CyclistWhere are the rising stars of the 2014 UCI World Championships now?The 2024 UCI Road World Championships are in full swing over in Zrich, Switzerland. Alongside the grandstand elite mens and womens races, the World Championships showcase the next generation of cycling in the mens and womens junior and under-23 competitions.For these young riders, the World Championships is the one time of the year the world gets to tune into youth racing. It is a great place to catch the eye of sponsors, talent scouts and fans alike. For some riders, its the beginning of something big. The likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel have won teenage rainbow jerseys on the way to their current greatness. For others, the rainbow curse seemed to kick in from a young age.Today, were going to wind the clock back to the 2014 UCI Road World Championships in Ponferrada, Spain and take a look at how the field of hopeful riders ten years ago are getting on nowadays. A decade on from their under-23 and junior successes, have they managed to build on their achievements, or did they peak too soon?The time-trialsTim de Waele/Corbis via Getty ImagesMens under-23 time-trialCampbell Flakemore, Australia (retired since 2015)Ryan Mullen, Ireland (active on WorldTour level at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)Stefan Kng, Switzerland (active on WorldTour level at Groupama-FDJ)Gold medalist Campbell Flakemore retired just one year after winning the under-23 time-trial title. The Tasmanian was scooped up by BMC after his Worlds success but was left unconvinced by life in the pro peloton. He moved back to Australia after retiring and went on to become a landscapist in Hobart.Irelands Ryan Mullen missed out on gold by a matter of just half a second in 2014. Mullen, like bronze medalist Stefan Kng, would go on to ride on the UCI WorldTour. Of the three, Kng has been the most successful, winning the European time-trial championship in 2020 and 2021 and the final stage of this years Vuelta a Espaa.Mens junior time-trialLennard Kmna, Germany (active on WorldTour level at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)Adrien Costa, USA (retired since 2017)Michael Storer, Australia (active on ProTeam level at Tudor Pro Cycling)Mens junior time-trial champion Lennard Kmna was something of a cycling wunderkind, particularly against the clock. As a fully-fledged pro, Kmna grew into a breakaway specialist at Bora-Hansgrohe. In 2023 he won at stage of the Vuelta to complete his set of victories at all three Grand Tours. Third place finisher in 2014 Michael Storer has also cracked into the top flight of cycling. He has a Giro top ten and a Vuelta stage win to his name.American Adrien Costa, the silver medalist ten years ago, has had a more tumultuous story. The Californian podiumed the Tour de lAvenir and Tour of Utah in 2016 as a teenager, then moved to QuickStep as a stagiaire for a while but no WorldTour contract would follow. In 2017, he retired from cycling while at the Axeon squad. He decided to pursue his studies in Outdoor Leadership and Tourism atOregon State University, however a rock climbing accident in 2018 resulted in Costa receiving an above-the-knee amputation of his right leg.Womens junior time-trialMacey Stewart, Australia (retired since 2018)Pernille Mathiesen, Denmark (retired since 2022)Anna-Leeza Hull, Australia (retired)2014s junior time-trial champion Macey Stewart was a multi-discipline wonder as a world champion on both the track and road. With this, she signed for Orica-AIS in 2015 but would take a year out of the professional peloton to spend time with her terminally ill father. In 2018, the year following his death, Stewart returned to the Womens WorldTour but would retire at the end of the following year with no further notable successes to her name.Pernille Mathiesen of Denmark retired halfway through 2022 citing her mental health. In six years as a pro, Mathiesen rode for Jumbo-Visma, Team Sunweb and Cofidis, with top results including a podium finish at both the Madrid Challenge (the predecessor to the Vuelta Femenina) and the Thringen Ladies Tour. In her retirement statement, she wrote, It is now time to find happiness in other things in life.As for third-placed Anna-Leeza Hull, she now lives in New Zealand and has studied Clinical Exercise Physiology. After dabbling in the continental circuit, she retired from bike racing.Mens under-23 road raceTim de Waele/Corbis via Getty ImagesNorway played a blinder in the mens under-23 road race, finishing with three riders inside the top five. This included the eventual race winner Sven Erik Bystrm who broke away from the pack over the final climb to take the win. Some riders to finish outside the top ten included Mads Pedersen, Mike Teunissen, Jack Haig, Fernando Gaviria and Marc Soler.The top tenSven Erik Bystrm, Norway (active on WorldTour level at Groupama-FDJ)Caleb Ewan, Australia (active on WorldTour level at Jayco-AlUla)Kristoffer Skjerping, Norway (active on domestic level as staff and rider)Tiesj Benoot, Belgium (active on WorldTour level at Visma-Lease a Bike)Sondre Holst Enger, Norway (retired since 2020)Iuri Filosi, Italy (retired since 2021)Hernando Bohrquez, Colombia (active on domestic level)Ilya Davidenok, Kazakhstan (serving doping ban until 2028)Silvio Herklotz, Germany (retured since 2018)Mathieu van der Poel, Netherlands (active on WorldTour level at Alpecin-Deceuninck)Sven Erik Bystrm is a slightly enigmatic talent at the WorldTour level. It was never quite certain what kind of rider he was he was deemed a bit of a Swiss Army Knife and would settle into an all-round domestique role at first Katusha, then UAE Team Emirates. His only senior win has come in the form of a national road race title for Norway in 2020. Bystrm worked closely with Alexander Kristoff for a number of years, and followed him across to Intermarch for the 2022 season, but moved over to Groupama this year, ending the decade-long tie they had together. The runner-up in Ponferrada, Caleb Ewan was at one point one of the best if not the best sprinter on the WorldTour. Just a year after this race, Ewan would claim his debut Grand Tour stage win at the 2015 Vuelta. It would prove to be the first of 11 Grand Tour stage successes, including five at the Tour de France. Third placed Norwegian Kristoffer Skjerping briefly rode on the WorldTour with Cannondale-Drapac before setting for racing on the Norwegian domestic scene. Skjerping rode for Uno X before retiring from the Continental level at the end of 2019 and continues to ride domestically and is a sports director for the Lillehammer CK Continental Team.The lower half of the top ten is padded out by some names that you may have forgotten about. Iuri Filosi was Italys promised hope around the mid-2010s, but only made it as far as the ProTeam level with Bardiani. He rode the 2016 Giro dItalia, but later retired with the team in 2021. Seventh place Hernando Bohrquez of Colombia rode the 2017 Vuelta for Manzana Postobon. He was then picked up by Astana for two seasons, but has fallen out of the pro peloton since then. After him, we find Kazakh Ilya Davidenok, who has had an interesting career, lets say. A couple of weeks after this race, Davidenok tested positive for anabolic androgenic steroids. This resulted in a two-year suspension, ending his newly signed contract with Astanas WorldTour team. When he returned, Davidenok was dodged by all WorldTour teams and instead had to make do with dominating central and east Asian races. He would later receive another doping ban in 2021 after an adverse sample from the 2019 Tour of Fuzhou was found. This would be retrospectively applied from 2019 up until 2028. According to his LinkedIn profile, Davidenok is now a fitness trainer in Kazakhstan.Silvio Herklotz was a much-promised German talent. Bora-Hangrohe picked him up, but an early retirement was forced upon him by a lymes disease diagnosis. He now works in business. Rounding out the top ten is Mathieu van der Poel, who needs no further desription, as were sure youre all aware of his future exploits and wardrobes filled with rainbow jerseys.Womens junior road raceThe junior womens race would be the only road race for the female youngsters. There wasnt and there still isnt an under-23 womens race. Regardless, Kim Le Court, Alexandra Manly and Katia Ragusa all participated alongside some big names who finished in the days top ten. Yes, unlike in the mens race, this top ten is stacked with riders currently at their A-game in the womens sport. The top tenAmelie Dideriksen, Denmark (active on WorldTour level at Uno X)Sofia Bertizzolo, Italy (active on WorldTour level at UAE Team ADQ)Agnieszka Skalniak-Sjka, Poland (active on WorldTour level Canyon-SRAM)Nikola Noskov, Czech Republic (active on Continental level at Cofidis)Lisa Klein, Germany (active on WorldTour level at Lidl-Trek)Greta Richioud, France (active on Continental level at Cynisca Cycling)Jeanne Korevaar, Netherlands (active on WorldTour level at Liv-AlUla-Jayco)Jelena Eri, Serbia (active on WorldTour level at Movistar)Saartje Vandenbroucke, Belgium (active on domestic level)Mathilde Cartal, France (retired)Amelie Dideriksen was a real wunderkind in the womens peloton. By the time the World Championships in 2014 rolled around, she was already the Danish national road champion at the elite level. For context, she was 18 years old at the time. Dideriksens sprint victory in Ponferrada spelled great things to come, and she went on to take a surprise victory at the 2016 World Championships in the womens road race. This catapulted her to stratospheric levels, but she never quite lived up to the hype once expected of her as an early-blooming rider and hasnt won a Womens WorldTour event since 2018. That said, she is still on the Womens WorldTour and has just signed a new contract with Cofidis for the years to come.The silver medal went to UAE Team ADQs Sofia Bertizzolo, a stage winner on last years Tour de Romandie Fminin. The Italian has also finished on the podium of womens quasi-Monument Trofeo Alfredo Binda. Bronze medallist from ten years ago, Agnieszka Skalniak-Sjka has a handful of wins to her name. She also rode in support of her countrywoman and teammate Kasia Niewiadoma at the recent Tour de France Femmes.Just off the podium in the junior race a decade ago, Czech rider Nikola Noskov is still kicking about at the top level of cycling. She hasnt won a race outside of the Czech Republic since 2017, but she was briefly picked up by SD Worx in 2021 and the cursed Zaaf project in 2023. She now rides for Cofidis.Lisa Klein is perhaps the most recognisable name on this list. The Lidl-Trek rider since won two Baloise Ladies Tour titles and became a real staple of the Womens WorldTour towards the end of the 2010s and early 2020s. Seventh place Jeanne Korevaar is a solid helper with one Belgium Tour victory to her name while Serbias Jelena Eri has won two stages of the Baloise Ladies Tour as well as 17 Serbian national titles in both the elite road race and time-trial.Saartje Vandenbroucke was Belgiums highest finisher in this race, but she hasnt raced on the WorldTour since 2019. Tenth placed Mathilde Cartal, on the other hand, doesnt have a single pro result registered online since early 2015.Mens junior road raceTim de Waele/Corbis via Getty ImagesThe mens junior road race was open to riders under the age of 19. In 2014, Stevie Williams, Eddie Dunbar, Dani Martnez, Michael Storer and Jai Hindley all took part in the race, however none of them cracked the top ten despite their WorldTour pedigree these days. Instead, a young German by the name of Jonas Bokeloh outsprinted the pack in a hectic rush to the line after the breakaway was caught just 1km from the finish line.The top tenJonas Bokeloh, Germany (retired since 2019)Alexandr Kulikovskiy, Russia (retired since 2020)Peter Lenderink, Netherlands (retired since 2018)Edoardo Affini, Italy (active on WorldTour level at Visma-Lease a Bike)Magnus Bak Klaris, Denmark (active on Continental level at Airtox-Carl Ras)Izidor Penko, Slovenia (retired since 2018)Lucas Eriksson, Sweden (active on ProTeam level at Tudor Pro Cycling)Lorenzo Fortunato, Italy (active on WorldTour level at Astana Qazaqstan)Lo Dans, France (active on Continental level at CIC U Nantes Atlantique)Sjoerd Bax, Netehrlands (arrive on WorldTour level at UAE Team Emirates)Frankfurter Jonas Bokeloh was just 18 when he took the junior title, continuing a German gold rush at the 2014 championships. After winning the rainbow bands, Bokeloh moved to SEG Racing, one of the most promising development teams of the 2010s. For context, the team also brought through Fabio Jakobsen, Kaden Groves, Jordi Meeus and Alberto Dainese during its prime years. Bokeloh didnt quite hit the ground running at the elite level, however. He only scored two wins following his year in the rainbow jersey, one at the Baltic Chain Tour and one at the Trofej Umag. The German eventually retired halfway through the 2019 season while at the third-division Team Hrinkow Advarics Cycleang squad.The second and third placed finishers, Russias Alexandr Kulikovskiy and Dutchman Peter Lenderink, have also both retired, in 2020 and 2018 respectively.In fourth, we have Edoardo Affini, a more familiar name to many. Now a mainstay at Visma-Lease a Bike, Affini is the newly crowned European time-trial champion. The Italian has been up there in Grand Tour stages and has supported some of the biggest riders in the world en route to WorldTour success.Behind him in Ponferrada ten years ago was Denmarks Magnus Bak Klaris. Also swept up by SEG Racing after his stellar 2014 season, Klaris never quite reached the highs expected of him. A junior Paris-Roubaix winner, the Danes best results at the elite level have come this year with a top five overall at the Tour of Istanbul. At least hes still riding, unlike the podium finishers. You can find him at the Airtox-Carl Ras team nowadays.The rest of the top ten is a mix of current pros and some talents that never quite broke through. Slovenias Izidor Penko retired in 2018 just after winning a medal in the under-23 category at the European Championships. Lucas Eriksson currently rides for Tudor Pro Cycling and rode Strade Bianche earlier this year. Lorenzo Fortunato is the only Grand Tour stage winner in this top ten, while Lo Dans now rides for a domestic French team sponsored by supermarket Super U. Rounding out the top ten is Sjoerd Bax who rode as domestique for Tadej Pogaar at the 2023 Tour of Flanders and has just signed with ProTeam Q36.5 for next year. Related Posts How to watch the UCI World Championships road races 2024 Who are the rising stars to watch at the Tour de lAvenir 2024? Im just excited to race my bike for a living: Cat Ferguson interview Is winning the Tour de lAvenir actually indicative of future success? The post Where are the rising stars of the 2014 UCI World Championships now? appeared first on Cyclist.