Author: David Soteras

Antunes: “Morale is high and confidence is renewed”

Antunes: “Morale is high and confidence is renewed”

Tour d'Alsace marked the first race of Tiago Antunes in Academy colors as he joined the team as a trainee. Even though he started the year as part of the World Cycling Center roster, he moved back to Aldro Team just before the Ronde l'Isard, in which he climbed to third in the opening stage. "2018 was a tough one for me, I was constantly changing teams and adapting to new environments and conditions. One thing it is certain and is that I learnt a lot by having to overcome difficulties that make…continue reading →
Jordi Meeus: “2019 will be an important year for me”

Jordi Meeus: “2019 will be an important year for me”

Jordi Meeus joined the Academy as from the 1st of August of 2017 as a trainee. Since he was part the development structure of the team he has not stopped of making strides forward on and off the bike. After hitting a big learning curve in the early part of the season, the 20-year old Belgian showed his skills and took home the first ever 1.1 win of the Academy in Gooikse Pijl. "It has been great being part of the Academy during the last one and a half years, it is a…continue reading →
Hoole: “I am very satisfied with how my season went”

Hoole: “I am very satisfied with how my season went”

Newcomer to the U23 ranks, Daan Hoole, has enjoyed a strong year in Academy colors. The progression and improvements of the 19-year old have been right on track, exemplified in the bronze medal that he powered to in the U23 Dutch Nationals time trial. "When I look back at my season I am very satisfied with it. I had the opportunity to race all sorts of races and learn from the best teammates. There was also a side of pain, bad luck, and crashes, but I overcame that pretty well and I know…continue reading →
Alberto Dainese; The Italian powerhorse

Alberto Dainese; The Italian powerhorse

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 →
The first steps of Barnabas Peak

The first steps of Barnabas Peak

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 →
The roots of Kaden Groves, Australia’s fastest talent

The roots of Kaden Groves, Australia’s fastest talent

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 →
Team Building Camp Recap

Team Building Camp Recap

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 →
From Down Under to the Academy; Alex Evans’ journey

From Down Under to the Academy; Alex Evans’ journey

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; from football to cycling

Jesper Rasch; from football to cycling

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 →
The start of Sven Burger

The start of Sven Burger

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 →