The best youth riders had 111 kilometres between Lecelles and Roubaix, with eighteen pave, including the five-star Mons-en-Pévéle and the Carrefour de l’Arbre. The Frenchman Matys Grisel, now a member of AG2R Citroën’s U19 junior squad, was the most up for the challenge and finished first ahead of his Australian teammate Oscar Chamberlain, while third was Theodor Storm from Denmark.

Among the more familiar names, Estonia’s Martti Lenzius, who won the distinctive jersey for the best young rider at One Belt One Road Hungary 2022, crossed the line in twelfth place, nearly half a minute behind the leader.

The Nations’ Cup series continues on 21-22 May with the Eroica Juniores – Nations’ Cup race in Italy.

There will, of course, be another home Nations’ Cup Youth World Cup in 2023, which, as originally planned, will be the tenth stop of the eleven-round series on 16-17 August.