At just 20 years of age, the fast Italian sprinter seized a total of 7 wins in 2018, the last two while already wearing Academy colors as he joined the team in early September. Dainese shined with his own light in some of the biggest races of the U23 ranks and took home a stage win at the Giro d'Italia U23 as well as in Italy's one-day U23 classic GP Industria e Commercio to name a few. The talented Italian rider started in cycling six years ago. "I began at the age of 14…continue reading →

Barnabás Peák joined the Academy ahead of the 2019 season after completing a traineeship with WorldTour's Quick-Step Floors. The young Hungarian, who currently holds the double crown as Elite National Champion in the road race and time trial disciplines, landed a spot in the Academy roster after two seasons at the UCI World Cycling Center Team. However, Peák it is a late-comer to the sport as it was not until he was 16 years old that he started things seriously with cycling. "I began my cycling journey in November 2014 as I was certainly…continue reading →

Kaden Groves has recently finished his 2018 season in China with a bang as he finished third overall in the Tour of China II and took stage wins in the Tour of Quanzhou and the Tour of Fuzhou, that in addition to his victory in the closing stage of the Tour of Qianghai in early August account for an impressive tally of results in the Asian circuit. However, Groves was a late-comer to the sport as he tried cycling for the first time in 2014. "I started quite late in comparison to many. Four…continue reading →

Last weekend the 2019 roster of the Academy gathered together at CTO Eindhoven in order to kick off the upcoming season and meet all the riders and staff members. The group enjoyed all sort of activities, from karting and GYM training to MTB racing without forgetting some physical and blood testing. "Our roster is more international than last year, so it was great to see riders from different countries and cultures coming together and start building relationships after just 3 days, and that is a good sign coming to the 2019 season" points…continue reading →

In February 2018, Alexander Evans showed himself to the big stage cycling fans as he powered to second behind Estaban Chaves, in the mountaintop finish at the Herald Sun Tour's stage 3. Some months later and after a traineeship with BMC Racing Team in between, Alexander is ready to make the most of his last year as U23 with the Academy, but his first pedal strokes date back from 2005. “I started track cycling at the age of 8 and I was also racing on the road and mountain bike. At the age of 15,…continue reading →

Jesper Rasch landed a spot in the 2019 Academy roster after completing a traineeship with the team at the end of the 2018 season. However, the journey of the talented 20-year Dutchman goes way back, and it did not start with cycling precisely. "Even though that I was on the bike since an early, my main sporting activity as a kid was football. At the age of nine, I was scouted by Ajax and I played at HFC Haarlem, at the highest level in the Netherlands. Some years later I lost the motivation…continue reading →

13 years ago Sven Burger rode a mountain bike for the first time around Alkmaar at his brother's birthday party, and he instantly felt a special connection with it. From that age, until he entered the U23 ranks Sven's main focus was mountain biking, and became part of the KNWU Olympic Training Center (National Olympic Development team for Tokyo 2020), after racing during three years for Merida-Bassa Biking Team. When the switch to road racing came in 2016, the current 21-year joined the Dutch club Wielervereniging Noord-Holland with whom he completed the first two…continue reading →

At just 19 years old, Adam Hartley powered to eighth overall in the Tour d'Alsace after placing second in the team prologue and solidly riding up the Planche des Belles Filles, but Hartley's journey in cycling started around the age of 10. The Brit youngster came to the sport from 7-aside football and initially competed in sprint triathlons, but shortly after he decided to fully focus in cycling and cyclo-cross in the winter months. Adam made his first steps in the Manchester velodrome and already at U16 level, he got the first taste of…continue reading →

Tiago Antunes, joined the Academy the last August the 1st as a trainee, and the upcoming one will be his first full season with our colors. In the last part of the 2018 season, the 21-year old Portuguese combined his racing schedule with the Academy together with Spain's Aldro Team. But his journey in the cycling world started way back. "Back in 2005, my parents wanted me to pick a sport so I tried football but after my first training, I realized that it was not my thing. After some months, I tried…continue reading →