Sky sign CC Hackney products Alex Peters and Tao Geoghegan Hart as stagiaires

Team Sky have announced the signing on a two-year contract of one of Britain’s top up-and-coming riders, Alex Peters, as well as the arrival as a stagiaire for the rest of the season of another highly regarded youngster, Tao Geoghegan Hart.

Peters, aged 21 and like the 20-year-old Geoghegan Hart a product of CC Hackney in east London, will initially join the UCI WorldTour team as a stagiaire too, with his two-year contract taking effect from 1 January 2016.

He will make his debut in Sky’s colours in his home city on Sunday at the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic, and arrives from the Dutch UCI Continental team, SEG Racing Academy, with whom he won a stage of the Tour de Bretagne this year and finished second overall at the Tour de Normandie.

He was also runner-up on GC in last year’s edition of the Irish stage race the Ras which he rode with Madison-Genesis, spending two years at the outfit managed by Roger Hammond.

"Since I’ve signed for the SEG Racing Academy in October last year, things have gone faster than I could ever have expected,” he reflected.

“Together with the SEG Racing team and the staff, I was able to make the necessary steps in my development to get ready for the WorldTour level. It’s been a great learning process and the best education I could have wished for.

“When I found out that Sir Dave Brailsford and the Team Sky staff were following my career, it made me extremely proud and motivated. I want to succeed as GC rider in the future and I feel Sky is the best platform for me to listen, learn and develop.

“Signing for Team Sky is a dream come true and I can’t wait to start," he added.

Geoghegan Hart has spent the past two years with the US-based UCI Continental team, Axeon Pro Cycling, which raced last year as the Bissel Development Team and finished 15th overall at the Tour of Britain last September, which he rode for Great Britain.

Tao Geoghegan Hart at Worlds U23 road race 2014 (copyright Britishcycling.org.uk)

He was second in the young rider’s classification at this year’s Tour of California and 13th overall, and has previously finished third in the under-23 versions of two Monuments – Paris-Roubaix in 2013 and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2014, repeating the latter result this April.

He said: "I’m really excited about the opportunity to stagiaire with Team Sky. To be able to ride alongside some of the best riders in the world will be a huge experience and opportunity to develop as a rider.

“Professional races are a big step up, but I hope to rise to the challenge and learn as much as possible in the process."

Sky’s Head of Performance Operations, Rod Ellingworth said: "Britain is producing some of the best cyclists in the world and I am proud of the role that Team Sky can play in inspiring and supporting home-grown talent.

“We’ve been watching Alex and Tao progress over the last few years and they’re both showing real promise. It’s a big step in their developing careers and we’re happy that they are taking that step with us."