Christmas came early for 17 year-old junior racer Ashlin Barry of Canada, who will join the Dutch WorldTour Team Visma – Lease a Bike’s pro-track development program in 2025.

In 2024 the child of former pro riders Michael Barry and Dede Demet Barry won the U.S.A Junior National Road and Time Trial Championships (he holds dual Canadian and USA citizenships), the overall title at UCI Gravel World Series Blue Mountain and finished 7th in the Junior Paris-Roubaix.

Considered one of the best junior racers in North America, Barry will start next season on the Dutch WorldTour team’s junior development pyramid, after riding for the EF Education First junior squad in 2024. At just 17 years-old he is the youngest ever rider to sign with a WorldTour team.

Robbert de Groot, head of rider development at Team Visma – Lease a Bike, announced the signing of Barry on the team’s website: “We see immense talent in Ashlin, along with significant room for growth. We are very pleased that he will be part of our team in the coming years. This is the first time we have signed someone so young directly for our WorldTeam. It reflects our belief in long-term collaborations and working closely with talent from an early age to help them reach their full potential.”

Adding, “Whether and how long he will race for the Development Team and when he will step up to the WorldTour will depend on his progress.Thanks to our development pyramid, which includes a junior, development, and WorldTeam, we can remain flexible and offer riders like Ashlin a tailored pathway to further their growth.”

Commenting on his new opportunity Barry said, “Team Visma – Lease a Bike is truly a dream team. It’s incredibly inspiring to sign with the same team as riders like Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard. They are great examples of how you can develop further within this team. Of course, I’m still very young and in the process of discovering my specialties. I believe the classics and time trials might suit me best, but I’m confident that this team is the perfect choice to guide me on that journey.”

Photo Credit: Team Visma – Lease a Bike

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