EF Education First – Drapac p/b Cannondale have announced the signing of 2018 U23 Ronde van Vlaanderen winner James Whelan. The 21-year-old will race as a stagiaire in 2018 before his neo-pro contract begins at the start of the 2019 season.
“This has all happened so quickly,” said Whelan, who began racing less than two years ago. “If someone had told me six months ago that I would be signing a three-year WorldTour contract now, I wouldn’t have believed it. I would have been delighted, but I would have thought: ‘Well for that to happen, everything is going to have to go perfectly.’ And I’m fortunate enough to have had the right people around me and the right form to get the right results at the right time.”
“Jimmy is obviously a talented young rider and one we’re excited to bring on board, and that’s not only because we see his potential as an athlete,” said EF Pro Cycling CEO Jonathan Vaughters. “He’s passionate about racing and about education and thinking outside traditional cycling norms. He’s a great fit for us all-around.”
An Achilles injury in March 2016 saw Whelan swap running, his first passion, for cycling. Six months later, in September 2016, Whelan pinned on his first number at a local criterium in Kew put on by Melbourne’s Hawthorn Cycling Club. Sixteen months later he finished second to Drapac-EF p/b Cannondale’s Cyrus Monk in the U23 National Road Championships. The result earned him a spot on the holistic development team alongside Monk.
“After Road Nationals, I caught up with Michael Drapac in Adelaide during the Tour Down Under. He and Vasanta Iyer, who is the general manager of the development team, offered a contract opportunity, essentially a scholarship position, to be on their team,” said Whelan.
“From a rider point of view, I was interested because it’s one of the few teams in Australia with any link, let alone a direct link, to a WorldTour team in Australia, and from a study point of view, I still have one year left of my study. It was very important to me to find a team that would support my endeavors off the bike. To have a team that not only supported but encouraged academic pursuits alongside athletic ones was really appealing.”
“I knew that Jimmy was a special talent when he challenged Cyrus for the win at Nationals,” said Drapac Capital Partners Chairman and development team owner Michael Drapac. “I was certain that Drapac-EF would be a perfect fit for him in terms of support both on and off the bike, due to him being a student, especially in urban planning, which is a degree that aligns well with any future job opportunities he may have with Drapac Capital Partners.”
Three months after Whelan signed with the development team, he and Monk self-funded a trip to Europe in April to race for the Australian National Team at several of the U23 spring classics. The pair joined EF Education First – Drapac p/b Cannondale on their recon on Ronde van Vlaanderen. One week later, Whelan won the U23 Ronde van Vlaanderen.
“To have the opportunity to go over to Europe and win my first European race, I know how fortunate I am,” said Whelan. “Most guys don’t have the chance to race in Europe as quickly as I did, and a lot of guys have three, four, five years of racing over there before they can bag a big win. I happened to get my result in one of the biggest U23 races on the calendar. It’s a reflection of my hard work, I guess, but I really see it as a credit to the support network I had. Drapac-EF helped me get that trip.”
Being so new to the sport, Whelan appreciated the win but didn’t understand the magnitude of his accomplishment until he spoke with his coach Stephen Lane post-race.
“Stephen told me that nine of the last 12 riders who have won that race have gone WorldTour the next year,” Whelan said. “That was a big moment.”
“Watching Jimmy’s progression in this last two years has been truly amazing,” said Lane. “He not only possesses the unique physiological traits to compete at a world-class level but has also proven time and time again that he has the mindset and dedication to go along with it. I have learnt just as much from him about goal setting and positive reinforcement as I hope he has from me about structuring training and pushing the limits of performance.”
The choice to join EF Education First – Drapac p/b Cannondale was an easy one for Whelan.
“Being a part of the WorldTour team’s development team, it was a no-brainer to follow the pathway that’s already set up,” said Whelan. “The development team has put so much into me and my cycling, and I’ve enjoyed the experience there, so it made sense to me to be a part of what’s essentially the team above it.”
Whelan will travel back to Europe in mid-June with the Drapac-EF Education First p/b Cannondale Holistic team to compete in several one-day UCI races and kermesses before moving to Girona, Spain, where he will base himself throughout his stagiare period.
“I’m in discussion with Charly [Wegelius] about my race program,” said Whelan. “We haven’t finalized anything yet. The program for the WorldTour team needs to work alongside the Australian team program. I’m hoping to get selected for Tour de l’Avenir and Worlds.
“Obviously I can’t do any WorldTour races, but hopefully I can start Tour of Britain, Japan Cup and some of the other one-day races in Italy in October,” Whelan added. “Those are all looking possible.”
