Tom Copeland is a name you should remember.  At 19 he is one of the brightest and talented riders looking to make his mark on the international road racing scene.

Dreams of racing in the Tour de France keep him focused and this is a young man not afraid of his destiny. 

He has landed a plum ride for 2009 with the BIC2000 team and this month starts his second season living the life of a professional cyclist in Brittany, France. 

He has in recent week been part of their training camp and starts racing on February 19 in an early season series called Plages Vendeenes. 

Copeland makes up the team's under-23 group and is steeping up a level from the last season which sae him make considerable progress. 

His cycling programme is expensive and funding supported by the Jon Ibbotson Fund. 

Copeland has been allowed to benefit from the legacy of what Ibbotson was trying to do before he set up his coaching business. 

Ibbotson turned pro at 20 and raced in Belgium and Italy before turning to coaching and setting up his Fit-For business in Tadworth. 

He died suddenly in 2005 from a heart abnormality that simply caused it to stop beating. 

Family and friends set up a fund which supported two young riders including Copeland, who had bee coached by Ibbotson, to race in Europe in 2008. 

Beore joining his team in France last year, Copeland went through cardiac screening as part of his support package to make sure he was fit enough to race. 

When the Ibbotson fund heard that CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) were offering subsidised screening they applied for their riders to be tested. 

'Since John's death, we have become really aware of heart problems in athletes and how they might have been diagnosed in the past,' said Sam Spooner-Green, Ibbotson's fiancé at the time of his death. 

'It was important the riders were fully checked out and that was a comfort to know they were fit enough.' 

Last summer Copeland picked up an injury when hit by a car, but was determined to get back on his bike. 

'Racing last year was far more mentally demanding on me than anything I had done before, and I refused to let myself be affected by the fall.' 

He came back to England towards the end of the year turning in an excellent race to finish 32nd in the National Championships. 

Copeland plans to turn professional in the next two to three years, and believes the training and experience he is receiving in France will help him make the grade. 

'There's no way I would be doing this if it wasn't for the fund.  I want to get on the podium and the floodgate will open if I win,' he insisted. 

While at home for the festive and New Year celebrations, Copeland spent most days training, clocking up hundreds of miles and around 25 hours a week. 

This summer he will concentrate on time trials and stage races where recovery will be key to his performances. 

There will be one, three or four-day races, with the Tour of Brittany, a seven-day stage race, one of the most gruelling if he is selected. 

'It will be local to the team so I would hopefully have plenty of knowledge of the roads, climbs and conditions,' said Copeland, who admits he has grown stronger mentally and physically. 

'My training is becoming shorter but more intense, concentrating on climbing or sprint work. 

'When recovering, off the bike, I try to keep off my feet as much as I can, watching movies or visiting the internet.' 

Copeland knows these are crucial years and good results will win him a professional contract, but he also voices concern about the drug scandals which have enveloped the sport. 

'I am worried that professional cycling has been rocked by several major scandals, and the sport now has a certain reputation and cycling's image is tarnished beyond repair,' he added. 

'If it continues like this there will be no money left in the sport and it's got to clean itself up. 

'It makes me angry that riders get themselves into these situations, get dropped from their teams and young riders like me get tarnished with the same brush. 

'I'm at a level where I put all my time and effort into my racing to win.' 

The fund is also supporting young rider Daniel Patten in 2009.