Local cyclist Evander has the chance to climb even higher after linking up with crack French team
Local lad Evander Wishart has taken a significant step towards a career as a full-time cyclist.
The teenage Fenland Clarion Club member has been selected to represent the Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale Under 19 team in 2025.
AG2R is a French cycling team with UCI world Team status who have won stages at major events including the Tour De France.
As the only British rider selected it gives an indication of the value the team place on Wishart’s ability.
Ironically, having grown up on the edge of the Fens, and ridden the majority of the time for his local club, AG2R have profiled him as a climber!
Over 250 cyclists from around the world applied for a position on the under 19 team.
The team then used power testing to select the best 60 riders with 25 then chosen for interview.
Results and power were key, but they were also looking for riders with the right attitude and commitment.
Wishart’s consistently good results, including his exceptional overall win in the Youth Tour of Scotland in April when representing the Eastern region, were a key factor in his selection.
In this event he combined a second place in the Prologue, first place on stage one and eighth place in the final stage to clinch victory in the general classification.
This was followed by podium results in the National Youth Trophy Series, which resulted in the overall series win, and strong results while racing in Belgium with first, second and third place finishes.
Initially Wishart, who first joined his local club aged five, will complete several training camps each year, while racing throughout Europe.
FENLAND OLYMPIAN
The Fenland Clarion Club have been giving young cyclists the opportunity to race and improve for decades.
In the 2024 Paris Olympics Peterborough-born Ed Lowe, who started racing with the local club, won a silver medal with the GB Men’s sprint team.
The 20 year-old, who grew up in Stamford, was the lead man in a team that finished second behind an imposing team from the Netherlands.
The Fenland Clarion club is based in Helpston. Further information at https://www.fenlandclarion.co.uk/