The Tour Down Under starts in two days so it’s the official kick-off of the World Tour season! 2023 left us with so many cliffhangers and drama that it all but guarantees us an amazing 2024 season. We had a historical season that, as a huge Killer Bee fan, I will NEVER forget. Winning all three Grand Tours and punctuating the season by sweeping the podium at the Vuelta de España, the Dutch team put their stamp of dominance on the peloton but with major transfers, that dominance might be short-lived.

SD-Worx and Canyon/SRAM will be dominant, but the battle will be mighty! I’m disappointed in EF-Education Cannondale is now a conti team, but I guess we can just appreciate they’re still around. I just wish the Canadian National Road Race Champion, would be able to participate in more world tour events. Especially after winning Paris Roubaix, in the most brutal and driving effort!

World Tour Team Rider Shuffle!

source: Bora Hansgrohe

There have been a lot of big names shuffled around making the men’s peloton seemingly more even. I still don’t see Roglic winning the tour if both Pogačar and Vingegaard are able to finish, but I think it makes it a lot harder for Vingegaard to be as dominant. So with the Big Two (Vingegaard and Pogi) becoming the Big Four (the addition of Roglic and Remco to the Tour peloton.) I’m excited to see how the tactics change with so many heavy hitters lining up with expectations of winning.

A lot of the second tier teams have also gotten a lot better. Decathalon AG2R had some solid transfer pickups this year with Sam Bennet and Victor Lafay. Lidl Trek has gotten much stronger with Tao Geoghegan Hart and Jonathan Milan and I think they’re going to be taking more world tour stages this year, than they did last year. One of the most improved teams in 2023 and seem to be trending in a good direction for ’24.

Flashing Of Greatness From The Kids

Ben Friggen Healy… wow… what a 2023 that guy had! 2nd in Amstel Gold, 4th in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, 2nd in Ireland National ITT Championship and 1st in Ireland National Road Race Championship. His riding style is one everybody can get behind! Hunched over in an unmistakable aero position while donning his pink and black bodysuit. As others are falling back he’s grinding and leaning on every pedal stroke willing every watt out of his legs.

Josh Tarling is all the rage for GB cycling right now. I’d like to see what kind of impact he can have for Ineos. After seeing Tobias Foss flounder with TJV, I need to see success in more areas than time trialing. Especially as Geraint Thomas is nearing retirement, I think if Tarling is able to grow into a more dynamic rider he will be a tremendous asset to Ineos, and at 19 years old he has plenty of time to develop and learn from a talent but struggling team.

The first time I heard Cian Uijtdebroeks’ name was in 2022 on the The Move podcast on their “Young Riders to watch” episode. Johan Bruyneel was saying that Uitdebroeks may grow to be a generational talent and to keep a very close eye on him after winning the 2022 Tour de l’Avenir. The young Belgian is on a great team to mature into a leader for the Killer Bees through 2027.

MONUMENTS!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, man… I love the monuments. I reeaaaalllllly love the gritty, muddy, rainy, cobbled warzones where you need equal amounts of physical endurance, pain tolerance, mental toughness and luck. Alison Jackson screaming at the breakaway in 2023 to power through the pain and push harder to the velodrome in Roubaix was a top memory of 2023. I’m expecting a big year from Wout Van Aert, and I think Paris Roubaix and RVV are his main targets for the year. He has the potential to become a dominant force in the classics but has run into a significant amount of bad luck and Mathieu Van Der Poel. And with the up-and-comers up and coming, it only makes it harder for the Belgian. Not to bring up Ben Healy again but… like Ben Healy.

Lotte Kopecky

source: LotteKopecky.com

I don’t even know where I want to start here… Lotte had such an amazing 2023 and has seem to have evolved into a more dynamic rider. In early 2023 SD Worx said that Lotte didn’t need to train as a climber and they were very happy with her success. As a star on the track and in the classics that makes a lot of sense. But when she won Stage One of the Tour De France Femmes avec Zwift after a 1.62km, 7.6% climb (Côte de Durtol) she raised a lot of eyebrows. Not to mention having a top 10 on the Col du Tourmalet stage! I have no expectations of her for 2024 because I don’t know what is unachievable for her. Kopecky can win any stage or race she lines up for and she’s evolving quickly and by such a large margin, that I refuse to bet against her.

This is a fraction of the potential historic world tour events we have on the menu for 2024. I made a promise to myself I wouldn’t write five-page diatribes on here so I’m cutting myself off. The men’s peloton has become more level and raised many boats, while the women’s peloton is evolving into the strongest riders in the sport.