Lampre-Merida eyeing up talent at esteemed British junior team
VCUK's alumni includes Adam and Simon Yates, as well as Hugh Carthy
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Italian WorldTour team Lampre-Merida are looking to cherry pick the best of emerging British racing talent thanks to strengthened links with established junior team VCUK.
The northwest team, which has kickstarted the careers of current professionals Adam and Simon Yates, Hugh Carthy and Richard Handley, shares a clothing sponsor with Lampre: Champion System.
The two teams have a working partnership that is now in its third year, with Lampre pursuing the best of young British talent.
“If we have a rider who is good enough, we can basically pick up the phone and speak to Mauro Gianetti of Lampre and say you need to get this kid tested,” team director Wayne Greenhalgh told Cycling Weekly
>>> Vincenzo Nibali to Lampre? Italian team join race to sign three-time Grand Tour winner
“There was an offer on the table from them for the Yates brothers before they went to Orica-GreenEdge.
“Because of what we told them about Simon and Adam, they actually ask us if we have any riders coming through who they should watch.
Which one of the brothers knows each other better?
“Now Hugh’s racing at a good level (UCI Pro-Continental team Caja Rural), they trust us even more."
>>> Promising Brit Hugh Carthy aiming for Vuelta a España start in 2016
The current group of six riders are “as good as we’ve ever had”, says Greenhalgh, who has tipped Robert Scott as a “star for the future”. Scott was second in the Junior National Road Race Championships last year and a stage winner at the Junior Tour of Wales.
First year juniors and best friends Tom Pidcock and Harry Hardcastle won a plethora of youth and local races in 2015, and Pidcock came fifth in the junior Cyclo-Cross World Championships in Zolder, Belgium, in January. Scottish rider Tom Chandler, time trialist specialist Adam Hartley and Harry Paine make up the remainder of the team.
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Chris first started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2013 on work experience and has since become a regular name in the magazine and on the website. Reporting from races, long interviews with riders from the peloton and riding features drive his love of writing about all things two wheels.
Probably a bit too obsessed with mountains, he was previously found playing and guiding in the Canadian Rockies, and now mostly lives in the Val d’Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees where he’s a ski instructor in the winter and cycling guide in the summer. He almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains.
-
-
Computer company Acer is making an AI-powered bike and it’s got some wild features
Taiwanese hardware and electronics corporation, Acer, best known for its powerful laptop computers, appears to be diversifying its product offerings with the creation of a (super) smart e-bike
By Anne-Marije Rook • Published
-
It's not just Remco v Roglič at Volta a Catalunya as two becomes three: 'When two are fighting, it's the other who takes it'
Is Giulio Ciccone, at the once-assumed peak age of 28, developing into a serious rival for the best?
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
'There are serious implications' - Tadej Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates face sanctions threat
Growing pressure on Western governments to sanction UAE over Russia could spell trouble for Tadej Pogačar's team
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
UAE Emirates rider Alexys Brunel retires from professional cycling at 23
The young French rider is leaving the sport to focus on other challenges in life
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Tadej Pogačar returns to training after contracting covid
UAE Team Emirates say that Slovenian is still on track to make season debut at UAE Tour
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Matteo Trentin: Roads are 'more of a jungle than a proper training environment'
Italian says that more needs to be done for cycling safety to protect the future of the sport
By Adam Becket • Published
-
What did we learn from the first elite road races of the year?
Alejandro Valverde is still good; Lotto-Soudal are hungry for results; Biniam Girmay might be a force to be reckoned with
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Brandon McNulty wins Trofeo Calvia, the first elite men's race of 2022
UAE-Emirates American rider wins the first part of the Challenge Mallorca with 60km solo attack
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Which WorldTour team has the best kit for 2022? We take a look through the wardrobe
Now almost all the kits are out, here are our measured ratings of racing kit ahead of the 2022 season
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Matteo Trentin says he would not be surprised to see Pogačar in the final of the Tour of Flanders
Italian puncheur will once again target the classics in 2022
By Adam Becket • Published