Date: 10 February 2025
The 2023 Irish Junior National time trial champion, Adam Rafferty, signed with the Hagens Berman Jayco Cycling Team in 2024 following in the footsteps of older brother Darren Rafferty. Adam joined Axeon from Team 31 Jolly Cycles U19.
“Joining Axeon has been my goal ever since Darren joined,” said Adam. “Seeing all the experiences and incredible opportunities that this team has given Darren, really shows me that it's exactly where I want to be. Talking with Axel this year really confirmed that Axeon is the perfect home for me. And of course, I couldn't have been happier when I signed the contract!”
Adam's Palmares:
2024 National Championships Ireland U23 ITT - 1st place
2024 World Championships MU ITT - 10th place
2024 Chrono des Nations - 4th place
2024 International Tour of Rhodes - 9th place GC
2024 International Tour of Rhodes prologue - 11th place
2024 International Tour of Rhodes stage 3 - 13th place
2023 Ireland ITT Junior Championships - 1st place
2023 World Junior ITT Championships - 8th place
2023 European Junior ITT Championships - 10th place
2023 Tour du Carmausin-Ségala Jr - 1st place
The 19-year-old from County Tyrone, Ireland believes that at the moment, his best strength is time-trialing, but he also enjoys climbing. "The highlight of 2024 for me was definitely getting a top 10 at the world time trial championships, it was a goal I had from the beginning of the year and it gave me a lot of confidence going in to 2025," said a proud Adam. "The best thing I learned was the existence of this video: https://youtu.be/gh0nksXiJ7U For the 2025 season, especially now since I've now finished school, I'm looking forward to giving my full attention to cycling and seeing what I can do with it."
“It was a bit bittersweet to see Darren depart for the World Tour but having Adam on the team has been great,” said team owner and director Axel Merckx. “Adam had been a stagiaire with Jayco so we naturally offered him a chance to grow another year with us.”
