Magnus Sheffield has already proven a burgeoning talent, winning the 2022 De Brabantse Pijl at 20 years of age.
The U.S. rider is now moving to a new phase of his career, lining out in his first grand tour at the Giro d’Italia on Saturday.
Sheffield is the youngest rider on the Ineos Grenadiers squad for the race and goes into the Giro in a support role and to build experience. But he also has an important personal goal of his own.
“I come here with quite a lot of ambition to support our leaders in G [Geraint Thomas] and Thymen [Arensman], but also to try really performing in the time trials,” he told media, including Velo, during a pre-Giro call this week.
“If there’s an opportunity to try go for stage, this is also a big ambition of mine.”
The New Yorker is one of the most talented U.S. riders of his generation, having already taken that De Brabantse Pijl victory, as well as second overall in the Tours of Norway and Denmark, and a stage win in the latter race plus the Vuelta a Andalucia.
Still just 22, he has ample scope to improve in the years ahead. With riders tending to peak around 27 or 28 years of age, he should keep getting stronger as the years tick by.
That will give him confidence, but so too the performances of other U.S. riders in the past year.
Asked if Sepp Kuss’ 2023 Vuelta a España victory was a psychological boost for himself and other U.S. riders, he was enthusiastic in his response.
“I think absolutely,” he answered. “When I see other Americans or even other riders that are similar in age to me being successful … like, another great person was Matteo [Jorgenson], his win in Paris-Nice is a lot of inspiration to someone like me.
“It shows that yes, it is possible to perform in these races that are so heavily dominated by the Europeans.”
Last September Kuss ended a long wait for a U.S. grand tour winner, leading home a Visma-Lease a Bike 1-2-3 in the Vuelta. It was the first three week race won by an American rider since Chris Horner took the same event 10 years previously, ending a long drought.
With role models so important in the sport, Kuss’ result has done a lot for Sheffield and others.
“I do think Sepp’s win definitely brings a lot of inspiration. Not just for me, but also many other Americans. So I think this year’s Giro … I don’t necessarily see myself going in the pink jersey, but I think maybe later in my career that would be possible.”
‘It feels a bit mad to think that we start on Saturday’
Sheffield had a very up and down 2023, with the highs including second overall in the Tour of Norway, plus fourth on GC in the Santos Tour Down Under, the Tour of Britain and the CRO Race.
There was a significant low: he crashed in the Tour de Suisse, suffering a concussion and other injuries. But the psychological scars of that accident weighted more heavily, with the Swiss rider Gino Mader (Bahrain-Victorious) also coming down at the same point in the course and losing his life.
Sheffield wrote in detail about it in a post published on the Ineos Grenadiers website in February of this year.
“Unfortunately, I had only raced with Gino a few times in our careers. I’ve been told he was an incredible person, and my thoughts remain with his family and friends,” he wrote then.
“The crash reminded me of how fragile life can be. I feel incredibly lucky to be alive, to be able to walk, and even more fortunate to continue racing professionally.”
He was out of competition for two and a half months but returned with a flourish to take that Tour of Britain result, as well as his CRO Race performance.
He wrote in that same post that his return to the sport came with a new perspective. “When I came back, I felt I had begun a new chapter in my career and in life.
“I feel I’ve learned a lot about myself and professional racing over the past two seasons with the team, and I believe that I’ve gained a different perspective over the past year that has helped me through challenging times.”
Sheffield laid out his short and long term goals in that post, saying that riding the Italian grand tour will be an important part of his progression.
So far this year things have been very solid, with second behind world champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) in the time trial at the Volta ao Algarve a strong result. He was also runner-up to fellow American Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) in the TT at the Tour de Romandie, and finished a fine sixth in the Tour of Flanders.
Riding his first grand tour should help him develop even further, particularly as riders tend to gain strength once they start competing in three week races.
Encouragingly, he is satisfied with how things went in the buildup.
“I think the preparation has been quite good,” he said. “It feels a bit mad to think that we start on Saturday, considering back in December we were talking about what’s the best Grand Tour for me.
“I’m just really excited to be here in Italy with such a strong team and also with guys that have the amount of experience like G, he’s a proven leader. So I’m just really excited now.”
A friendly rivalry
Sheffield’s declared goals of taking a strong result in the time trials will see him go all out on stages seven and 14.
But others on the Ineos Grenadiers team are also expected to figure in the races against the clock, such as Thomas, double world champion Filippo Ganna and Tobias Foss.
With those teammates in the running for a big TT result, Sheffield was asked if there was a friendly rivalry with Ganna.
The question provoked a good-natured laugh from both riders, with mock-annoyance being shown towards each other.
“Maybe yes. You can ask me afterwards,” he smiled. “No, I think it’s a really nice. Not just me and Pippo [Ganna] but also Tobias and G are also really strong. So I think maybe there might be some more rivalry between the others.”
Sheffield laughed as he gave his answer, appearing at ease with the Ineos situation and any internal rivalries.
“Our team is really strong in the time trials so I see it more as an advantage, honestly, than anything,” he elaborated. “Because we can share information. We can try different equipment, we can try different pacing strategies, there’s quite a lot that we can do.
“So it takes it from being a pure individual event and that’s quite nice. Because it really shows the importance of the team and your teammates around you.”