Here's a couple of great shots demonstrating that for some boys, dreams really do come true.
The first picture below is of Ireland's Nicolas Roche and Philip Deignan along with the now established Japanese professional Fumy Beppu taken in the summer of 20o3. All three were amateur riders with the top VC La Pomme Marseille club in France.
Roche had just turned 19 years at the time, Deignan was just a few months off 20 years and Beppu was aged 20 years.
The second shot was taken on last week's Giro d'Italia, with all three friends from back in the day now having firmly made it into the big time of world cycling; Roche with Tinkoff-Saxo, Deignan with Team Sky and Beppu with Trek Factory Racing.
They didn't know it then but all three would soon secure professional contracts with major teams and all have since been to the Olympics.
Advertisement
Beppu turned pro for Discovery Channel in 2005 and stayed until 2007. He has since ridden for two seasons for Skil-Shimano 2008 & 2009, Radioshack 2010 & 2011 and Orica GreenEDGE 2012 & 2013 before signing for Trek for this year.
He has been national time trial and road race champion twice and is also a former Asian road champion.
Roche would also turn pro in 2005, signing first for Cofidis and staying with them for two years, before moving to Credit Agricole for 2007 & 2008.
After that followed four years with Ag2r-La Mondiale, with whom he remained until the end of 2012. He is now in his second year with Tinkoff-Saxo.
Related News
Since then he has been national road and TT champion and has ridden 12 Grand Tours. His biggest win remains a stage in the Vuelta last year, where his 5th overall was his highest career placing in a Grand Tour so far.
Like the other two, Deignan would also turn pro in 2005, for Ag2r with whom he stayed until the end of the 2008 season. There followed two seasons with the Cervelo Test Team before a year with RadioShack in 2011 and a two-year stint with Unitedhealthcare.
He signed for Team Sky last winter and is currently in his first season of a two-year deal with them.
He has three pro wins to his name; the Tour du Doubs stage race (2005) and the Tour of Gila stage race (2013) along with a stage win in the Vuelta in 2009, where he was also 9th overall.
He has ridden the Vuelta three times and Giro four times but is yet to ride the Tour de France.
Youthful Enthusiasm: Left to right, Nicolas Roche, Philip Deignan and Fumy Beppu photographed in the summer of 2003 when trying to break into the big time while riding for top French amateur team VC La Pomme Marseille.
Older and wiser and with a lot more miles on the clock; Deignan, Beppu and Roche at the Giro d'Italia last week.
