In the past, racing in France in search of a professional contract was something of a rite of passage for young British riders. Today, most riders are discovered as talents in junior or national development programs, and are then drawn to the best WorldTour teams.

Therefore, Harrison Wood's stay in France and the Netherlands with support from the David Rayner Fund and his step up to Cofidis in 2023 stands out as a rather atypical route to the pro peloton. He has not made much of a path to the World Tour.

Wood is currently competing in the Tour of Oman as a rookie after two years at the now defunct SEG Racing Academy.

Wood is not the only rider to have found success outside of British Cycling's academy system in recent years.

"It's great what the GB academy has done and the number of athletes who have gone pro, but I knew I would never be a BC-type athlete because I had never done track. I thought I should go to France and take the plunge there," Wood told Cycling News at the start of the second stage of the Tour of Oman.

"When you go to Europe, you become a different type of rider." James Knox (Soudal-Quick Step) went to Europe to become a top WorldTour climber, while Matt Walls (Beulah-Hansgrohe) and Ethan Vernon (Soudal-Quick Step) went through the GB Academy to become top WorldTour sprinters. Different types of riders are produced in different ways."

Wood, who hails from Torquay in southwest England, started racing when he was "about 15 or 16" when he was a member of a local club, Mid Devon CC. He then moved to France.

After racing occasionally in Belgium with Soenens-Boom and in France, Wood joined the SEG Racing Academy in 2020; it was "unfortunate" that the SEG Racing Academy disbanded in 2022.

"From France, I was able to continue my stagiaire with Cofidis and make the leap from there. So in a way it was probably a good thing I didn't run my third year at SEG," he explained.

Following Bradley Wiggins, David Millar, and Rob Hales in the 90s and 90s, Wood became the fourth British rider to race at Cofidis. However, there had been a gap of nearly 15 years since a British rider had last been part of this long-standing world tourstead.

"It's very impressive to see Wiggins and Miller on this team, and it's a bit of pressure, Woods admitted.

So far, Woods says his World Tour career has been a voyage in the dark. He can climb, but being tall and powerful, he has yet to find his niche and role in the peloton. He made his debut at the Tour Down Under, but has yet to finalize his race program.

His main role in Oman will be to support Cofidis leader Jesus Herrada. His personal goals for the future, however, remain large.

"I would like to follow the GC path if possible. I'm good at time trials, but the World Tour level guys can climb very fast," he recalled.

"I'm okay with 10-20 minute climbs, but I've never done anything longer than 30-40 minutes in a race, and if it goes to an hour, hopefully I'll be good. I just have to figure it out." "

"I had a big crash in June 2022. Now it's about going to as many races as possible to see what's what, absorb as much of it as possible, and look for a more decisive role next year."