Juniors to watch in 2019 part II

Welcome in the second part of my annual juniors to watch list.

Michel Hessmann (2001, Germany)

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Michel continues tradition of great TT riders in junior category from Germany with likes of Kittel, Schachmann, Kamna or Appelt in the past. Hessmann was already impressive in u17 category where he was second in Radjugendtour Oststeiermark after winning the opening TTT with his team. He also won a silver medal in Youth Olympic Festival in Györ in TT and TMP Jugendtour, stage race in Germany with strong international lineup. His junior campaign started with a solid 20th place in Paris Roubaix before scoring two top10s in Nations' Cup events. Thanks o fifth place in TT he finished sixth overall in Trophée Centre Morbihan and seventh in Saarland Trofeo after fourth place in TT. In July Hessmann narrowly missed podium in Juniors Road European Championships TT finishing fourth behind Evenepoel, Van Wilder and Tiberi.  His time trial skills finally brought him a win in National Championships TT. The final part of the season was marked by top10 finish in Giro della Lunigiana against strong competition before finishing fourth in World Championships in TT behind Evenepoel, Plapp and Piccolo which was clearly Michel's strongest performance as first year junior. In 2019 we can expect Michel to aim for a win in TT in one of the Nations' Cup events and aim for gold medal in TT in Yorkshire.

I have asked Michel how he reflects his 2018 season and what are his goals for 2019:

My Season 2018 began in Roubaix without any expectations and some fear about the cobbles it turned to be one of the coolest races i did even though i only got 20th due to two flats at the wrong moment. The first breakthrough was at the Nations Cup Trophee Centre Morbihan with a 5th Place in the TT and 6th in GC it continued with a  4th Place in the TT at the nations Cup Saarland Trofeo After i recovered from two Crashes with a small concussion the Stages before. After that everything the season got. even better with the 4th Place at the Europeans TT and the worlds TT which was one of the greatest experiences I had so far.

In 2019 my goals are for sure the European Championships TT and even more the worlds TT. But the Most Important Thing for me is to further develop as a Rider and try to find my strengths as a Rider.

Carlos Rodriguez (2001, Spain)

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It barely happens to see a junior from Spain achieving such a great results in international races. Carlos, as many other in my list, was a dominator in u17 category in his home country. As a junior he proved his ability to TT, climb and ride well in hilly terrain but actually his first impressive ride came from Paris Roubaix where he finished sixth. In May he won TT and finished fourth in Tour de Gironde before claiming his first Nations Cup win in Trophée Centre Morbihan where he managed to ride away on the final stage which also gave him fifth place in GC. After that Carlos scored second place in GC of Vuelta al Besaya and won Vuelta al Pais Vasco for juniors, two the most prestigious stage races in Spain for juniors. He confirmed his great shape with bronze medal in RR Juniors Road European Championships where only Balmer and Evenepoel were stronger. With such an impressive season, full of great results, Carlos was a bit off in Worlds but I'm sure next year he will be a strong competitor for TT win. In 2019 we can expect Carlos to prove his ability as a stage racer and I believe he is on a right path to join Kometa team in 2020 as he is already a part of Alberto Contador's team in junior category.

Quinn Simmons (2001, USA)

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Quinn, who was focused more on MTB then road racing as a young rider, started his 2018 campaign on the road with two stage wins and overall in Valley of the Sun Stage Race in February which is important test for all American juniors aiming to ride in Europe. His spring block of racing started with third place in Gent Wevelgem, before finishing third again in overall classification of Ster Van Zuid Limburg and seventh place in Paris Roubaix. Despite limited program in Europe he also managed to win a stage and points jersey in Saarland Trofeo. Finally, in July Simmons won road race in National Championships. With more focus on road racing, inn 2019 we can expect Quinn to shine in classics and aim for a big win in one of them. As he states himself, he would like to earn a spot in development team focused on racing in Europe in 2020.

I have asked Quinn how he reflects his 2018 season and what are his goals for 2019:

2018 for me went way different then expected. I originally planned to race road only to train for the MTB. After some good results in the US i was selected for the national team classics block. With that a 3rd place finish at Gent was definitely one of the highlights of the year. I went back home for some more MTB racing only to return to Europe for 2 nations cups, winning the final stage of Trofeo was also a highlight for me. The final part of the season kicked off with US nationals, I was able to win the XC, Short track and road race, again the big highlight of the season for me. The worlds was rather disappointing personally but the US team road a great race to put guys top 10. 

For 2019 I’d like to have a good spring, try and keep my title on the road, and then do a good result at the worlds. With that, the biggest goal of the entire year is to earn a spot on a good Europe based u23 program for 2020 so I can continue my development.

Casper Van Uden (2001, Netherlands)

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In 2017 Casper was undoubtedly the most successful u17 rider in Europe winning races in Belgium, Netherlands and prestigious Radjugendtour Oststeiermark where he won two stages and GC. His junior campaign started with a strong fifth place in Bernaudeau Junior before reaching one of the best results of the season which was second place in Ster Van Zuid Limburg and win in young rider classification. Casper continued his successful spring by wining Rund um Düren and Boucles Cyclistes Sud-Avesnois stage race in France after winning the opening time trial. His best results in Nations' Cup event came from Saarland Trofeo where he had a decent ride on each stage which gave him eleventh place in GC and fourth in young rider classification. In second part of the season Casper claimed third in Tour du Condroz, second in queen stage of in Bugey Valromey Tour and fourth in Philippe Gilbert juniors. Looking at the results from uci races only, you may think there were stronger candidates for my list but I'm sure that Casper will improve as a second year junior and win a big race in 2019. Let's wait and see if my feelings were right.

I have asked Casper how he reflects his 2018 season and what are his goals for 2019:

2018 was a hard year for me because of some personal reasons. But I had  a steady season and nine victories. The most important thing of the 2018 season was that I learned loads of things, witch gives me a good feeling for 2019. I hope to ride a steady season, learn loads and get a few wins in the big races in 2019.

Stay tuned for third and final part!