Sparfel ends his under-23 career with regret, now aiming for the WorldTour with Seixas

Aubin Sparfel leaves the under-23 category with a bitter taste in his mouth. The 20-year-old Frenchman, who arrived in Montreal as a strong favorite for the rainbow jersey, had to settle for a disappointing fourth place in the under-23 road race at the UCI Road World Championships, missing the podium by just a handful of meters.

After four seasons in the Decathlon CMA CGM youth team, the French rider is now ready for the big leap: next season he will wear the WorldTour team jersey, reuniting with his compatriot Paul Seixas , another jewel of French cycling who is coming off a season as an absolute protagonist, including a fourth place overall in the Tour de France.

"We're a little disappointed, but we gave it our all," Sparfel said immediately after the race. "Obviously, we were here for the win. I'm super proud of the team and myself. I had a lot of pressure on me after last week's victory at the Grand Prix de Wallonie, and I felt like I could finally dream of the title."

Sparfel's year has been studded with top-notch results that bode well for his breakthrough into the professional ranks: a final victory at the Tour de Bretagne Cycliste, sixth place overall at the Boucles de la Mayenne-Crédit Mutuel, fourth place overall at the Giro d'Italia Next Gen, and a stage win at the Tour de l'Avenir. The icing on the cake was a victory in the one-day classic Lotto Grand Prix de Wallonie, which had put him among the favourites for the rainbow jersey in Montreal.

"Of course, I learned a lot this year. I won a lot, and I think I'm ready to move up a category. It's been a really positive season, and I can only thank everyone around me: the team, the French national team, the coaches, and my family. It's been a fantastic year," concluded the French rider.