Rising Star

The award for home-grown talent bound for the big leagues

5 STEVIE WILLIAMS

A solid ninth place at the U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège and an overall win at Ronde de l’Isard would have been enough to interest WordTour teams. But it was a breakthrough performance at the Baby Giro that was the pinnacle of Williams’s year, with a stage win which led to a spell in the leader’s jersey and a fifth place overall finish. With the 22-year-old signing for Bahrain-Merida next year, his potential will really be put to the test.

4 JESS ROBERTS

Jess Roberts’s elite national women’s road title was the zenith of a storming first year in the seniors. Attacking to hold off a bunch containing some of the most established names in the peloton, Roberts could barely believe the scale of her achievement.

But victory in the Stockton Grand Prix, bronze in the Circuit Championship, a hand in Team Breeze’s national team pursuit win and a brace of U23 European track silver medals serve to underline her extremely promising future.

3 BEN TULETT