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It’s Time to Rethink the Men’s Under-23 Category

Mikkel Bjerg of Denmark won the U23 time trial championships for the third year in a row on Tuesday at the UCI World Championships in Yorkshire, England. This achievement is unparalleled in the espoirs ranks — no other male rider has even won consecutive titles in the category. Bjerg appears to be on a trajectory to the sport’s top, and recently signed a multi-year deal to race with UAE-Team Emirates. But assessing his strength against the world’s other top riders between the ages of 18 and 22 is easier said than done. After all, many of the best riders of Bjerg’s generation decided to race in the elite individual time trial. Bjerg is just three months younger than Tadej Pogačar, who recently finished third at the Vuelta a España. Bjerg is older than 19-year-old Remco Evenepoel, who was the runner-up in the elite men’s individual time trial world championships on Wednesday. Egan...