Slovenia's promising young cyclist goes pro
Slovenia's promising young cyclist Jakob Omrzel is stepping up to the professional ranks. The 19-year-old has signed a two-year contract with Bahrain Victorious, whose development team he has already shone for with a string of standout results.
Omrzel will join fellow Slovenians Žak Eržen and Matevž Govekar in the WorldTour squad next season. Another compatriot, Matej Mohorič, is currently with Bahrain Victorious, though his contract expires at the end of the season, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.
This season has been a breakthrough for Omrzel. Racing mainly with the development team, he became only the second Slovenian to win the Giro Next Gen, Italy's premier race for young riders.
He also finished fourth overall at the Tour of Slovenia, claiming the white jersey for best young rider, and he went on to capture the national road race title.
Announcing the signing, Bahrain Victorious labelled Omrzel as "one of cycling's brightest young talents", adding that his breakthrough performances this year accelerated his rise to the senior squad of the UCI WorldTeam for 2026 and 2027.
"Omrzel makes the leap to the professional peloton ahead of schedule," the team said.
The young Slovenian said that "for sure, the big dream of every young cyclist is to one day become a pro rider, and I was no exception".
He said it is truly indescribable for him to have the opportunity to turn professional this early, after only his first season at the U23 level.
"As a young rider with hopefully a long career ahead, it's incredibly important to be surrounded by such a strong team of people who not only teach me how to become a better cyclist but also how to grow as a person," Omrzel said.
He noted that this season he was given a few chances to experience racing at the pro level, which "only gave me more motivation and hunger for the future".
The season is not over yet for the Novo Mesto youngster. He will compete in the junior race at the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda on 26 september, and a week later he will be racing in the European Road Cycling Championships in France.
