Team Sky sign two young Brits as stagiaires - Transfer Shorts

Team Sky have signed two young British talents as stagiaires, with Mark Donovan and Ethan Hayter joining the WorldTour team until the end of the season. 

Donovan rode for the Zappi team as a junior, and this year, after attending a Sky training camp in December, he has impressed in the colours of Team Wiggins, winning a stage of the Ronde de l'Isard and finishing fourth overall at the Baby Giro.

"I didn't really have any expectations going into this year," Donovan said. "I was trying to keep as relaxed as possible and do as well as I could. I never really thought I'd get the chances and results that I did. After the results I got I think this is the perfect way to end the year and a really nice opportunity. As a rider I'd say I'm a bit of an all-rounder. I can go well on the climbs but also handle myself on the flat and time trial, but I see myself mainly as a climber, GC rider."

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Hayter, 19, has a different background, making a name for himself on the track through British Cycling's academy programme. He is already a senior world champion as part of the triumphant British team pursuit quartet in Apeldoorn earlier this year. His short-term future looks to be on the track, with the 2020 Olympics in his sights, but he has also shown potential on the road, winning the junior Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and finishing fifth at this year's Ronde de l'Oise.

"As a young British rider coming up through the system, Sky has always been the team everyone watches and aspires to be a part of," Hayter said. "I see myself as a bit of an all-rounder on the road. I can climb and sprint pretty well, and I can time trial fairly well too."

Team Sky performance manager Rod Ellingworth explained that the two stagiaires will be used mainly in Italy during the autumn one-day Classics.

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