Antonio Tiberi, Alessandro Fancellu, and Mattias Skjelmose Jensen join the men's team and Shirin van Anrooij is added to the women's side for the remainder of the 2020 season.
Trek-Segafredo welcomes Antonio Tiberi, Alessandro Fancellu, Mattias Skjelmose Jensen, and Shirin van Anrooij as stagiaires for the remainder of the 2020 season.
The current atypical season, which was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic and effectively stalled all races for several months, meant that the traditional yearly roll-out of stagiaires also had to be readjusted. Despite the current challenges and reshuffled racing calendar stacked with mostly WorldTour races, Trek-Segafredo will attempt to give these up-and-coming talents a chance to race at the elite level, as former rider Markel Irizar, the Team’s young talent scout, explains:
We are going to try to give them an opportunity to race, but there are not many races in this condensed season that will allow us to do so. It's not easy because the team is not participating in many races that are not WorldTour from September onwards. Therefore we don't envision too many opportunities for them to race this season with the Trek-Segafredo jersey, which is unfortunate.
The 2020 Stagiaires
Antonio Tiberi
Rome native Antonio Tiberi is the reigning UCI Junior time trial World Champion and has already inked a contract with Trek-Segafredo for the 2021 season. At 19 years old, Tiberi, who currently rides for Team Colpack Ballan, has shown great depth in talent, not only against the clock but also in climbing when he won the KOM jersey in the 2019 Giro della Lunigiana.
“For me, it is an honor to be able to compete in some races as a stagiaire with the name of such an important team, especially after having spent such a difficult period because of the Covid-19. I have already had the good fortune to participate in some team camps, and I can say that it is a wonderful group. I thank the team manager Luca Guercilena and all the Trek-Segafredo management staff for giving me this opportunity,” said Tiberi.
Irizar: “I think everyone was quite surprised when he won the Worlds last year because he had a mechanical after 100 meters. But despite that, he kept his cool; he was super relaxed for someone 18-years-old. He changed the bike and went on to win that gold medal. This year he has already won one ITT and has been third in the National Champs. He’s a lightweight rider, but he’s outstanding in time trials. On top of that, he’s very good on the climbs. He has the physique of a climber, so we believe he’s going to be a strong rider in stage races.”
Antonio Tiberi celebrates winning the Junior Men Individual Time Trial in Harrogate, England. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Alessandro Fancellu
Twenty-year-old Fancellu hails from the Como region in Italy and currently rides for Kometa Xstra Cycling Team. In the 2018 UCI World Road Championships, he won the bronze medal in the Men’s Junior Road Race, while this season he finished third in the general classification at the Tour of Antalya.
“I am very happy to have this opportunity. I have to thank Trek-Segafredo because this is an atypical season, but still they have offered me this great opportunity. It will be an honor to be able to race as a stagiaire with one of the best teams in the WorldTour,” said Fancellu.
Irizar added: “Alessandro is a pure climber and an emerging talent. He comes from Kometa Xstra Cycling, a team that has been excellent in developing riders. We were hoping he would perform well in Tour de L’Avenir, but unfortunately that race was canceled, and now he’s focused on preparing for the Giro U23, where we hope to see him perform on the mountain stages. He has some great human qualities. To put it simply, he’s a good guy, not just on the bike but off the bike. He’s professional, serious and friendly. These are qualities that we value a lot at Trek-Segafredo. It’s not just your quality as an athlete, but your personality and your character that count a lot.”
Alessandro Fancellu on the podium at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen
The third trainee to punch the ticket to race in the elite ranks with the Trek-Segafredo jersey is Mattias Skjelmose Jensen who rides for Leopard Pro Cycling. The 19-year-old Dane won the overall classification in the 2018 Tour du Pays de Vaud and placed third in the Junior Paris Roubaix the same year. Last season he took an impressive podium at the Fyen Rundt-Tour of Funen, racing amongst the elites. Mattias will debut with Trek-Segafredo in the Italian one-day race Trofeo Matteotti (Aug 29).
“For me, it’s a huge opportunity to show my abilities and prove how well I can perform. It’s an important step in my development and a great opportunity to learn a lot from the WorldTour riders. I’m so glad that Trek-Segafredo has given me this chance to show myself, especially in a season like this one, where many races got canceled. As an Under-23, we didn’t have many opportunities to show ourselves,” said Skjelmose Jensen.
Irizar: “Mattias has a solid time-trial and is also a good climber. He has good endurance and recovers really well, so I believe he can develop into a good rider for Grand Tours and one-week races. We are happy to have him on board and look forward to seeing him race with our team.”
Shirin van Anrooij
After a season with the Trek sponsored cyclocross team Telenet Baloise Lions, Shirin van Anrooij joins Trek-Segafredo as a stagiaire for the remainder of the 2020 season. The 18-year-old Dutch rider boasts an impressive list of accolades: she won the silver medal in the Junior time trial at the Yorkshire World Championships and is the reigning Dutch Junior time trial champion. In cyclocross, the young Dutch star won the 2019 U19 World Championships and finished with three top 10 results in the elite World Cup races.
Shirin van Anrooij is scheduled to make her stagiaire debut with Trek-Segafredo at the upcoming French stage race Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche (Sep 3-9).
“I’m so thankful for the trust from the team and this opportunity. I think the upcoming years will be all about gaining lots of experience and about improving myself as a rider. I know that I can learn so much from the riders at Trek-Segafredo, who have so much experience. The team feels like one big family, and it’s an amazing opportunity for me as a rider. I’m so looking forward to start racing with all of them,” said van Anrooij.
DS Ina Teutenberg added: “Shirin is still very young, but she has already shown a lot of potential, specifically in time trialing and in regards to being a solid all-around athlete. It’s really nice to have the opportunity to have her racing with the team and see how she reacts in a racing environment.
“We’ll try to help her grow into a complete bike rider and further develop her talent. Normally it takes a while for such a young rider to get used to the elite ranks. You need to get your feet wet and learn to stand your ground in races with longer distances. It’s perfect to give her the first opportunity in a race such as Ardèche.”
Antonio Tiberi, Alessandro Fancellu, Mattias Skjelmose Jensen, and Shirin van Anrooij will hopefully all share in the opportunity to gain experience in the elite ranks with Trek-Segafredo this year as they continue their growth.
In this regard, Trek-Segafredo would like to acknowledge Kometa Xstra Cycling Team, Team Colpack Ballan, Leopard Pro Cycling, and Telenet Baloise Lions for their outstanding work in developing new talents and for their close collaboration, notably during this atypical and difficult year.
