This morning saw the announcement that Simon and Adam Yates, two of the best U23 riders Britain has produced in recent years, have signed for Orica-Greenedge for 2014. Up until now, Sky seems to have been the natural destination for young British riders, especially those who have come through British Cycling’s Olympic Development Programme. However is this still the case?
The main reason for the Yates’ brothers decision is clear to see. ‘If I went to Sky then I’d end up working on the front like a slave, and I’m not a big fan of that!’ was Adam’s reason for their choice.
And you have to say he has a point. Sky have acquired a reputation of ‘wasting’ top quality riders as domestiques and not giving highly talented younger guys a chance to lead the team. For riders who have been used to being team leaders in the junior and espoir ranks, the prospect of having to work for others for a number of years before being given any opportunities for themselves can be hard to take.
This was certainly the reason behind Alex Dowsett’s decision to join Movistar this year. Often the team leader at Trek-Livestrong in 2010, his two years at Sky in 2011 and 2012 gave him limited opportunities to race for himself, and particularly in 2012 he found himself relegated to second-tier one day races and week-long stage race in the low countries.
However Dowsett has certainly landed on his feet at Movistar. Not only did they offer him the grand tour ride he craved, but this also yielded a memorable stage win on the stage 8 time trial. He has also been given experience in the major spring classics, and although it was a difficult spring, and one which probably led to lack of results later in the year, the 25-year-old will definitely have benefitted from the lesson learnt.
We can probably see a similar pattern with the performances of Jonathan Tiernan-Locke over the past year. The undisputed team leader at Endura, Tiernan-Locke found himself in a support role throughout the early season. Much of the 28-year-old’s previous success has been due to high confidence and team support as much as great legs. Siphoned into a domestique role, he could not gain confidence, and perhaps this is part of the reason behind his poor form throughout the year.
The two examples of young riders who have enjoyed their time at Team Sky are names who have been happy to stay out of the limelight.
Josh Edmondson has had an excellent first season at Sky mainly filling a domestique role. Although he really came to prominence with his performance in a GB jersey in the 2012 Tour of Britain, he had spent the two previous years riding domestic Italian races for Team Colpack, and not always in the role of team leader.
The other rider is Luke Rowe, who although he was often team leader while riding for Great Britain and Rapha Condor prior to 2012, avoided hitting the headlines with good performances in the two high-profile events of the U23 calendar: the Tour de l’Avenir and the World Championships.
We therefore have to question whether Team Sky is still the destination of choice for talented British riders who will naturally crave the prospect of leadership early in their careers.
The Yates brothers are obviously highly talented riders and will undoubtedly be given leadership opportunities at Orica-Greenedge, which they would not have found at Sky.
For Team Sky this is a concerning trend. They can no longer be sure of a monopoly over British talent, and with promising riders such as Tao Geoghegan Hart and Germain Burton making waves in the junior ranks, the team needs to act to make sure that they can offer the prospect of results that young riders crave.
Student Cyclist 