Words by Patrick Fletcher, additional reporting from Nick Bull and Richard Abraham
Owain Doull is set to make the step up to WorldTour level in 2015, as Cycling Weekly understands he will join Europcar.
The 21-year-old Welshman is part of the British Cycling Olympic Academy Programme and currently rides for the Belgium-based An Post-ChainReaction squad.
He won a stage and the overall of the Triptyque des Monts et Chateaux in April and finished 19th in last week's under-23 World Championships road race.
Asked about his future by CW at the worlds, Doull said: “As it stands I’m not staying with AnPost for 2015.
“An arrangement is pretty much in place but it is too early to say what that is.”
CW understands that this arrangement is with Europcar, the long-standing French squad that is managed by Jean-René Bernaudeau and dates back to 2000. When contacted, a spokesperson for the team declined to comment on the issue.
The move is a significant step in Doull’s nascent career. Simon and Adam Yates were also 21 years of age when they signed for Orica-GreenEdge - another WorldTour squad - at the end of last year.
Doull will become the first British rider to represent a top-tier French team since Jeremy Hunt raced with Crédit Agricole in 2008.
