CyclistWho are Britains future Tour de France stars?Its been six years since a British rider last won the Tour de France. During the 2010s, the UK claimed a total of six Tour de France victories. Were still waiting for the heir to Chris Froome and Geraint Thomass throne as they approach retirement in the coming seasons.The groundwork has been laid for more British success though. Theres an exciting crop of young British riders breaking through the ranks across a number of teams, including Britains own WorldTour team of Ineos Grenadiers. In fact, the 2024 race saw the largest amount of Brits competing since the races inception.As we search for the next British yellow jersey, weve found a Scotsman, a Welshman and a big emerging collective from south London who look set to take the British mantle at future Tours de France.Oscar OnleyRmi Dallot/FlickrScotlands cycling hopes lie with Oscar Onley, a 21-year-old from Kelso in the Borders.After brewing at the DSM Development Team for a couple of seasons, Onley broke through at the 2022 Cro Race after going head to head with Jonas Vingegaard on the Croatian climbs.After that performance, DSM-Firmenich-PostNL promoted the Scot to the WorldTour level, and the youngster continued his upward trajectory.Despite suffering three collarbone breaks in eight months between August and April, 2024 has seen his best year to date. In the early season Tour Down Under, Onley claimed a win atop the infamous Willunga Hill. A convincing eighth place overall at the Tour de Suisse demonstrated that Onley is ready to compete with the sports top climbers.Currently making his Tour de France debut, Onley has been searching for breakaway success, but to no avail so far. He has the accolade of being the first Scottish rider to compete in the Tour since 2013, and the first Scottish-born rider to compete in the Tour since 1991. Related Posts Im just excited to race my bike for a living: Cat Ferguson interview Who actually are the Tour de France team sponsors 2024? Lads on (Grand) Tour: The 11 British riders at the 2024 Tour de France Mens Tour de France 2024: Route, how to watch and all you need to know Leo HayterLuc Claessen/Getty ImagesThe first of many riders from south London on this list, Leo Hayter made the jump up to Ineos Grenadiers two years ago at the age of 20. This early career promotion came after a spell of impressive results on the under-23 level, including a win at the youngsters Giro dItalia, colloquially known as the Baby Giro, in June of 2022. At that race, Hayter fended off the likes of 2024 UAE Tour winner Lennart van Eetvelt and French wunderkind Lenny Martinez. Hayter also claimed a bronze medal in the under-23 individual time-trial at the World Championships later that year.Since that big win in Italy, Hayters schedule has been sporadic. He has done very few WorldTour races and has instead been fielded to a number of one-day races. He is fast approaching his 23rd birthday and slipping behind those he beat at the 2022 Baby Giro. Ineos are yet to send him to a Grand Tour, but his big debut is sure to come soon. As the surname suggests, Leo is the younger brother of Ethan Hayter, the current British National Champion.Joseph BlackmoreIGIHEJoseph Blackmore another rider hailing from south London was a revelation of the spring. The 21-year-old began 2024 by winning the GC standings at both the Tour of Rwanda and the Tour of Taiwan.He was rewarded by the team and received some WorldTour cameos, including at the Brabantse Pijl where he finished in fourth place while on teammate duties for Dylan Teuns. Blackmores form continued with a win at the under-23s Lige-Bastogne-Lige, and was soon rewarded with a promotion to Israel-Premier Techs senior team.Blackmore is more of a Classics rider than a GC contender and is the current Gravel National Champion but the Englishman has the potential to evolve into a well-rounded card at Israel-Premier Tech where he is contracted until 2026.Lukas NerurkarLuc Claessen/Getty ImagesLukas Nerurkar is a born-and-bred athlete. His father is British Olympic marathon runner Richard Nerurkar, and he grew up between Ethiopia and England. His godfather is legendary Olympic champion runner Haile Gebrselassie.The 20-year-old stepped up to WorldTour level this year after a strong couple of seasons at Trinity Racing, which included a top ten at the O Gran Camio won by Jonas Vingegaard. He has hit the ground running at EF Education-EasyPost in 2024 too. At the Coppi e Bartali race, Nerurkar lost out on a stage win by a hairs width, while a fourth place at the WorldTour level Eschborn Frankfurt Classic highlighted his kick.At the Critrium du Dauphin last month, Nerurkar claimed two top tens, first on Stage 2s foggy finish, and then again on Stage 3 to Les Estables. On that occasion, Nerurkar won the sprint for third behind an escape group. In Tours to come, he will be a wildcard equipped with a powerful sprint on an uphill finish.Thomas GloagVisma-Lease a Bike/CORVOSThomas Gloag made a big splash on the WorldTour level last year with Jumbo-Vismas senior squad. A top ten at the Tour of Valencia was soon backed up by a top ten on a mountain stage of the UAE Tour at Jebel Jais. and 11th overall at the Tour de Romandie.Visma DS Merijn Zeeman said last year that they see Tom as a future GC rider. The softly spoken Londoner made his Grand Tour debut last year at the Giro dItalia and was a part of Primo Roglis race-winning squad.2024 has not gone to plan for Gloag though. The 22-year-old has only featured in one race (the British National Road Championships) so far. He is expected to make his return for Visma-Lease a Bike later this year at the Czech Tour. He may become a key domestique for Jonas Vingegaard or a future star within Visma-Lease a Bikes ranks.Josh TarlingA.S.O./Billy CeustersWeve kept the biggest, and youngest, hopeful for last in Josh Tarling. Far from a GC threat for now Tarling is a thoroughbred time-triallist. The Ineos rider burst through last year with a bronze medal in the time-trial at the World Championships in Stirling. He followed that up with a WorldTour win at the Renewi Tour and a European Road Championship title.At just 20 years old, Tarling has become one of the most established time-triallists on the UCI WorldTour level. The Welshman has two British national titles to his name and has stated his intent to race more in the Classics in the future.Tarling will have to compete against his current teammate Filippo Ganna for time-trial supremacy, and with the growing amount of GC riders competent against the clock, the role of a time-trial purist is becoming more of a dying art at the Tour de France. That said, Tarling has the legs to win a Grand Tour stage or two in the coming years.As a hybrid track and road rider, Tarling will target the Olympic Games this summer. This gives some hints as to why he was omitted from Ineos Grenadiers Grand Tour rosters in 2024.Irelands future Dario Belingheri/Getty ImagesAlthough not British, Ireland has a group of impressive youngsters rising through the ranks at the sports top level. Perhaps, there is a chance that an Irish rider wins the Tour de France sooner than a British rider.County Wicklows Archie Ryan has improved greatly over the past few seasons, most recently at EF Education-EasyPost. A product of the high-performing Jumbo-Visma Development Team, Ryan is a strong climber with a fiery kick. He claimed a stage win recently at Coppi e Bartali and finished second overall.Maybe the brighter star is County Tyrones Darren Rafferty. The EF climberfinished in second place at the Baby Giro in 2023. He also bagged an overall win at the Giro Ciclistico della Valle dAosta. This race is usually a breeding ground for future talent including former winners Thibaut Pinot, Fabio Aru and Pavel Sivakov. Having just turned 21, Rafferty has competed at a number of WorldTour stage races this year, culminating in a top 30 overall at the top-level Critrium du Dauphin and Tour de Romandie. No rider from the north of Ireland has ever won a Grand Tour stage, so heres hoping that their day will come. Related Posts Im just excited to race my bike for a living: Cat Ferguson interview Who actually are the Tour de France team sponsors 2024? Lads on (Grand) Tour: The 11 British riders at the 2024 Tour de France Mens Tour de France 2024: Route, how to watch and all you need to know The post Who are Britains future Tour de France stars? appeared first on Cyclist.