{"id":821984,"date":"2026-11-02T18:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T18:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/821984\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T18:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T18:54:09","slug":"i-must-not-put-too-much-pressure-on-myself-lorenzo-finn-looks-to-temper-expectations-for-worldtour-debut-after-spectacular-u23-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/821984\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I must not put too much pressure on myself’ \u2013 Lorenzo Finn looks to temper expectations for WorldTour debut after spectacular U23 season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lorenzo Finn<\/a> and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe<\/a> are attempting to manage expectations as the Italian prepares to assume fully-fledged professional status from January 2027.<\/p>\n

The German team announced on Monday that the 19-year-old super-talent will graduate from the ‘Rookies’ development squad to the WorldTour team in 2027 \u2013 a move which had already been baked in for several months.<\/p>\n

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In fact, Finn \u2013 three months younger than Paul Seixas \u2013 had the opportunity to turn professional in 2026 but, after winning the U23 road race world title in 2025, preferred to spend another year in the development ranks, and went on to dominate the Giro d’Italia Next Gen<\/a> and Tour de l’Avenir<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Aside from claiming those big U23 titles, he rode extensively at pro level, representing Red Bull’s WorldTour squad on loan at several lower-level races, including the Sibiu Tour, which he won. He also elected to ride in the elite category at the World Championships, placing 55th in a race most didn’t finish.<\/p>\n

“Becoming a professional cyclist is a dream that is now coming true. You have to take a moment to pause and tell yourself: I haven\u2019t reached my ultimate goal yet, but I\u2019ve made it as a pro. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve wanted since I was a child,” Finn said in a press release from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.<\/p>\n

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‘I still have time’<\/p>\n

The same press release insisted that the “gradual approach to his development will continue as he makes the step up”, and part of the puzzle will be managing expectations after this year so clearly marked him out as a future superstar. The success of Seixas hardly helps, with the Frenchman already having two pro seasons under his belt, this year winning a Monument and placing fourth at the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

“Now I must not put too much pressure on myself,” said Finn, who is tipped to rival Seixas and others for Grand Tour titles in the future.<\/p>\n

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“First, I need to get used to the level. I don\u2019t have any specific expectations for my first year as a pro. I want to keep developing throughout the season and help the team.<\/p>\n

“I still have time. I\u2019m a long way from reaching my full potential. But I\u2019ve reached a level where I can be confident in myself. Now I feel 100 per cent ready to take the next step.”<\/p>\n

As for the biggest hurdle to overcome in the pro ranks, he said: “The race distance. I\u2019m now coping well with the U23 distances. But when I see how long the Monuments and the major professional races are, there\u2019s still a lot of work to be done.<\/p>\n

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“That\u2019s normal and will be my most important area for development. But I also believe that I\u2019ll improve simply by riding these races. Ultimately, it\u2019s about being able to perform even after five or six hours.”<\/p>\n

Finn’s race schedule for 2027 has not been mapped out but he indicated his desire to race a first Grand Tour in his first pro season.<\/p>\n

A milestone for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe<\/p>\n

As for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Finn represents a success story, given that, after riding for the Auto Eder junior squad, he becomes the first rider to graduate through each level of the team’s development structure to reach the WorldTour.<\/p>\n

The Auto Eder squad has long been affiliated with the professional squad of the organisation managed by Ralph Denk, with the Rookies programme launched in 2025 in Red Bull’s first full season of title sponsorship.<\/p>\n

“Developing our own riders is a central part of our strategy. Our goal is to provide young athletes with a clear pathway to the WorldTour,” said the team’s Chief of Sports, Zak Dempster.<\/p>\n

“Lorenzo is the first rider to have followed that pathway from the junior ranks onwards. It confirms that our concept works. At the same time, it sends a clear message to the best young talents around the world: if you want to develop over the long term, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe offers the right environment to do so.”<\/p>\n

The road season might be at an end, but Cyclingnews isn’t slowing down. Subscribe for unlimited access to our comprehensive news coverage, industry-leading CN Labs testing, expert columnists, and so much more. Plus, the Cyclingnews app means you can stay up-to-date wherever you go! Join today<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter After an all-conquering…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":821985,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-821984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821984\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}