Seven seriously underrated cycling transfers for 2026

This year's transfer season has been defined by some blockbuster moves, of which there have been plenty.

From Remco Evenepoel's long-rumoured move from Soudal-QuickStep to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe a year early, to Juan Ayuso dramatically breaking his long-term contract with UAE Team Emirates-XRG to go to Lidl-Trek, some big moves have been making the headlines.

Elsewhere, drama and intrigue seems to have defined the market, with Derek Gee's contentious departure from Israel-Premier Tech, or the collapses of teams like Ceratizit and Arkéa-B&B Hotels.

However, outside of the dramatic stories, the transfer market has been rumbling on as usual in the background, with plenty of non-controversial – but very smart and interesting – moves taking place in the last few months.

Though the market is still open right up until the New Year and possibly beyond, many of the most important moves have been locked in now, and there are some really good, underrated signings that have flown under the radar so far this year.

So, if the headlines and drama have dominated your view of the transfer market, here are a few underrated moves to be excited about for 2026.

Davide Piganzoli (Polti-VisitMalta > Visma-Lease a Bike)

People have been asking since last year's Giro d'Italia where Davide Piganzoli was going to end up when he inevitably stepped up to the WorldTour, but amidst all the other news, there wasn't a huge fanfare when that destination was finally revealed.

In one of their smartest signings of the year, it's Visma-Lease a Bike who secured the future of the young Italian, locking him in until 2028 and beating what we understand to have been a lot of competition to sign him. If they handle his development right, they're going to have a big star on their hands.

The 23-year-old is a really interesting proposition of a rider, in the sense that he has a lot of raw talent ready to be moulded. He's a great climber, and should be able to foster that into a good GC career – he already finished 14th at this year's Giro and 13th in 2024 – but he also has a lot of potential as a hilly Classics racer, too. Coming from a ProTeam rather than a WorldTour development team, Piganzoli also has a lot of real-world experience already, so he will be comfortable being thrown straight into top-level racing and a WorldTour team. Visma will hope to see the fruits of their work with him pretty soon.

Eva van Agt (Visma-Lease a Bike > FDJ-Suez)

FDJ-Suez seem to have a real knack for making great signings, thanks to a combination of a few things: a good budget, an eye for talent, and a really attractive set-up. Obviously last year was a watershed moment with the signing of Demi Vollering, but they continue to recruit really strong supporting riders too, and this year is no different.

Among the signings they've made for 2026 so far, Eva van Agt, brought over from Visma-Lease a Bike – also a top-level set-up, and as such not easy to tempt riders away from - stands out. Van Agt is a supremely strong rider, especially in the hardest races – both on climbs across the board and in Classics – and will be a powerful domestique for Vollering, Labous and Muzic next year. But she should also hope for some more opportunities for herself at FDJ compared to Visma.

The team have also brought on German champion Franziska Koch, who adds even more horsepower to round out the team as they chase Tour de France success, and they won the race to sign emerging talent Lauren Dickson. For a second year in a row, FDJ are really bossing the transfer market.

Chris Harper (Jayco-AlUla > Q36.5)

Q36.5 have made a number of really great signings this year in their bid to strengthen and diversify around Tom Pidcock, but one of the most interesting is definitely Chris Harper. They've signed a mixture of Classics riders and climbers, both of which are needed if they're going to put more into Pidcock's Grand Tour career, and Harper could be one of the most instrumental.

Winner of the Queen stage of the Giro d'Italia this year, Harper is an undeniably talented rider with lots of experience at the highest level, and he should slot right into a role supporting Pidcock in Grand Tours – something the Brit clearly really needs after the Vuelta a España, where he was often isolated. However, Harper is also much more than a domestique, having targeted Grand Tours and stage races for himself on many occasions, and should be a reliable option for Q36.5 to chase stage wins and top 10s. This is a win for everyone: success for Q36.5, pressure off of Pidcock's shoulders, and more freedom and chances for Harper.

The Australian has always had the talent but hasn't always seemed able to unlock his top potential, so a move to a fresh team – one known for getting the best out of their riders – is a decision that will hopefully pay dividends.

Margot Vanpachtenbeke (VolkerWessels > Lidl-Trek)

Margot Vanpachtenbeke is a name that avid women's cycling viewers will be aware of, but may have slipped through the net of the more casual fans. One of the up-and-coming generation of Belgian riders, Vanpachtenbeke has impressed with her last three seasons at Volkerwessels, and was duly snapped up by Lidl-Trek – who are also very much in need of bulking out their Classics squad.

Vanpachtenbeke has consistently been strong in the second tier of races, almost winning the Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour last year and picking up several one-day top 10s, and then this year she really stepped up with sixth place on a stage of the Tour de France Femmes, along with some consistent results in WorldTour races. An opportunist with good climbing abilities and a good punch, she adds the kind of Classics strength Lidl-Trek were looking for, and hopefully in a WorldTour environment, she can transform her talent into top results.

Adrien Boichis (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies > Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)

Anyone who is a cross-country mountain bike fan will already know this name, as Adrien Boichis is a multiple World Champion in the discipline, and has been a dominant force in the Under-23 World Cup series, too. Following in the footsteps of riders like Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Puck Pieterse, Boichis has put more focus on the road this year, riding for Red Bull's development team, and he did enough in his first year to earn a rapid step up to the WorldTour squad.

After starting his road racing career with Trinity Racing, Boichis joined Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies for 2025, competing in many of the biggest U23 Classics and stage races, winning the Istrian Spring Tour and taking some top results at the notoriously hard Tour Alsace. Like the mountain bikers-turned-roadies that came before him, Boichis is showing signs of serious GC potential, and Red Bull clearly see that too with his WorldTour promotion. It will be interesting to find out how he fits into their plans, as their roster is becoming something of a super-team right now. But expect to see the 22-year-old dipping his toes into the highest level of the sport pretty soon.

Sarah Van Dam (Ceratizit > Visma-Lease a Bike)

For Sarah Van Dam, 2025 was only her first full season on a European-based road team, but she quickly became one of the stand-out riders of the year, particularly in the spring. The Canadian took a string of top 10s in tough one-day races during the spring, and then backed that up with a highly impressive third overall at Itzulia Women. She went on to take fifth overall at the Tour of Britain, sixth on a stage at the Giro, and she finished the Tour de France Femmes after strong showings all week.

Despite her relatively new arrival to the European racing scene, it was clear that Van Dam was going to be picked up by a bigger WorldTour team even before the demise of Ceratizit, and that team was Visma-Lease a Bike, who snapped her up on a three-year contract. After Magdeleine Vallieres' success at the World Championships, Van Dam looks like she's going to be the next best thing for Canada, and with the support of a team like Visma, her ability will surely shine.

Raúl García Pierna (Arkéa-B&B Hotels > Movistar)

If you've been watching cycling this year, Raúl García Pierna is a name you will recognise, because he seems to have been popping up everywhere, especially in the last few months. He's shone in TTs, was in the breakaway on multiple occasions at the Tour de France, nearly won a stage at the Vuelta a España, and was active in the World Championships road race before ultimately abandoning. An aggressive climber with strong time trialing skills, García Pierna has the potential to develop into a very successful rider.

Signing for Movistar may seem like something of an obvious choice for the Spanish rider, but he will have had a lot of attention, and it won't have been a given that Movistar would secure his signature. With his experience at a French team, García Pierna should arrive at Movistar a little more well-rounded than just a copy-and-paste Spanish climber, and being alongside riders like Cian Uijtdebroeks should push him – and the whole team – up a level. He's still only 24, but if it all goes well at Movistar, we should soon be seeing García Pierna winning Grand Tour stages and battling for the top spots in week-long races, hopefully helping to put Movistar back on the podium.

Cyclingnews will cover all of the 2026 cycling transfers from around the men's and women's pelotons with news, analysis, and an updated transfer index, to make sure you don't miss a thing this transfer season.