Trivia question: what does Joe Blackmore and Isaac del Toro have in common with Tadej Pogačar and Shirin van Anrooij?
If you successfully worked out the answer, then you'll get an idea of exactly why the Tour de l'Avenir is worth paying attention to.
As the most prestigious race on the under-23 circuit, the week-long French event has a history of ushering in major future talent. A good performance here can often be the catalyst that ends up netting a rider a contract with one of the big teams.
In 1992, the men's race was made open to just under-25s, but since 2007 it has been riders 18-22, with a women's equivalent beginning in 2023 and open to only under-23s, too.
This season's edition of the event has just finished, with Paul Seixas of France (the race is part of the U23 Nations Cup) taking the final mountain time trial and with it overall victory on Friday afternoon.
In what is only the third edition of the women's version of the race, Canada's Isabella Holmgren drove home her GC push in style, winning both of Friday's twin stages and claiming overall victory.
There was the usual strong showing from Great Britain's young riders in the men's race, with Noah Hobbs and Elliot Rowe having winning the first and second stages respectively.
Meanwhile, the women's race was dominated by Holmgren and Célia Gery of France, who won three separate stages.
But why the big deal about this particular race? Well, its name can be literally translated to the 'tour of the future', which is a good start.
But a lot of it lies in the pedigree and the respect it has accrued over the years. Having been inaugurated in 1961, this year's race is in fact the 61st edition (it wasn't organised in 1975 and 1991), so it has been around for some time.
On top of that, the parcours tends to be top-drawer, always finishing – and sometimes starting as well – in and around the Alps, using some of the climbs bike fans are used to seeing in the Tour de France.
The opportunity to race and prove oneself over terrain like this is a major one and a significant factor in the prestige that comes with a victory here.
It is often described as being a mini Tour de France, and with good reason – the organise of the race for a long time was the Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), longtime organiser of the Tour de France. This further underlined the race's prestige, and while ASO is no longer the primary organiser of the event, having handed the reins to Alpes Velo in 2012, it remains a financial stakeholder and continues to play a part.
This past three seasons the Tour de l'Avenir has grown even bigger, expanding its remit to include the Tour de l'Avenir Femmes.
Run concurrently and on a very similar course this year featuring many of the same stage towns, the only obvious differences between the two are shorter stages for the women and a rest day on the sixth day instead of a big mountains stage to Tignes.
Delve a little deeper though and more differences become apparent. The start list, for example. In the men's race it is made up almost entirely of up-and-coming riders, many riding in third-tier teams or development squads. The obvious exception is GC winner Paul Seixas, the French Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider, who won the prologue and took second places on stage five and six (a), as well as winning stage six (b) and of course the overall. Just months ago, he finished in the top 10 at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
But with women's racing currently lacking any real Under-23 scene, and instead riders tending to jump straight from the junior ranks to the WorldTour, the start list at the Tour de l'Avenir Femmes is a different story.
Many riders at the women's race have plenty of experience at the highest level in the Women's WorldTour. Nienke Vinke (Picnic PostNL), for example, who won the young rider jersey at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and placed top-10 overall at the Vuelta Femenina this year. Or Holmgren of Lidl-Trek, who was seventh at the Giro d'Italia Women. There were strong British riders in attendance too: Millie Couzens (Fenix-Deceuninck) for example, national champion and Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders veteran; and Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike), who recently rode the Tour and is also a Roubaix and Flanders vet.
This is nobody's fault, right now, but instead years of under-funding and lack of support for women's racing, due to the patriarchal system we all find ourselves in. There simply isn't the women's under-23 scene, and the teams, to support that middle tier occupied by young riders in the men's ranks. Yet.
This year sees the first running of a separate road race at the World Championships for U23 women, and with races like Tour de l'Avenir creating events for female U23s too, others may follow suit – followed by the riders and teams.
While some outliers – think Remco Evenepoel and Pogačar – have been able to step into the limelight straight from their teenage years and start winning big, for many the Under-23s offer a vital apprenticeship that prepares them for the WorldTour journey.
For l'Avenir to exist in the women's side of the sport feels like another step along the path to equality.
Both men's and women's Tour de l'Avenir finish today with an identical split day comprising a 42km mountain stage followed by a 10km mountain time trial.
