{"id":773537,"date":"2026-09-17T10:56:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T10:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/773537\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T10:56:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T10:56:11","slug":"viral-tour-of-britain-schoolboy-xander-graham-signs-for-visma-linked-junior-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/773537\/","title":{"rendered":"Viral Tour of Britain schoolboy Xander Graham signs for Visma-linked junior team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Xander Graham has signed for Visma-linked<\/a> junior team JEGG-SKIL-DJR for 2027, five years after his roadside ride at the Tour of Britain went viral.<\/p>\n

The Scot was 12 when he rode along the pavement beside the breakaway near Edinburgh in September 2021. Pascal Eenkhoorn, then racing for Jumbo-Visma, handed him a bidon in a moment captured on the live broadcast.<\/p>\n

Graham\u2019s new team is in partnership with Team Visma | Lease a Bike but remains separate from the WorldTour team. JEGG-SKIL-DJR U19 prepares junior riders for a possible transition to Visma\u2019s professional team.<\/p>\n

Announcing the signing, JEGG-SKIL-DJR described Graham as a rider suited to hilly races and highlighted his results across road and cyclocross.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI feel it\u2019s the right team for me to keep developing, race at the highest level and take the next step in my cycling career,\u201d Graham said in the team\u2019s announcement. \u201cI really like the team\u2019s focus on developing young riders, and I\u2019m excited to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had won Scottish Cycling\u2019s road bike series in 2019 and 2021, and had competed in a cycling event earlier that day before watching stage seven near his home in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian.<\/p>\n

As the five-rider breakaway went past, Graham rode alongside it. Footage of the encounter drew more than a million views during its first day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just in shock,\u201d Graham told BBC News<\/a> at the time. \u201cI was so happy and amazed. I’m getting a shelf for it to put up in my room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham\u2019s childhood ambition was to become a professional cyclist. The weekend also brought an invitation to the race\u2019s final stage in Aberdeen, where Eenkhoorn showed him around the team bus.<\/p>\n

Road and cyclocross results<\/p>\n

Since then, Graham has continued to build his career on the continent with some impressive results. At the Vuelta del Duero, he finished second in the opening time trial before taking the overall and young-rider leader\u2019s jerseys on stage two.<\/p>\n

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He has continued with cyclocross as well and finished second in the British National Trophy Series as a first-year U19 rider. He also won the junior title at the 2025 Scottish Cyclocross National Championships in Linlithgow, leading from start to finish.<\/p>\n

His move places him with a Dutch junior squad that recruits domestic and international talent. Team Visma | Lease a Bike<\/a> identifies its partnership with JEGG-SKIL-DJR as part of its work with riders before they reach its Development Team, preparing them for a possible move into professional cycling.<\/p>\n

Graham will join JEGG-SKIL-DJR for his second junior road season in 2027. The move gives him the chance to complete a beautiful full circle, with Visma-Lease a Bike\u2019s own set-up on the horizon.<\/p>\n

Cover image credit: Alex Whitehead\/SWpix.com<\/p>\n

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