Romain Sicard, one of the most exciting young talents in cycling, will make his debut with the Euskaltel-Euskadi team in the Tour Down Under in January.
The 21 year old was racing with their feeder team Orbea this year, and won both the Subida al Naranco plus the Plateau de Beille mountain stage of the Ronde de l’Isard. Performances such as these earned him a two-year contract with Euskaltel-Euskadi, with whom he signed on July 10th.
He then rewarded that show of faith in September when he dominated both the Tour de l’Avenir and the under 23 world road race title.
The Euskaltel-Euskadi team normally signs only riders from the Basque region in Spain, although Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez is an exception. Sicard comes from Bayonne in France but this is also considered part of the Basque area, extending as it does across the border.
According to Feltet.dk, he will make his ProTour debut in the Tour Down Under in January. Before then, he’ll meet up with his new team on Monday, with all the riders getting together for four days at the Bay of Biscay.
Sicard is a strong climber and time trialist, and is also a successful track rider. The team – and France itself – will hope that those all-round abilities will lead to a glittering future in the Grand Tours and other races.