The growth of women’s cycling has seen many young riders turning pro earlier than ever, with Lidl-Trek leading the Women’s WorldTour teams in terms of youth investment in their 2024 signings.
Among their teenage talents brought in this summer were the talented, multi-discipline twins Ava and Isabella Holmgren, junior time trial World Champion Felicity Wilson-Haffenden and top British road and track prospect – Izzy Sharp.
Arriving after a super successful second-year junior season, Sharp has shown her ability to perform in both the Classics and time trials. She took the win at Gent-Wevelgem Juniors, Omloop van Borsele and was second at the World Championships ITT behind her new teammate Wilson-Haffenden.
She’s been settling into life at Lidl-Trek after they came in at the last to claim the highly sought-after junior’s talents for the next three seasons. 2024 will be her neo-pro year, with lots of learning to do at one of the best teams in the world.
Sharp is ready to get stuck into the WorldTour and is set to make her debut at the UAE Tour next month. Cyclingnews caught up with the 18-year-old Brit at Lidl-Trek’s December training camp to learn all about her move to the American squad and journey into cycling.
Cyclingnews: How has settling into life at Lidl-Trek been out in North America and here at training camp in Spain?
Izzy Sharp: It’s very different because obviously, America was a lot more casual. It was nice meeting everyone and we did have a lot of media and photoshoots, but I think this is definitely another step where it’s quite hectic for the first couple of days with all of the media work and tests and doctors… also, probably getting my ass kicked by the likes of Ellen van Dijk. I’m excited about it, though, because it’d be nice to grow by learning from the best.
CN: How did you first get into cycling?
IS: Like most kids, I started with a lot of different sports. I had settled on swimming for a while, which led me to triathlon, the same as a lot of cyclists. I was awful at running, and I knew swimming wasn’t going to work again. So I tried just cycling and I started with cyclocross – I did one season and I never went back, It was horrible. Until the same guys who coached me in cyclocross did track sessions, and they recommended me to that, which I continued with.
CN: Was it a big thing in your family?
IS: My grandad did lots of cycling, like the race across America, so he had a lot of the road background and the bikes, more importantly,…
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