There is probably hardly a kilometer of road in Oberbergisch that Julian Borresch doesn't know. No wonder: the 22-year-old from Gummersbach's dream is to become a professional cyclist. The student teacher gets on his bike for 600 to 800 kilometers every week and pedals through the mountains. Where others have long since shifted into first gear to climb a mountain, for Borresch the fun is just beginning. No wonder that someone like this calls the Agathaberg near Wipperfürth, with its gradient of up to 27 percent, just a “small change”.
From Sunday the Gummersbacher can take the next step towards a professional career. Then the 60th Tour de l’Avenir starts in Sarrebourg, France. The road cycling race, which was held for the first time in 1961, was initially considered the “Tour de France of amateurs”. From 1981, professionals were also allowed to take part, and since 2005, with the introduction of the standard license, it has been reserved for young drivers, mostly in the U23 age group.
The 7.1 kilometer long prologue is followed by six stages. The drivers have to cover a total of 821 kilometers. This year we head from Sarrebourg via Ronchamp, La Rosière and the Col du Mont Cenis towards Italy. The final stage ends in the Alps with a 16 kilometer climb to the famous Colle delle Finestre.
“I am pursuing a clear career plan and want to take the next step next year. The Tour de l’Avenir is the big springboard for this,” says Borresch in an interview with Oberberg-Aktuell. As part of the German national team, the young rider from the REMBE Pro Cycling™ Team Sauerland is following in the footsteps of famous cyclists. In 1986, Miguel Indurain (Spain), one of the greatest cyclists of all time, won the junior race; most recently it served as a springboard for Egan Bernal (Colombia) and the current Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia).
Taking part in the Tour de France would also be Borresch's big dream. He is currently driving for a so-called UCI Continental team. These are international cycling teams that are one level below the UCI ProTeams. Only the UCI WorldTeams are above this. “If you’ve made it into one of these teams, you’re already very close to the Tour de France,” explains the 22-year-old.
His goal for the Tour de l'Avenir this summer is clear: especially on the first two stages, which suit his rider profile well, he might hope to achieve his first successes in breakaway groups. Afterwards it becomes more difficult for him: “With my height and weight, I’m not the best mountain climber,” says the 1.90 meter tall athlete. Its profile is better suited to classics with short climbs. Many mountain specialists are significantly smaller and weigh less than 60 kilograms. “Of course they come up much easier, but I'll be surprised. “I trained well,” says Borresch ambitiously. With a good performance he would increase his chances of being nominated for the upcoming European and World Championships.
Borresch got into cycling as a teenager. The former Lindengymnasium student has been a member of the TSV Dieringhausen athletics department since he was a child. He came into contact with triathlon through his coaches Maria Heisterkamp and Christian Letscher. “Because swimming wasn’t really my thing, it quickly turned into duathlons,” he says. He also tried football, but his passion for athletics and cycling was greater. His first mountain bike races followed at the age of 13, and in his second year of U15 he took part in a road bike race for the first time in Pulheim.
Borresch had to quickly learn that road bike racing is something completely different from mountain bike racing: “The start was difficult because it’s not just about performance, but also about technology.” But the young rider learned quickly and so the first Bundesliga races over 120 followed in the U19 kilometers. After just the third race, a young team approached him, and in the second year he made the jump to the NRW squad.
2021 was characterized by Corona and a late start to the season, but he still came fourth at the German Championships in the individual time trial (U19). The following year he won the Bundesliga with the team and was also an important helper in the parallel success of a teammate in the individual rankings. The first tour followed in 2023 as a helper at the Orlen Nations Grand Prix in Poland. And Borresch can already boast successes in 2024: He finished the Tour de Taiwan in fifth place, and at Rund um Köln he made a name for himself by winning the mountain classification (OA reported). His breakthrough came with third place at the U23 German Championships in Bruchsal at the end of June. “This is the biggest success of my career so far,” says the 22-year-old.
The Gummersbacher knows that the topic of professional cycling always involves accusations of doping, but at the same time he points out the many controls. “Even at my level, I have to send the testers a rough weekly plan and was tested several times at races this year.”
Borresch calls André Greipel his great role model. The 42-year-old is one of the best road sprinters of his generation. He learned a lot of training content from him and was also able to get to know him personally. But he is also grateful to his parents, “without whom I couldn't do this at all and who still support me today.” From Sunday on, they will probably be keeping their fingers crossed for their son so that he can fulfill his big dream of becoming a professional cyclist and taking part the Tour de France can become a reality at some point.
The 7.1 kilometer long prologue is followed by six stages. The drivers have to cover a total of 821 kilometers. This year we head from Sarrebourg via Ronchamp, La Rosière and the Col du Mont Cenis towards Italy. The final stage ends in the Alps with a 16 kilometer climb to the famous Colle delle Finestre.
“I am pursuing a clear career plan and want to take the next step next year. The Tour de l’Avenir is the big springboard for this,” says Borresch in an interview with Oberberg-Aktuell. As part of the German national team, the young rider from the REMBE Pro Cycling™ Team Sauerland is following in the footsteps of famous cyclists. In 1986, Miguel Indurain (Spain), one of the greatest cyclists of all time, won the junior race; most recently it served as a springboard for Egan Bernal (Colombia) and the current Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia).
Taking part in the Tour de France would also be Borresch's big dream. He is currently driving for a so-called UCI Continental team. These are international cycling teams that are one level below the UCI ProTeams. Only the UCI WorldTeams are above this. “If you’ve made it into one of these teams, you’re already very close to the Tour de France,” explains the 22-year-old.
His goal for the Tour de l'Avenir this summer is clear: especially on the first two stages, which suit his rider profile well, he might hope to achieve his first successes in breakaway groups. Afterwards it becomes more difficult for him: “With my height and weight, I’m not the best mountain climber,” says the 1.90 meter tall athlete. Its profile is better suited to classics with short climbs. Many mountain specialists are significantly smaller and weigh less than 60 kilograms. “Of course they come up much easier, but I'll be surprised. “I trained well,” says Borresch ambitiously. With a good performance he would increase his chances of being nominated for the upcoming European and World Championships.
Borresch got into cycling as a teenager. The former Lindengymnasium student has been a member of the TSV Dieringhausen athletics department since he was a child. He came into contact with triathlon through his coaches Maria Heisterkamp and Christian Letscher. “Because swimming wasn’t really my thing, it quickly turned into duathlons,” he says. He also tried football, but his passion for athletics and cycling was greater. His first mountain bike races followed at the age of 13, and in his second year of U15 he took part in a road bike race for the first time in Pulheim.
Borresch had to quickly learn that road bike racing is something completely different from mountain bike racing: “The start was difficult because it’s not just about performance, but also about technology.” But the young rider learned quickly and so the first Bundesliga races over 120 followed in the U19 kilometers. After just the third race, a young team approached him, and in the second year he made the jump to the NRW squad.
2021 was characterized by Corona and a late start to the season, but he still came fourth at the German Championships in the individual time trial (U19). The following year he won the Bundesliga with the team and was also an important helper in the parallel success of a teammate in the individual rankings. The first tour followed in 2023 as a helper at the Orlen Nations Grand Prix in Poland. And Borresch can already boast successes in 2024: He finished the Tour de Taiwan in fifth place, and at Rund um Köln he made a name for himself by winning the mountain classification (OA reported). His breakthrough came with third place at the U23 German Championships in Bruchsal at the end of June. “This is the biggest success of my career so far,” says the 22-year-old.
The Gummersbacher knows that the topic of professional cycling always involves accusations of doping, but at the same time he points out the many controls. “Even at my level, I have to send the testers a rough weekly plan and was tested several times at races this year.”
Borresch calls André Greipel his great role model. The 42-year-old is one of the best road sprinters of his generation. He learned a lot of training content from him and was also able to get to know him personally. But he is also grateful to his parents, “without whom I couldn't do this at all and who still support me today.” From Sunday on, they will probably be keeping their fingers crossed for their son so that he can fulfill his big dream of becoming a professional cyclist and taking part the Tour de France can become a reality at some point.
