Killian O'Brien has signed for Petrolike for the 2025 season, his first campaign as an U23 rider, and will get his season underway in Valencia next week with UCI-ranked racing.
The 18-year-old from Ballinteer in south Dublin started with Orwell Wheelers and competed last year with the International Veleka Team, based in the Czech Republic, and claimed two victories in Italy.
His 3rd place on general classification at the Junior Tour of Wales last season also confirmed his talents and Mexican Continental team Petrolike was quick to snap him up.
O'Brien's new team offers him a year-long opportunity that includes a full calendar of UCI-ranked races, including many of the biggest U23 stage races in the sport. He will get his season underway with 180km of racing next week.
O'Brien will line up at Classica Camp de Morvedre (1.2) next Friday, January 24th, at Classica Camp de Morvedre (1.2).
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"My main season won't start until March," he told stickybottle. "They don't want to race me too much in the first year so the race I'm doing next week in Valencia is a case of being there to help the team. I'm not targeting it myself.
"I'm not expecting to do anything super special, because I'm only just starting intensity (training). But I think it will be good to test the legs on proper climbs because there's two climbs at something like 10 per cent for 5km. So I'll be able to see how my legs are there."
However, O'Brien stressed he was not putting pressure on himself, nor was his team. Instead, he was intent on easing himself into the season rather expecting fireworks racing against older and more seasoned professionals.
After next week's first race of 2025, O'Brien will then travel to Mallorca with the team for the traditional week-long series of one-day races that gets the season underway for many of the biggest pro teams.
He is a reserve for that week and will only be called into action if the team needs to replace a rider, with the Irish teenager intending to use it as a training opportunity.
Looking a little further ahead, O'Brien's team has a mixed line-up with U23 and older riders and it will field teams in some of the biggest U23 stage races, including Giro Next Gen and Ronde d'Isard, both of which he is hoping to secure selection for.
