Joseph Blackmore and Marion Bunnell underlined their status as two of cycling's hottest prospects Saturday by winning the Tour de Lavenir, the world's premier U23 race.

Both men and women climaxed in spectacular fashion across the Italian border at the top of the Colle delle Finestre, the stage for Chris Froome's long-distance run at the 2018 Giro d'Italia.

Blackmore became the first British winner of the Tour de l'Avenir men's race, clinging to the yellow jersey by a mere 12 seconds amid a sensational solo run by Spaniard Pablo Torres. Meanwhile, Frenchman Bunel did the opposite, defending the yellow and attacking to win solo by nearly two minutes.

For Blackmore, this was the latest chapter in a tremendous breakthrough season for the 21-year-old multi-disciplinarian. Previously focused on mountain biking and cyclo-cross, he had also won the British national gravel title, but this year he burst onto the road scene with Israeli premier tech.

Starting with three consecutive stage race wins at the Tour de Rwanda, Tour de Taiwan, and Circuit des Ardennes, he also won the U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège and finished fourth in the elite-level Brabants Pile. During this time, Blackmore was part of the team's development team and his appearances at the top level were on a case-by-case basis, but his success led to a mid-season World Tour contract.

Some may question whether an existing World Tour pro is a good fit for the Tour de Laveneil, but Blackmore is still an up-and-coming talent. In any case, he finished second in the opening prologue and won the yellow in the summit finish of La Rosière on stage 3. He lost the yellow the next day when Torres won at Les Carreris, but regained it in an ambush on stage 6.

On the final day, he was trounced along with the rest of the field as the 18-year-old Torres put in an incredible performance to win alone by 3:43. Blackmore finished second on the day and stopped the clock at the top of Finestre with just 12 seconds left in the lead, despite the fact that the dirt course is undoubtedly his forte.

“It was super close, but I'm very happy,” Blackmore said. [In the final I had to give it everything I had. I tried to stay with Pablo at the start, but soon realized it was a long climb. Torres was going really fast and I knew the altitude was high, 2,100 meters. I gave 100% in the last 2km, but I didn't want to go too fast and too hard.”

“I was in pain the whole time. By the finish I was completely empty. I gave it everything I had.”

In the overall standings, Dutchman TIjmen Graat finished on the podium in 50 seconds.

In the second edition of the Tour de l'Avignille Femme, French climber Marion Bunel, just 19 years old, won the most difficult mountain of the three Tour de France Femmes.

In fact, Bunel competed in the latest edition of the world's biggest women's race last weekend, finishing just outside the top 10 on the world's highest peak in the Alpe d'Huez summit finale, finishing an impressive 17th overall.

Women's cycling does not have a junior or U23 path like men's, but like Blackmore, Bunel is already a professional rider with San Michele-Mavic-Ober93, finishing fifth in the UAE Tour and in the top 10 in the opening stage of the Tour de Suisse her performance in the Tour de France came after a WorldTour event called

Bunel dominated the four-day Tour de l'Avenir, winning the summit finish of the first stage at Les Carreris after finishing 10th in the short prologue. He entered the final day with a narrow lead over Canadian multidisciplinary Isabella Holgrem, but flew through the gravel course in the upper third of the climb to win by nearly two minutes.

“It's just amazing. I didn't want to miss this stage and I wanted to finish in great shape. I dreamed about it, but even in my dreams I didn't think it was possible.”

“When we arrived at the unpaved road, I didn't know how to react. I knew that my rival [Holmgren] was a world champion in mountain biking and cyclocross, so I was a little scared. Normally I like to attack more abruptly, but in the gravel I attacked in the saddle.

In the overall standings, Holmgren was second by 2:11, with Spain's Eneriz Badillo third by 5:16.