MEET THE PROS
Let’s introduce you to the Pros that will be riding and coaching at the event.
Chris Froome
4-Time Tour de France winner, Chris Froome, is a native of Kenya with British citizenship and is one of the greatest cyclists in history. As the first British rider to officially win a Grand Tour, he is one of just seven cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours (Italy, France and Spain). Despite his two victories in the Vuelta a Espana and a win of the Giro d’Italia, he is best known for four victories in the Tour de France. His ascendance to a fifth win was interrupted by a serious training crash in 2019. Despite a slow and frustrating recovery, Froome showed a return to form placing third on legendary Alpe d’Huez stage in the 2022 Tour.
Alberto Contador
Renowned as one of the most accomplished stage racers in history, the 41-year-old Contador is celebrated for his dynamic climbing skills and has clinched victories in all three Grand Tours, marking his presence in the cycling world with nearly every significant stage race on the UCI World Tour.
Nicknamed El Pistolero, he dominated the sport for more than a decade before retiring in 2017. He has served as a commentator for Eurosport television since 2018 and recently launched Team Polti-Kometa.
A native of the Pinto district in Madrid, Contador’s journey from an amateur to a professional cyclist saw him turning professional in 2003 and claiming victories in some of the most grueling climbing stages across the globe. His breakthrough came in 2007 with a win at the Tour de France, followed by victories at both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España in 2008, accumulating seven Grand Tour wins over his career.
Contador’s connection to Best Buddies mission of inclusion for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities is personal, inspired by his younger brother, Raul, who lives with cerebral palsy.
Geraint Thomas
Geraint Thomas is one of the most accomplished, articulate, and popular cyclists alive. In 2018 he became the first Welsh cyclist to win the Tour de France. Thomas, 37, has won three World Championships, and two Olympic gold medals, and has finished on the podium of both the Tour de France and the Giro D’Italia. He first had international success on the velodrome, winning titles in the pursuit, team pursuit, Madison, and scratch races. But he steadily improved on the road, serving as a domestique to help both Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome in their ascendance to the top of the sport. Scoring victories in single-week stage races such as Paris-Nice, Tour de Romandie, Criterium du Dauphine, and the Tour de Suisse, Thomas became a Grand Tour favorite. Despite the recent eruption of young superstars, Thomas commanded this year’s Giro into the final week before finishing second overall.
The pride of Cardiff, Wales, Thomas was named by the BBC as The Wales Sports Personality of the Year in both 2014 and 2018 and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2018. His podcast, The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club has upwards of 1 million listeners.
Mark Cavendish
Fresh off breaking the record for the most stage wins in Tour de France history, Sir Mark Cavendish will now Ride for Inclusion with Best Buddies. Cavendish will serve as the honorary chair of the inaugural Best Buddies Challenge: New York in October 2025.
Having won points jerseys in the Tours of Spain, Italy, and France as well as World Championship titles on the road and track, Cavendish is the greatest sprinter in cycling history.
Recently retired from pro cycling, Cavendish joins Best Buddies with a personal connection to the mission. He and his wife, model Peta Todd, have four children, including their son, Frey, who experienced complete hearing loss after an illness as a baby. After numerous surgeries and therapy, Frey continues to receive support from his celebrity parents turned advocates for inclusion.
Andrew Talansky
A native of New York raised in Miami, Andrew Talansky enjoyed success as a high school runner. But at 17 cycling drew his interest. He never looked back.
At Lees-McRae College in North Carolina, he won the national collegiate championships in 2008 as a freshman. Hooked, he moved to Italy to race at the professional level and bounced between Europe and the U.S., posting impressive results in 2010. This included winning the Under-23 National Time Trial Championship in 2010 and placing second in the prestigious Tour de l’Avenir in France. Rung-by-rung he continued climbing the ladder of sport. He scored his first professional win at the 2012 Tour de l’Ain, winning the points jersey, scoring a stage win, and taking the overall. He finished second in the Tour de Romandie, also claiming the best young rider jersey. Talansky also made a stunning debut in a Grand Tour, the Vuelta a Espana, finishing seventh overall.
The hits kept on coming with a top 10 overall in the Tour de France (2013), second at Paris-Nice (2013), victory at the Criterium du Dauphine (2014), a national time trial championship (2015), 5th overall in the Vuelta Espana (2016), and stage wins in the Tour of Utah and the Tour of California, with overall third place finishes in both events.
In 2018, Talansky switched focus and went into the sport of triathlon and began to transition his career to coaching, living in Northern California where he runs Talansky Performance Group. During his cycling career he also attended several of the Best Buddies Challenge rides as a pro ambassador.
About the Talansky Performance Group: talanskyperformancegroup.com
Cam Wurf
Cam Wurf was labeled the “world’s most versatile elite endurance athlete” by podcaster and wellness guru Rich Roll. A native of Tasmania and longtime ambassador for Best Buddies, Wurf has achieved world-class status in three sports. Having competed in rowing at the 2004 Olympics, Wurf switched to cycling with immediate success. He earned a spot in the UCI World Tour in Europe and completed the Vuelta a España and Giro d’Italia. He then became one of the top triathletes in the world, setting the fastest bike time in two successive editions of Kona. Popular with fans and other riders, Wurf is referred to as the “Chief Motivation Officer” of every team he joins. For that, the INEOS Grenadiers recruited the Australian for both cycling and triathlon. Now 40, Wurf shocked not only pundits but also his fellow riders when he delivered a solid team ride in Paris-Roubaix, finished the grueling “Queen of the Classics”, and then laced up running shoes and ran a half marathon for training.
