Trinity Racing's Thomas Gloag has become the latest British talent to step up to the WorldTour, being signed as a stagiaire, or trainee, by Jumbo-Visma for the rest of the season.
The 20-year-old follows fellow Londoner Leo Hayter in stepping up to cycling's highest level on a trainee contract, with the latter joining Ineos Grenadiers.
Gloag, meanwhile, despite joining Ineos for a training camp last year, has elected to join another of cycling's super-teams in Jumbo-Visma. Riders who join teams as stagiaires for the back end of the season regularly end up with a full-time contract for the next year, as will happen with Hayter, so it will not be a surprise to see Gloag stick with his Dutch team next year.
There has been no official announcement from Jumbo, but the UCI has him listed as a trainee, and the team have confirmed it; however, Gloag is not yet down to ride any races for the team, and in fact is with Trinity Racing at the Arctic Race of Norway this week.
UCI rules mean that he can still race for Trinity as well as Jumbo, and also his national team. This will be useful for his participation in the Tour de L'Avenir, where he will be taking part for Great Britain.
The ten-stage race, which begins next Thursday, is a renowned proving ground for under-23 riders, and Gloag will line up alongside Hayter in France. Recent overall winners have included Tobias Halland Johannessen, Tadej Pogačar and Egan Bernal, while stages have been won by young British stars like Fred Wright and Ethan Hayter.
Gloag finished third on two stages of L'Avenir last year, but it was his performance at the Baby Giro which was more eye-catching, as he came fourth overall. He also won a stage of the Ronde de l'Isard on the way to third overall at that under-23 race.
Leo Hayter and Gloag are not the only young Brits stepping up to the WorldTour, as Sam Watson will also be joining the Groupama-FDJ senior team next year, after spending a season with the continental equivalent.
His connection with Gloag is that they both spent time at Trinity Racing, the development team run by Andrew McQuaid and set up around Tom Pidcock originally. Other young talents to graduate from the team include Ben Healy and Ben Turner, who left last year, and Rudy Porter and Blake Quick, both of whom will join Team BikeExchange-Jayco next year.
