championships and finished the Worlds road race in Glasgow in 75th place.
Chacón had a chance in Europe eleven years ago, riding a few races for Bizkaia Durango in 2013. And again in 2018 for the Italian S.C. Michela Fanini team, riding the Giro Donne and Trofeo Alfredo Binda that season.
Things never really clicked for her, but the now 31-year-old seemed to find the form of her life in 2023. Her team for 2024 is unconfirmed at present, but now could be a great time for her to make the trip to Europe again. She also has a social media following that most teams dream of.
Or, it may be best for Chacón to continue her racing in Central and South America where she can retain her crown and continue her success.
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Really excited to see what Sainbayar can do in Europe. Great article!