The 2-track world champion and the prospect of 4 rising roads make up the 2025 Hagens Berman Jayco development team's 6 additions to the Freshman class. The full roster of 15 riders was completed on Friday with the addition of Will Holmes of Australia, the junior world record holder in the 3km personal chase, and Ruben Sanchez of Spain, the 2023 Junior Track World champion in the elimination race.

The team was represented at the 2024 UCI Road World Championships by 5 riders from 6 countries and 3 of those riders have returned - Adam Rafferty of Ireland, Gonzalo Tavares of Portugal and Ben Wiggins of England. Rafferty and Tavares recorded a home win at last year's U23 National Time Trial Championship and Wiggins won a silver medal in the men's Junior Time Trial at the 2023 World Championships.

Also among the 9 returning riders were 6 19・year・olds, including Rafferty, Wiggins and Samuele Privitera, who finished 7th in stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia Next Gen.

Axel Merckx, the team's owner and director, is expected to be in Italy at the beginning of the 2nd month. We were looking forward to having a full team together in the New Year, which will be held in the New Year.

"Will's achievements speak volumes on what he brings to the team, including his junior record in personal pursuits and national titles in time trials," Axel Merck, the team's owner and director, said in a press release. 

"[Reuben] has such high potential. Historically, there has rarely been a true sprinter on a team, so I'm excited to add such a fast rider.

This past season US U23ITT champion Artem Shmidt entered the big league with a multi-year contract with Ineos Grenadiers. After graduating from the Hagens Berman team, Alastair MacKellar had the team's top 10 last year but left for EF Education-EasyPost. Nino de Jong will be moved to the Park Hotel Walkenburg, while Maxens Place will be moved to Wanty-ReUz-Technord. Ethiopia's Bizay Tesfu Redae and Danes Kasper Andersen and Adam Holmjørgensen will not be part of next year's roster.

Holmes, a 2-year-old from Adelaide who turns 19 on May, signed a 4-year contract with the team and maintained him until 2028. He was a member of the Legion Stauper of U-19Academy. This season, as the Australian men's junior time trial champion, he won the ITT stage at the Vuelta a Cantabria (UCI2.1) and finished fourth in the ITT at the World Championships. 

He crushed the Junior Men's Personal Tracking National record at Track Nationals in 2024, finishing in 3:08.181, 5 seconds faster than the previous record. Then, on May 8, he set a junior world title in the same field and finished in 3:04.161.

A proven time trial expert, Holmes said he believes one of his strengths is a "short hilly road race on a medium punchy climb", which was evident in the second time in the Grand Premio "Sportivi Loria", Tour Région Sud U19 and Liege-Bastogne - I am taking the fifth time in the junior edition of Liege.

Sanchez, who turns 1-3 on the 19-year-old, won the men's Junior Road Race at his national Championship in 2022. He won the Elimination Junior World Title in 2023 and won a silver medal that year. On the road with the 2024 Baquet Cycling Team U19 team, he achieved 1 top 9 finishes in the race on the day, including victories at the monumental Juan Jose Belacierto and Amrioko Sari Nagusia.9

Daniel Moreira is the youngest on the roster and will not turn 7 until May 19. From Viana do Castello in Portugal, he raced with Willebrode Will Vauluit Jr. and won last year's one-day race with the Residence Valkenburg Krim Classic Jr. in his home country. He calls himself an "explosive rider."

"He has won some great races and has a pretty good punch. I'm excited that he can join the team and continue to train riders from Portugal, something we think has been quite successful doing,"Merck

Will Eaves is a 20・year-old Australian rookie based in Ridgeley, Tasmania. He spent 2 seasons at Alla Skip Capital and was ranked 2nd overall in the 2023 Trans Himalayan Cycling race and 4th overall in the Tour de Kyushu. This season, he won the Top 10 in the Men's Junior Road Race and time trials at the Australian Road Nationals, followed by a full schedule of stage races in Europe. His season ended in early summer, when his appendix ruptured.

Carl Emil Just Pedersen of Denmark (18 years old) and Jesse Kramer of the Netherlands (21 years old) are the last new riders in 2025. Just Pedersen spent the last two seasons in Ceramic Speed Harning CK Junior, this last season showing his time trialling ability with stage wins in Keizer der Juniores and Internationale Cottbuser Junior, winning silver in the Nationals for the second time and then finishing eighth in the world. It was.

Jesse Kramer travels from Visma leasing the bike development he won last year's stage at Le Tour de Brittany. 

"Will is a really strong rider with the ambition to become a GC rider. Considering the complications of appendicitis, he has shown resilience and strength after last season," Merck said.

"Carl is a very good time trialist and up-and-coming. He has done a lot for him with good numbers and some solid wins. With a good attitude, a willingness to learn and a high ambition, I think he is the ideal type of rider that will develop over the years.

"Jesse has a lot of experience and we have such a young team, so we need a rider with that level of experience. He will have a lot of the role of captain of the team. Jesse has already achieved great results on the Visma development team, but in addition to the experience, he feels he can add strength to the team."