Louis Rose-Davies is a man on a mission.
And the 18-year-old (now 19) has revealed his relief at taking another step towards his World Tour aspirations.
Rose-Davies, from Chertsey in Surrey, will join Tim Elverson’s squad as a first-year senior in 2018 after penning his maiden professional contract in June.
The Canyon UK rider, who won the prestigious Kingdom Junior Classic shortly before signing his deal, has long been on the sports director’s radar.
Now he is delighted to have proved his worth and convinced Elverson to make him part of his plans for the UCI Continental outfit’s second season. Rose-Davies said:
“My target is to reach the World Tour. And this is one of the big step-ups on the way there, which I am really pleased to have made.
“It feels like I have got some proper progress going on and other people actually believe in me and see talent, which is really good.
“I had been in touch with Tim while he was at Pedal Heaven. And then when BIKE Channel Canyon formed, he helped me get involved with Canyon UK.
“That gave me a link to the team. I knew then I just had to get some good results down and prove to him what I can do.
“That was my goal this year [2017]. To prove myself and earn a contract. It has always been pushing me on, knowing I was fighting for a spot on a pro team.
“It is a relief to have it done now. Every second-year junior will have in the back of their mind thoughts about what they are going to do next year.
“Everyone is fighting for so few spots. There will be a lot of disappointment, so I’m just pleased I have made the cut.”
Rose-Davies is an aggressive rider, who enjoys taking races to his rivals. It is an ethos shared by sports director Elverson, who also coaches the teenager.
He kicked off his season with eighth spot in the Perfs Pedal, which was won by BIKE Channel Canyon sprinter Chris Opie.
He then recorded two further top-10s in National B races, finished eighth in the Ster der Vlaamse Ardennen stage race and 10th in the Junior CiCLE Classic.
He was 18th in the Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne Juniors where Charles Page, who will also join the team next season, sprinted to fifth.
Rose-Davies went on to become the national junior road race champion – beating Tom Pidcock to the famous British jersey in Oxford.
Now it will be all systems go in his bid to make his mark in the professional peloton. He added:
“I’m studying engineering at college and I have a couple of part-time jobs. I’m probably the only pro cyclist to work in a Domino’s pizza!
“But I won’t be going to university next year. I’m going to give cycling everything I’ve got. I’ll only get better by dedicating myself to it.
“I want to be a professional and I want to race at World Tour level. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
Click here to read Elverson’s thoughts on his new recruits. You can follow Rose-Davies on Twitter via @LouisrD and Instagram at louis_rose_davies.
