British rider Jacob Vaughan joins Lotto-Soudal under-23 team
2016 British junior road race champion Jacob Vaughan will ride for Belgian team in 2018
Up-and-coming British rider Jacob Vaughan has been signed by the Lotto-Soudal under-23 development team for the 2018 season.
The 18-year-old from Surrey claimed the 2016 British junior road race title and has been making an impact on both the British and continental scenes this season.
In February, Vaughan placed second behind Chris Opie in the season-opening Perfs Pedal Race, which was the VC Londres rider's first race at senior level. He then won the Guido Reybrouck Classic in Belgium in March and took part in the junior editions of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Nokere Koerse, Ghent-Wevelgem and E3 Harelbeke.
Vaughan rode for Great Britain at the 2017 World Championships in Bergen, Norway, finishing 36th in the junior men's road race after supporting his team-mates.
>>> Junior national champion takes impressive second place in his first ever senior road race
"I'm really looking forward to the new challenge," said Vaughan.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has help me to achieve my ambition of riding for one of the leading under-23 teams in Europe."
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Another former British junior champion, Dan McLay, followed the same path to the continent.
McLay rode for Lotto-Soudal under-23s before being signed by French team Bretagne–Séché Environnement (now known as Fortuneo-Oscaro), and has just secured his first WorldTour contract with EF Education First-Drapac for 2018.
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Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.