The Tour de l’Avenir is a unique race in the sense that every young bike rider yearns to race it, but unlike other aspirational races, they hope they only take part once. Because perform well on debut in the most prestigious of U23 races, and WorldTour teams will come knocking. To ride it four times, then, like Bob Donaldson did, is an indication of sorts that though the rider is good, they’re not quite WorldTour-level. So close, yet so far away.
When Donaldson lined up for his fourth appearance in the race in 2024 – becoming one of only eight riders this century to reach the ‘milestone’ – he was the race’s grandfather who was still without a pro contract, while all around him younger riders had secured deals for 2025. “I did l’Avenir and the Tour of Britain four times!” the 22-year-old laughs. “I enjoyed doing them, but it did feel odd. Especially last year racing in the U23 bunch, I was the old man! Which is a weird thing to say.”
Despite an apprenticeship that included a second place at the U23 Paris-Roubaix in 2024 and various top-10s across Europe, for years Donaldson was constantly overlooked for professional contracts, but finally, as his U23 days expired, Jayco-Alula called: they liked the look of the tall, slightly stocky Brit, and believed he could bolster their Classics squad. The elusive WorldTour contract had finally arrived.
“It’s felt like a long time coming, the last two years especially because I was knocking on the door but never winning the big races to secure a contract,” the Donaldson tells Rouleur. “It was a struggle and it was a big relief to get here. I showed consistency, showed I could get results, but even after second at Roubaix and winning the U23 Nationals [in 2024] ahead of some big names, I was still scrambling around, waiting nervously not knowing what was coming.”
Donaldson doubted if his efforts would ever yield the result he so craved. “It was like: if this [the good results] isn’t doing much, what do they really expect?” he says. “Ok, I didn’t win massive races consistently, but I was showing I can race in a wide range of races.”
He most notably demonstrated his talent last April, entering the Roubaix velodrome in a three-way sprint to decide the winner of the Espoirs race. “I still think I’m the first loser,” Donaldson says, after being beaten to the cobbled trophy by the German Tim Torn Teutenberg. “Me and Tim did everything the same, but he…