So I've reminisced enough about Richmond so just a few notes about the U23 race...
-Over half of the top 15 have pro contracts for next year. The whole top 5 are bound for pro teams with winner Ledanois and Turgis continuing with Fortuneo (formerly Bretagne Seche) and Cofidis, respectively. 2nd place Consonni is bound for Lampre, Gianni Moscon is off to SKY and Alexander Kamp is going (back) to CULT Energy-Stolting. Others continuing or going pro are Lennard Kamna (CULT-Stolting), Merhawi Kudus (Dimension Data), Jack Haig (Orica-GreenEdge) and Tim Kerkhof (Roompot).
-Ledanois winning in his final year as a U23 is just the 3rd time in the last 11 editions that a rider in their final U23 season won U23 Worlds. The other riders were last year's winner Sven Erik Bystrom and Fabio Duarte in 2008.
-Lucas Gaday is the first Argentinian to get a top 10 in the U23 Worlds RR since at least 2005 but I think he is a first there. Kudus was close to being the first non-South African African of taking a top 10 but finished one spot shy.
-Adam De Vos' 9th place was the first Canadian in the top 10 of the U23 Worlds RR since Michael Barry in the inaugural U23 Worlds RR in 1996 in Lugano. And of course, Guillaume Boivin in 2010 with his 3rd place.
-While Worlds is certainly a big race, with Nathan Van Hooydonck's crash on Libby Hill and the weather being erratic, I don't know how much stock should be put into Ledanois' win. Certainly he is a talent but with the shorter course and other factors, I wouldn't place him on a pedastal. Remember Peter Velits won U23 Worlds in a crazy fashion with Wes Sulzberger and Jon Bellis on the podium. Boasson Hagen crashed in the race and the guys further down in the pack have experienced much bigger and brighter careers.
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