The Hagens Berman Axeon Cycling Team is excited to announce the signing of the 2022 Paris Roubaix Junior champion, Niels Michotte. Niels joins the Axeon squad from AG2R Citroën U19 Team.
"It’s a great feeling and I’m proud to be a part of the Hagens Berman Axeon Cycling team, a lot of big names have evolved in this team,” said Niels. “Axeon has proven to be one of the best in helping riders to evolve on and off the bike. It’s great to find a team that cares about both the rider and the person.”
In addition to his win at the famous cobbled classic, Niels placed 2nd in the general classification at the 40th annual SPIE Internationale Juniorendriedaagse (where he won the individual time trial on stage 2a and placed no lower than 5th on any stage).
The 18-year-old from Esch-sur-Sûre, Luxemburg considers sprinting and short efforts his strong suits. For the 2023 season (his last year of school), he wants to improve his ability to pursue a dual career and get his diploma while still riding at high level. “I need to work on technicalities and hope to get the best out of it,” he said. “I’ve had a complicated year with ups and downs because of injuries or sickness and I don’t want to repeat that. I want to keep consistent results next season.”
“Niels is a very strong rider, both on the road and on the track,” said team owner and director Axel Merckx. “He’s been focusing on finishing his schooling, but has already achieved some good results. He has room to grow in the sport and I’m excited to see him develop. Joining us from the AG2R Junior team, we know the type of riding we’re getting as they’ve been consistent in producing solid riders over the years.”
Niels is the seventh rider ready to join the Hagens Berman Axeon Cycling Team in 2023 after Artem Shmidt, Nino de Jong, Antonio Morgado, Gonçalo Tavares, Emil Herzog, and Maxence Place.
