Australian rider Fergus Browning, who was left adrift after the closure of the Trinity Racing road squad last year, has secured his chance by capturing a late signing with Continental development squad Hagens Berman Jayco after a run of hard-to-ignore results.
The 21-year-old claimed the U23 Australian road title in 2024, a podium at the Ronde de l'Isaard and a stage of the Tour de l'Ain and then launched into 2025 by taking the King of the Mountains classification, in emphatic style, at the Santos Tour Down Under. Now he will be able to continue chasing results on the international stage, beginning at the five-stage 2.2 ranked Circuit des Ardennes International on Wednesday.
“After getting a late opportunity to sign with Hagens Berman Jayco, I’m very grateful and excited to get the year going,” said Browning in a team statement. “Starting at team camp, it was nice to meet everyone and understand how professional and motivated the team is.”
The rider from Melbourne has been unrelenting in his pursuit of a chance to make a mark on the international cycling scene, determinedly chasing the results to deliver the next opportunity, even when the odds seemed stacked against him – evident right from his efforts to claim the Australian U23 road title last year despite being knocked off his bike by a car the day before.
Then at the start of 2025, he quickly stormed into the lead of the KOM at the Tour Down Under, first by delivering a long break with ARA Australia teammate Zac Marriage and then an unyielding show the next two stages to all but sew up the category before the race was even halfway through. It was a powerful performance on a WorldTour stage that was hard to miss.
“The exposure I've had has just been exactly what I needed … I'm really looking forward to what's to come,” said Browning at the time.
Hagens Berman Jayco, run by Axel Merckx, has had Gerry Ryan's Jayco as a co-sponsor since 2024 but is also now the official development team of the Jayco-AlUla WorldTour team.
"With his blend of race-winning instinct and work ethic, the team sees Fergus as a key part of its continued focus on developing all-around riders for the professional level," said the team statement.
"We’re excited to have him in Hagens Berman Jayco colours this season and can’t wait to see what he brings to the road."
