Darren Rafferty has expressed his disbelief that he is now moving to World Tour level next year, after competing less than two seasons to date as an U23 rider in Europe. The 20-year-old from Co Tyrone has raced this year and last for the Axel Merckx-owned Hagens Berman Axeon.
Yesterday, riding for his trade team, he wrapped up general classification victory at Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta-Mont Blanc (2.2U), following on from his 2nd place overall at Next Gen Giro.
And now today, after a whirlwind few weeks, he has been confirmed as an EF Education-EasyPost rider from the start of next season just two years after passing up his place at college to pursue his pro cycling dream.
“I can’t really believe it is actually happening,” said Rafferty. “It is hard to put into words, something that you have worked so hard towards for such a long time. Three years ago, I went to France instead of university with the dream of getting a job as a professional cyclist, and now it is going to happen from next year. It is incredible.
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“I want to spend the next couple of years finding where I am going to be best. I will take it year by year and learn as much as I can from the riders around me and just hopefully keep progressing. If I can just keep improving year on year, that is the goal.
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"I want to get a little bit better and learn something from every race I do and hopefully the results come from the process of that. I will enjoy everything as it comes, and take it race by race, and learn from all of the staff and riders and see where it takes me. I am not really setting any limit.
"My development over the past couple of years has been nice to see for me personally, so I think there is a lot of room for improvement, and that is exciting for me."
He also believed EF Education-EasyPost was the right team for him, especially as he had seen the freedom extended to Irish elite road race champion Ben Healy. He has been riding with the same squad for the last two years and has had a licence to attack, netting him top level results, including a Giro d'Italia stage win back in May.
“EF is the team I believe will give me the most opportunities,” Rafferty confirmed. “It is a great team with a nice atmosphere and an attacking team that suits my style of racing and how I want to race.
"I really like how Ben Healy has always been able to race with the team and that was one of the influences of seeing how I could maybe race a calendar that was more open and show what I can do. It was an easy choice in the end.”
