What does "Neo Pro" mean?

Neo pro is a term used to describe a rider who is riding in their first year with a World Tour or Pro level team. If we're being pedantic it isn't necessarily synonymous with a first year pro, but generally it is used as such. One can think of it as being similar to a player's rookie year in other professional sports like football, basketball or hockey.

Often rider's neo pro year is used to get the rider accustomed to riding in the peloton at the highest level with no significant pressure laid upon them to perform. Neo pro riders will generally stick to one day classics or lesser known multi stage races, alongside senior level team members who can mentor them.

It is rare that neo pro riders will be used for grand tours such as La Vuelta, Tour de France or the Giro. But it does occur, such as when team Jumbo Visma had to replace five of their riders in the run up to 2023's Giro d'Italia due to sickness or accidents. Thomas Gloag, a neo pro, got called up as a replacement for Jan Tratnik less than a day before the initial time trial.

In terms of betting, neo pros are often given long odds due to the lack of historical data on their performance, and can be the source of some extreme earning if proper research is done.

Proper research being paying attention to this blog. 🙃