'Some little ironings out' - British sprint prospect Noah Hobbs targets breakthrough in neo-pro season

It’s no surprise that Hobbs has the backing of his EF squad at the Portuguese stage-race, as the British rider enjoyed a successful final season as an under-23 in 2025, which included a stage win and the points classification at the Tour de l’Avenir. 

The opening sprint stage in Tavira saw Hobbs battle his way to 14th place, and Domestique caught up with him to reflect on that first sprint since making the full-time step up to the WorldTour team and how he is adjusting to professional ranks.

“It was kind of good, kind of bad. Like I felt pretty good, but it was kind of just a split decision,” Hobbs told Domestique about the opening sprint. 

In truth, the finale of the opening stage was quite hectic, and Hobbs admitted that things changed significantly in the blink of an eye, which is ultimately part and parcel of sprinting. 

“Like the whole team was really good, but there was a little split decision made just before the last corner, and then I got it wrong there, and it’s all done,” Hobbs explained, who admitted that there are always learnings to take from the sprint, which is a positive. 

Former Tour of Flanders winner and Danish teammate Kasper Asgreen, racing alongside the British rider in Portugal, described Hobbs to Domestique as a “really exciting young sprint prospect.”

Ultimately, the opening races of the season present an opportunity for Hobbs to practice and tinker with the sprint train and build connections with his teammates, for major targets further down the line as the season progresses

“I think that was a good point, everyone being together, especially for this race, like obviously building the team together and having that good, strong bond between everyone,” said Hobbs.

Saturday’s stage 4 is set to finish with the second sprint finish of the race, in the town of Lagos. It presents another opportunity for Hobbs and the team to see what they do against the likes of Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché).

“There is another sprint stage on stage four, so I hope to make a good result, and hopefully we get good positioning and do it all again,” said Hobbs. “I think we had the whole structure down, just some little ironings out, and then I think it’s good to go.”