Adam Rafferty (Hagens Berman Jayco) has been called up to the Team Jayco AlUla World Tour squad for his next assignment, where he will be in stage race action against some of the biggest teams in the world.
The 19-year-old, who completed school last year and is now full-time on the bike for the first time, really impressed at the recent Tour of Rhodes. He looked like one of the strongest in the race, splitting the field on the climbs.
That performance, coupled with his TT rides from last year, which included 10th in the U23 TT at the World Road Championships, marked him out as a likely contender to be called up from his U23 development team's sister squad, the Jayco AlUla World Tour outfit.
And now in what will be just his second stage race of the year, Girona-based Rafferty will line out at Coppi e Bartali (2.1), the five-stage race that gets underway in Ferrara tomorrow, Tuesday.
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The fact he is being called up to the World Tour team so quickly is a huge vote of confidence in him. It marks rapid progression for a teenager who was in school this time last year in Co Tyrone studying for his A Levels.
Rafferty will this week be part of a line-up that includes Davide De Pretto, Paul Double, Felix Engelhardt, Alan Hatherly, Campbell Stewart and Samuele Privitera.
Coppi e Bartali has been a race that has been good to the Irish in recent seasons, with Eddie Dunbar - now a Team Jayco AlUla rider - winning it overall in his last year with Ineos Grenadiers in 2022.
Archie Ryan, now with EF Education-EasyPost, won a stage of the race last year in his first season with the US World Tour team and finished 2nd overall.
