Australian UCI WorldTour team Mitchelton-SCOTT confirmed that Colombian climber Brayan Chaves will continue to follow in the footsteps of brother Esteban Chaves and join the team as a stagiaire for the upcoming Tour of Utah.
After gaining his first experience of European racing with Chinese registered UCI Continental outfit Mitchelton-BikeExchange throughout the first half of 2018 in races such as the Giro d’Italia U23, the Giro del Belvedere and the Tour de Bretagne, Brayan will now see what racing alongside WorldTour riders is like.
The 21-year-old Colombian adapted well to the demands of racing against pro-continental riders and the best of the U23 team’s and the Tour of Utah forms another stage of development for the younger brother of the 2016 Giro di Lombardia winner.
Brayan Chaves:
“I am really excited about this opportunity to race with Mitchelton-SCOTT at the Tour of Utah. This is a small step on the way to making big dreams come true and it is incredible that the team have given me this opportunity, and I am aiming to do the best that I can.”
“I think that the experience I gained during the three months I had racing in Europe this year will help me. The Giro d’Italia U23 was a positive learning curve for me and it was great to be able to help my teammates achieve the objectives we’d been set.
“Now I will be racing with riders from the WorldTour and it will be a race of a very high level. A different level for me, a new level. I really don’t have the words to describe how I am feeling, I want to learn as much as possible and to see myself racing in a Mitchelton-SCOTT jersey is just amazing.”
Head Sport director Matt White:
“It’s an exciting period for Brayan, and the Tour of Utah will be a good opportunity for him to gain some valuable experience racing with professionals and form another part of his ongoing development.”
“Racing at altitude in Utah will be similar to where he grew up in Colombia and that should be an advantage for him. The experience of racing at another level will be good for Brayan and he should come out of it in good shape for the second half of the season with the U23’s.”
Brayan Chaves
Date of Birth: 30th May 1997 (21)
Nationality: Colombian
Place of Birth: Bogota, Colombia
