Lorenzo Finn, cycling’s new prodigy, joins the WorldTour at just 19

Lorenzo Finn is 19 years old and has already won two World Championships, the Giro Next Gen, and the Tour de l'Avenir. His trajectory has made him one of the most promising young talents in international cycling and, after two seasons in the development structure of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, he will make the definitive leap to the WorldTour in 2027. However, the Italian does not want his results to dictate his future and warns that he still has much to learn before competing at the level of the best.

Lorenzo Finn prepares for his WorldTour debut and points out where he needs to improve

Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe has confirmed Lorenzo Finn's promotion to the first team for 2027. The Italian thus completes a training phase in which he has achieved practically all the major goals of the under-23 calendar, although his arrival at the highest level has occurred following a very different schedule than that of other talents of his generation.

After being crowned junior world champion in 2024 and repeating the title in the under-23 category in Kigali 2025, Finn had sporting arguments to advance his incorporation into the WorldTour. However, he decided to stay one more season with the Rookies team to work on aspects of his performance that he still considered improvable.

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In an interview published by Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, he explains why that decision did not depend on the results he had already achieved.

"My coach and I had a plan to continue developing me in under-23 and achieve certain goals. I still lacked some things, especially in stage races. The results were not really that important for my development. What mattered was feeling that I was improving".

The bet has ended with an extraordinary season. Finn has won both the Giro Next Gen and the Tour de l'Avenir, the two most prestigious stage races in his category, and has also shown that he can win against professionals with his victories in the Sibiu Cycling Tour.

His progression has been particularly striking in the mountains. During the last Tour de l'Avenir, the Italian starred in a time trial climb to the Col de la Pierre Carrée where power estimates placed his performance between 6.7 and 6.9 W/kg for about 25 minutes. These figures are close to those of the great stars of the peloton, although they still do not allow for direct comparisons under equivalent competition conditions.

Despite everything, Finn insists that he is still in the midst of a training process.

"I am still a long way from completing my development. But I have reached a level that allows me to have confidence. Now I feel one hundred percent ready to take the next step, not just perhaps ready".

He has already tested himself against the best, but races longer than five hours are another story

The distance of the races will be one of the aspects he will have to work on the most during his first season in the WorldTour. Finn acknowledges that his endurance has improved considerably in the last two years, but also that the demands of the great classics and professional races are different.

"The distance of the races. Now I handle the distances of under-23 well. But when I see how long the Monuments and the big professional races are, there is still a lot of work to do. That is normal and will be my main area of development".

And he adds: "Ultimately, it is about being able to perform even after five or six hours".

The Italian, in any case, will not arrive completely unfamiliar with that demand. Last September he decided on his own initiative to compete in the World Championship in Montreal 2026 in the elite category, renouncing to defend the under-23 rainbow jersey he had won in Kigali. His intention was precisely to measure himself against the best cyclists in the world and see what distance existed between his level and that of the professionals.

He has also had the opportunity to share races with the first team of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, where he has encountered riders like Remco Evenepoel.

"These riders are at the very top of our sport. You can't go higher. It's good to have that reference within my own team. The way they approach races and work is a huge inspiration for me".

A grand tour and the World Championship among his possible goals for 2027

Finn's calendar for his first campaign as a WorldTour rider is still not defined. However, the Italian acknowledges that he would like to debut in one of the three grand tours and that he is also interested in the upcoming World Championship.

"It would be nice to compete in a grand tour next year. Also, the route of the World Championship really suits me. It is still an extremely tough race, but I think it fits me better".

In the long term, he does not hide that his biggest dream is to win the Tour de France, although the Giro d'Italia holds a special place for him.

"The dream is the Tour de France, as it surely is for any professional cyclist. But winning it is, of course, incredibly difficult. And then there is the Giro. As an Italian, you even dream of being able to compete in it one day, let alone win it".

For now, however, his priority will be to adapt to the calendar, distances, and competition pace of the WorldTour.

The experience of Mattia Cattaneo and the danger of expectations

With the palmarès he has accumulated before turning 20, Finn will inevitably have to live with the comparisons and expectations generated by the great talents of current cycling.

In this sense, he considers it especially important to learn from Mattia Cattaneo, his compatriot at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. Cattaneo also stood out very early in the lower categories, won the under-23 Giro, and had to manage the pressure that accompanied his early years as a professional.

"Mattia has been a professional for a long time and has enormous experience. I admire him a lot and I think he will be an important reference for me".

Finn acknowledges that one of the main lessons he hopes to learn from him has little to do with watts or results.

"I can learn from him not to put too much pressure on myself. And also from the riders who have already been through everything, both good and bad".

This caution contrasts with the speed at which his career is progressing. Just two years ago he won his first World Championship in the junior category and now he is preparing to share a team with some of the best riders on the planet.

His approach for 2027, at least for now, is to maintain the same philosophy that has allowed him to get this far.

"Now I shouldn't put too much pressure on myself. First, I need to know the level. I have no specific expectations for my first year as a professional. I want to develop throughout the season and help the team. After all, I still have time".