Three Young Sports Stars That Can Shine Bright in 2023
Will darts player Josh Rock win his first televised darting major in 2023? Can another 21-year-old, Australia’s Oscar Piastri, make a lasting impression on Formula 1 during his rookie season? And will Remco Evenepole land his second Grand Tour by taking the Giro d’Italia?
Josh Rock has shown a liking for the televised stage. Can the Northern Irish player win a televised major in 2023? ©GettyImages
These are exciting questions regarding three young sportsmen that hit the headlines in 2022. For now, the trio appears to have the world at their feet. The best online betting sites are certainly keeping these shooting stars on their side. For example, Rock – a relatively unknown 12 months ago – is the 12/1 fourth favorite to win the 2023/24 World Darts Championship.
Josh Has Rocketed to the Top
Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock powered his way onto the darting scene with five tournament victories on the PDC’s Youth/Development Tour in 2022. To compliment that success, he claimed the PDC World Youth Championship in late November.
Beforehand, in October’s Gibraltar Darts Trophy, the youngster beat Jonny Clayton and future World Champion Michael Smith with impressive scoring. And a raft of huge three-dart averages followed in two Barnsley Players Championship events.
There was a 102 against Darren Webster, a 109 in beating Damon Heta, a 110 against Dirk van Duijvenbode and a 112 over Mike De Decker. Averaging 108, Rock also beat Luke Humphries to claim his first title on the PDC’s main tour.
A last-16 spot at the European Championship came next. During this competition, he hit a nine-darter against Michael van Gerwen on what was his televised debut. Most recently, Rock beat Callan Rydz and world number 10 Nathan Aspinall before being eliminated in the fourth round of the World Championship.
Displaying a level of form and scoring normally reserved for Premier League players, Josh Rock is currently world-ranked 36. His progress has been meteoric and, still rising quickly through the ranks, it is easy to predict the player – who has claimed the moniker, ‘Rocky’ – will be in the top 16 by the close of 2023.
Awards and Accolades for Oscar Piastri?
Australians Jack Brabham and Alan Jones both won the Formula 1 World Championship during their time in the sport. But the land down under has not had a world champion since Jones claimed the title in 1980.
That injustice will not be put right in 2023. But could Oscar Piastri one day return the crown to Australia? We will know more as the season unwinds. But, when two teams publicly fight for the services of a youngster that has never driven an F1 car in public, it is safe to say he must be something very special.
Oscar Piastri has enjoyed tremendous success in lower divisions. Now driving at the pinnacle of motorsport, how will the Australian fare in 2023? ©GettyImages
So far, Piastri has enjoyed success at every level of single-seater racing he has contested. In 2017, aged 16, he was a six-time winner in the F4 British Championship. The results saw him finish second in the final championship standings.
By 2019 he had progressed to the Formula Renault Eurocup – an important championship on the way to Formula 1. Winning seven of his 19 starts, Piastri claimed the series that had, in a previous guise, been won by current Formula 1 racers Valtteri Bottas, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris.
However, by taking the F3 and F2 titles back-to-back in 2020 and 2021, Piastri’s enormous talent and potential to be an F1 great was truly demonstrated. It was not an unprecedented double. It has been done twice before – by Charles Leclerc and George Russell – and their short F1 careers have been nothing short of spectacular.
Soon to make his Formula 1 debut for McLaren – replacing his 33-year-old countryman Daniel Riccardo – bet365 odds compilers believe Piastri is a 7/2 shot to outscore his new and established teammate, Lando Norris. These odds surely underestimate the rookie’s raw speed and track craft and make this match bet an attractive proposition.
Monumental Results from Remco Evenepole
Remco Evenepole, the reigning Belgian Sportsman of the Year, had an incredible 2022. During the cycling season, he won a monument race – in his case the Liège–Bastogne–Liège – a Grand Tour (the Vuelta a España) and the UCI Road World Championship. Only Alfredo Binda in the 1920s and legendary riders Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault completed this feat in the past.
Evenepole began his sporting career as a footballer. He played for the Under-14 and Under-16 Belgian national teams. But, as the son of a former professional cyclist, his forte was bike racing, and, in 2017 as a 16-year-old, he switched to cycling.
One year later, Remco won the time trial and road race at the 2018 European Junior Road Cycling Championships. He also won the road race and the time trial at the UCI Junior Road World Championships.
Unsurprisingly the race was on to get Evenepole’s signature. He elected to join Belgium’s Deceuninck–Quick-Step team beginning his time amongst the professional ranks in 2019. Starting with victory in the Tour of Belgium months later, he has been a proverbial win machine ever since.
Amongst four classic titles, Evenepole has won the Clásica de San Sebastián twice. In 2022 he claimed his first ‘monument’, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. During this remarkable year, he also became the road race world champion and, most impressive of all, he claimed his first grand tour – the Vuelta a España.
Remco Could Be Tickled Pink in Giro
At a media day when Quick-Step introduced its 29-man team for 2022, Evenepole said: “I can tell you for sure that I will never forget 2022. I won my first Grand Tour, I took the rainbow jersey, I got married and I received the Velo d’Or, which is the biggest award you can get in our sport.”
Earning his rainbow stripes. Remco Evenepoel celebrates winning gold at the 2022 UCI Road World Championships. ©GettyImages
“At the same time, during La Vuelta, I learned a lot about myself, I learned how to handle the pressure better and how to be more relaxed. All this will definitely help me this season, a special one for me in the rainbow jersey, which I will start with a lot of motivation and desire to get good results together with the team,” said Remco, who will get his season underway at Argentina’s Vuelta a San Juan, in late January.
“I think Liège–Bastogne–Liège will be the most special day of the year because I will race it as the reigning champion and with the iconic rainbow jersey on my shoulders. After that, my focus will move to the Giro d’Italia, my biggest goal of the year.”
“We’re exactly four months away from the race and I can tell you that my objectives going there are to get at least a stage win and do a good general classification. But we also know a lot can happen in three weeks, so we’ll take it one step at a time,” the 22-year-old concluded.
Cycling betting sites are more optimistic about Remco’s chances in the famous Italian race. He is top-priced 5/4 to become the first Belgian winner of the Giro since Johan De Muynck in 1978. Incidentally, Remco Evenepole fans will be pleased to know he is one of the stars of an upcoming Amazon Prime docuseries that charts Quick-Step’s memorable 2022 season.
