USA Cycling is chasing America\u2019s next breakout star at Paris-Roubaix Juniors this weekend, where raw talent pedals straight onto cycling\u2019s most unforgiving roads.<\/p>\n
An ambitious American junior national team lines up Sunday for the hardest one-day race on the calendar.<\/p>\n
A strong ride here can fast-track a young rider into cycling\u2019s elite development pipeline.<\/p>\n
First, they have to survive cycling\u2019s day in hell.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got guys who can be at the front,\u201d U.S. national junior roach Jono Coulter told Velo<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s about positioning before that first sector, and then a bit of luck. We had a second place last year, so we know we\u2019re close.\u201d<\/p>\n Americans have never won Paris-Roubaix at the men\u2019s junior level, but there\u2019s optimism for Sunday after a solid spring racing campaign among a core group of America\u2019s most promising young riders.<\/p>\n Lawson Craddock was third in 2010, and Ashlin Barry hit second last year. Barry bumps up to the espoirs<\/em> category in 2026, and he\u2019ll also race Sunday in the U23 ranks, won twice by Taylor Phinney in 2009 and 2010.<\/p>\n One of the names to watch in the junior race is Enzo Hincapie. Twelve months ago, he walked the final two kilometers rather than abandoning after he broke his bike.<\/p>\n Now he returns as one of the riders capable of going deep into the finale in the 106.2km course from Avesnes-le-Sec to Roubaix velodrome.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a strong group here. Some have been over here for three or four weeks, and they\u2019re excited to race Roubaix,\u201d Coulter said. \u201cParis-Roubaix is more chaotic. It\u2019s a lot about instinct and having some luck.\u201d<\/p>\n Sounds just like the pro race.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s race caps a busy spring calendar racing season for the U.S. men\u2019s junior team, packed full of promising, untapped talent.<\/p>\n Hincapie was seventh at E3 Saxo Bank while Rowan Nistal held the leader\u2019s jersey at the four-day STER Van Zuid Limburg stage race last week.<\/p>\n As part of USA Cycling\u2018s talent development program, top riders can qualify for a European stint at the team\u2019s base in Sittard, Netherlands.<\/p>\n Traveling out from that base, riders have been getting a steady taste of road racing on Europe\u2019s gnarliest roads.<\/p>\n Joining Hincapie on Sunday are Kash Adamski, Matthew Crabbe, Jacob Hines, Kaison Smith, and Clark Lavoie, with Ethan Courson as an alternate. Last year\u2019s junior worlds breakout rider Beckam Drake is not here this weekend, but he was 12th at Mid-South last month on gravel.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re really building out the program,\u201d Coulter said in a call with Velo<\/em> this week. \u201cWe\u2019ve been racing as a group at Limburg, Roubaix Juniors, E3, and up next is Peace Race and some other races. We have a solid group.\u201d<\/p>\n On Sunday at Paris-Roubaix, Coulter will be joined by two mechanics, two soigneurs<\/em>, and a Service Course manager who will help pass up wheels.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a tight, focused group intent on leaving an impact on one of cycling\u2019s most prestigious races at Paris-Roubaix.<\/p>\n The U.S. talent pipeline has transformed over the past decade, and this weekend\u2019s Paris-Roubaix reflects that.<\/p>\n Despite doom-and-gloom headlines about the domestic road racing scene, the U.S. continues to develop and produce top WorldTour pro talent.<\/p>\n Current stars like Brandon McNulty, Magnus Sheffield, Matteo Jorgenson, Matthew Riccitello, and 2019 junior world champion Quinn Simmons are the latest crop of pros who came through the U.S. junior program.<\/p>\n Behind them, this current generation might be among the strongest in years.<\/p>\n \u201cThe level is high,\u201d Coulter said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got riders coming from different backgrounds, from road, MTB, and gravel. We\u2019re seeing that the interest in road racing is very high.\u201d<\/p>\n The pathway to the pro ranks has changed dramatically since the days of the legendary USA house in Izegem, Belgium, more than two decades ago.<\/p>\n Back then, budding U.S. pros in their late teens and early 20s would try to catch the eye of a European sport director, and if not, they could race domestically and still carve out a living.<\/p>\n Flash forward to 2026, and junior riders are training and fueling like a pro, often times already having a full-time coach and trainer.<\/p>\n Power meters and the ability to share real-time data allow teams to scout pure talent faster and more accurately.<\/p>\n The game-changer over the past decade is how the major WorldTour teams are backing U23 development squads and helping out junior teams as well.<\/p>\n Every team is desperate to find the next Tadej Poga\u010dar or Isaac del Toro. That means there are more spots, but with that comes pressure to perform earlier than ever before.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are more junior programs linked to WorldTour teams now,\u201d Coulter said. \u201cThey bring equipment, structure, and support, which helps reduce some of the pay-to-play.\u201d<\/p>\n That shift is already playing out among the latest crop of top U.S. talent. Barry moved into Visma\u2019s U23 setup, while Hincapie is tied into the Red Bull junior system.<\/p>\n There are more opportunities, but it\u2019s also more competitive.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s easier,\u201d Coulter said. \u201cThere\u2019s more awareness, and maybe a clearer pathway, but there are also more kids trying to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Coulter also said the home-road advantage that European riders have always had over the Americans hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n Local kids know the roads of the spring classics, while everything is new for an American on their first trip over to Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the jump in race complexity,\u201d Coulter said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got 100 riders, guys who\u2019ve been racing those roads their whole lives. It\u2019s not just fitness \u2014 it\u2019s positioning, timing, knowing when to move.\u201d<\/p>\n The learning curve is steep, and the window isn\u2019t open for long. Junior riders typically get one season to learn the ropes, and maybe a second season to prove themselves before aging out or moving up.<\/p>\n Coulter, who\u2019s been working with developing riders for years, said he\u2019s impressed with how mature and clear-headed today\u2019s young riders are.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of them are overachievers, so it\u2019s about habits. Being on time, respecting teammates, doing the small things right,\u201d Coulter said. \u201cThere\u2019s not much room for mistakes at this level.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say that it\u2019s all business for these kids. They want and do have fun. And what\u2019s more fun than racing your bike in Europe?<\/p>\n On Sunday, every one of them will dream of getting into the breakaway, riding deep into the final, and even hitting the podium at Paris-Roubaix.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the process that counts most, and planting that seed for what could be American cycling\u2019s next big star.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/inside-usa-cyclings-hunt-for-next-breakout-star-at-paris-roubaix\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/horizonaPRjuniors.jpg”] Andrew Hood Published April 11, 2026 12:31AM USA Cycling is chasing America\u2019s next breakout star at Paris-Roubaix Juniors this weekend, where raw talent pedals straight onto cycling\u2019s most unforgiving roads. An ambitious American junior national team lines up Sunday for the hardest one-day race on the calendar. A strong ride here can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1878415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1878415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1878415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1878415\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1878415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1878415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1878415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Racing for the podium<\/h2>\n
![\"KIGALI,](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2237474093-720x480.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")
Building the pathway<\/h2>\n
![\"Ashlin](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2267375135-720x480.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")
It\u2019s not any easier<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3d87f43c-1d4d-4abe-919a-8d8161b2e91c-720x540.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")