The final stage of the Tour de l'Avenir - a stage race ridden with national teams - ended on top of the tough Colle delle Finestre. Before the start of the stage, Graat was second in the general classification, 24 seconds behind Joseph Blackmore. Earlier in the week, Matthew Brennan also made his mark. The 19-year-old Brit - who will step up to Team Visma | Lease a Bike's WorldTour team in 2025 - managed to finish in the top five three times.  

On the final day, a strong Pietro Mattio was part of the leading group. The 20-year-old Italian left his breakaway companions at the foot of the steep Colle delle Finestre, but his lead over the favourites quickly narrowed. In that group of favourites, Pablo Torres eventually proved the best. The Spaniard rode solo to the stage win and he jumped to second place in the general classification. Graat - who also joins the WorldTeam from 2025 - finished third. Besides third place in the overall classification, Graat also won the mountain classification.  

Graat could count on the support of his Team Visma | Lease a Bike Development teammates Darren van Bekkum and Menno Huising, who were also part of the Dutch squad. “Darren and Menno rode a very strong stage”, Graat said. “They did an excellent job for me on the final climb. After that, it was a man-to-man fight between Torres, Blackmore and myself. I chose my own pace as I definitely didn't want to blow myself up. I soon saw that I would not be able to follow Torres' pace. Blackmore also accelerated, but slowly I approached him again. I closed in on him, after which I hoped he would crack. Unfortunately, he managed to accelerate again at the end.”  

“I am very satisfied with this result”, Graat added. “The start of the season didn't go so well for me. So it gives a lot of confidence that I am now at top level again. I am happy that I was able to show that in the biggest U23 race of the year. That I also win the polka dot jersey is a nice bonus. I'm proud of how we performed here last week.”