Hagens Berman-Jayco confirmed Ben Wiggins and Adam Rafferty as part of five new roster additions for next season while Artem Shmidt leads a group of five returning riders. Announcements about a group of other fresh signings will be made in the coming weeks to bring the roster to 16 for 2024.
Wiggins is among a trio of 18-year-old talents joining the US development team, and the Briton carving his own path on the bike aside from his notoriety as the son of Sir Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Tour de France champion. Like his father, Ben Wiggins combines track and road racing.
He became European junior champion in the points race in 2022 and won the junior men’s time trial title at Road World Championships in Sterling this year. He has competed on the road in Europe with the Fensham Howes-Mas junior team, which is run by Tom Pidcock’s father.
“Joining HBA was a no-brainer for me. I’d been talking to Axel [Merckx] for a while and I’ve always admired the team, knowing the history of the team, and how many guys have gone to the next level from the team. I knew straight away that it was the right place for me to develop and try to get to the World Tour,” the young Wiggins said in a team statement.
The teenager from Liverpool, England said he would like to improve his climbing, as he brings a powerful engine for time trialling and one-day Classics.
“We are very excited to have Ben join the program,” said team owner and director Axel Merckx. “His second place at this year’s world championship showed his talent, but we all know there is still a long road ahead. Ben and I both have a famous last name and I can try and help him navigate through everything that it brings. It’s not something very many people experience, so in that matter, we already have lots in common.”
Adam Rafferty is another TT specialist, who rode part of the year with French club Team 31 Jolly Cycles, and learned the ropes on the road as a stagiaire with Jayco. He is the reigning Irish ITT junior champion and was eighth at Junior Worlds in the race against the clock. He follows his older brother Darren on the US-based development team, who departed at the end of 2023 for two years at EF Education-EasyPost.
Like Rafferty and Wiggins, Italian Samuele Privitera is also 18 and he joins from a year at club level where he had four podiums, including a win at Coppa di Maggio.
“I have been following the team since [João] Almeida raced here. Last year, I was an intern at the team’s…
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