As the calendar flips into December, thoughts turn more firmly to the 2024 season. The new signings have (almost) all been confirmed and teams are beginning to assemble for their training camps. Remco Evenepoel is already at his home near Calpe in Spain, while Ineos Grenadiers have gathered in Mallorca for their first training camp.
Miles are banked in sleepy coastal towns in southern Europe. Racing schedules are distributed, plans are made, and hierarchies are sketched out. The Tour Down Under, the year’s first event, is a little over a month away.
As the new campaign nears, Cyclingnews takes a close look at the 18 men’s UCI WorldTour teams for 2024.
- Best signing: Axel Laurance
- Rider to watch: Kaden Groves
- Notable addition: Lars Boven
Mathieu van der Poel remains Alpecin-Deceuninck’s marquee rider and will bring even more attention and prestige to the team as world champion in 2024, while Tour de France green jersey winner Jasper Philipsen adds another layer of import to the Dutch team.
The two above riders claimed 25 of the team’s 35 victories in 2023, and another seven went to Australian sprinter Kaden Groves, winner of three stages in the Vuelta a España and one in the Giro d’Italia.
Groves gives the team cover in the sprints when Philipsen is absent, and Philipsen – second to Van der Poel in Paris-Roubaix – will give the team more options in the Classics as he will add this focus in the spring.
An intriguing addition is Axel Laurance, who impressed in 2022 with podiums in stages of the Tour de Wallonie, CRO Race and at the Bretagne Classic-Ouest France in Plouay while racing with B&B Hotels. He opted to join the team’s developmental wing for this season and graduates to the WorldTour as a rider to watch.
Lars Boven, 22, joins from Jumbo-Visma’s devo team and has shown promise in one-day races and sprints – finishing fourth in the elite small lead group behind Van der Poel at the Super 8 Classic.
- Key rider: Arnaud Démare
- Best signing: Florian Sénéchal
- Rider to watch: Kévin Vauquelin
After parting company with Nairo Quintana in the wake of his positive test for Tramadol on the 2022 Tour, Arkéa-Samsic looked rudderless for much of last season, dropping sharply in the UCI rankings as a result. It was clear that the team was in dire need of a revamp, and the opportunity arrived early when Arnaud Démare was…
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