Tadej Pogačar is dominating the sport like few before him and has won his fourth Tour de France. But there is hope for his rivals and those hoping to emulate him in the second half of the decade.
Pogačar is now 26 and hinted he may not actually serve out his contract with UAE Team Emirates-XRG until 2030. He is likely to win a fifth yellow jersey and perhaps even a record breaking sixth Tour but has suggested the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games is one of the final goals of his career.
Jonas Vingegaard is currently Pogačar's biggest rival but the Dane is already 28. The Pogačar-Vingegaard Tour domination could end in the next two years, offering the next generation of super talents a chance to take the Tour de France crown in 2029, if not earlier.
These next-gen Grand Tour riders are skilled and ambitious. They have developed using the latest training techniques such as altitude camps and modern race nutrition. Some are still teenagers but they are ready to race at WorldTour level. The first post-Pogačar Tour winner is surely amongst them.
The results of the prestigious junior Giro della Lunigiana stage race (September 4-7) are also worth watching to follow the future talents of the sport. Seixas won the Giro della Lunigiana last year, Lenny Martinez in 2021, Evenepoel in 2018, Pogačar in 2016 and Tao Geoghegan Hart in 2013.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep)
There is a huge debate about if Remco Evenepoel can ever win the Tour de France but he is an undeniable generational talent. He does not have the climbing ability to match Pogačar in the mountains but was third on his Tour debut in 2024.
Evenepoel's move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe next year will surely boost his development as a Grand Tour rider, with a stronger team and a performance structure also huge factors in his future development. Few riders are as mature, in control of their career and hungry for success like Evenepoel.
The 24-year-old Belgian's time trialing ability will always allow him to gain vital time on his rivals, especially against pure climbers. If ASO decides to add more and longer time trials in future Tours, it could tip the balance in Evenepoel's favour and help him win the yellow jersey.
Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
The 21-year-old Mexican was the revelation of the 2025 Giro d'Italia but his overall victory in the 2023 Tour de L'Avenir was already a clear indication of his talents.
Isaac del Toro arguably lost the Giro due to lack of experience and bad tactics but it was a lesson learnt for the future. It also helped him rise in the UAE hierarchy and he wisely has the same agent as Pogačar, so it would not be a surprise to see him ride the 2026 Tour alongside Pogačar as part of his Grand Tour apprenticeship.
Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek)
The Dane is just 18 but is already racing at WorldTour level with Lidl-Trek, while also targeting specific under-23 races and mountain bike races.
Albert Withen Philipsen was junior road race world champion in Glasgow in 2023 and then European junior time trial champion, with other success in mountain biking and cyclocross a confirmation of his many talents.
This year he won Paris-Roubiax Espoirs riding for the Lidl-Trek development team and so he may ultimately develop into a world class Classics rider rather than a Grand Tour contender but whatever road he ultimately takes, Withen Philipsen seems set to be a future star of the sport.
Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Italy is desperate to find the next Vincenzo Nibali, who can win the Giro d'Italia and perhaps even the Tour.
Giulio Pellizzari, and perhaps Davide Piganzoli who rides for Team Polti-VisitMalta but is set to join Visma-Lease a Bike in 2026, appear to be the next great Italian stage racers. They finished second and third behind Del Toro in the 2023 Tour de L'Avenir.
21-year-old Pellizzari was cruelly stopped from winning a stage of the 2024 Giro by Pogačar but came on leaps and bounds after his move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and finished sixth in this year's Corsa Rosa after designated leader Primož Roglič abandoned due to his crash injuries.
Pellizzari is part of the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team for the Vuelta a España. He is likely to target stage victories rather than the GC but like his close friend Del Toro, he has a laid back approach to life and racing that helps handle the pressures of being a Grand Tour contender.
Lorenzo Finn (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies)
If Pellizzari and Piganzoli fail to develop in the years to come, then Anglo-Italian Lorenzo Finn could quickly usurp them.
Finn was second to Seixas in the 2024 Giro della Lunigiana and then won the junior road race world title in Zurich, with a ride as equally dominant as Pogačar in the elite men's race. He was sixth overall in the Giro d'Italia Next Gen while riding for teammate Luke Tuckwell (another name to remember) and won the mountains classification.
Finn is still maturing physically and is expected to stay with the Red Bull Rookies programme next season but will surely get a chance to ride a number of WorldTour races in 2026. Watch for him at the Tour de L'Avenir.
Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe are both buying future Grand Tour talent and developing it in-house. Evenepoel is the expensive outside hire while 24-year-old Florian Lipowitz is in-house German talent.
He came to cycling late after competing in biathlon but stepped up to WorldTour level in 2023 and won the Czech Tour. He was third at the 2024 Tour de Romandie and showed his Grand Tour talents with seventh on his debut at the Vuelta, while helping Roglič win the overall.
He was second in Pais-Nice in March, third at Itzulia Basque Country and third at the Critérium du Dauphiné. The Tour should have been a journey of discovery but he became the revelation of the race, finished third overall and won the best young rider competition. Germany suddenly had a Tour de France contender.
Evenepoel's charisma and global profile may relegate Lipowitz down the Grand Tour pecking order in 2026 but Lipowitz is already ahead of Roglič and can only learn and improve as Evenepoel takes the spotlight and pressure.
Paul Seixas (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)
France has been waiting for 40 years for the next home-grown Tour de France winner and Paul Seixas seems to be the answer to their gallic anguish.
Seixas is still a teenager but physically and mentally mature beyond his years. He won the junior world time trial title in Zurich and then was fifth on his professional debut at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Marseille. He impressed at the Tour of the Alps, gifting a win to teammate Nicolas Prodhomme, before finishing eighth overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
Seixas will lead the French team at the Tour de L'Avenir and the favourite for overall victory despite a field packed with other Gen Z super talents.
Decathlon have secured shipping giant CMA CGM as a second sponsor and boosted their budget to that of a super team. Internally, Seixas's development has been dubbed 'Project Tour 2030' but don't be surprised if Seixas becomes a Tour contender before that.
Decathlon also have Léo Bisiaux on their roster to create some internal rivalry. The 20-year-old was fourth in the 2024 Tour de L'Avenir and recently took his first pro win on a mountain stage at the Vuelta a Burgos. He will make his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España.
Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma-Lease a Bike)
The 20-year-old Norwegian could easily be described as the next Jonas Vingegaard. Jørgen NOrdhagen is a pure climber and showed his professional potential even in 2024 when he was still racing for the Visma development team. He is part of the Visma 'white jersey' group of riders identified for special development.
Nordhagen was second at this year's Giro d'Italia Next Gen and won the final mountain stage, regretting not being more aggressive earlier in the eight-day race. He will surely not make the same mistake on the mountain stages of the Tour de L'Avenir while riding for the Norwegian team.
Jarno Widar (Lotto)
Many in Belgium hope that Evenepoel can one day win the Tour de France but Jarno Widar could do it before him. Widar has a contract with the Lotto programme until 2027 but is a true super talent, he could become the target of a hostile buyout if a major team goes after him.
The 19-year-old is already a proven stage race rider even before he steps up to WoldTour level in 2026.
He won the Giro d'Italia Next Gen and then the mountainous Giro della Valle d'Aosta in 2024. Widar was in tears after losing any chance of a second win at the Giro d'Italia Next Gen this summer due a crash but avoided any serious injury and returned to win three stages of the Giro della Valle d'Aosta.
Widar will lead the Belgian under-23 team at the Tour de L'Avenir and then at the Rwanda Road World Championships. New UCI rules mean many of his rivals who race for worldTour teams are unable to ride the under-23 race.
Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious Development Team)
Slovenian cycling seems to have found the next Tadej Pogačar, with 19-year-old Jakob Omrzel a prodigious talent.
Omrzel won the Giro d'Italia Next Gen with a brave, all-out attack in the final stage, doing enough to distance race leader Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies) and win the maglia rosa.
Omrzel suffered a life-threatening cut to his neck at the 2024 Giro della Lunigiana and spent a long spell in hospital but made a rapid recovery. He won the Junior Paris-Roubaix in 2024 and recently won the hugely prestigious GP Capodarco one-day race in Italy. He appears to have the ability to win every kind of race, just like Pogačar.
Pablo Torres and Adrià Pericas (UAE Team Emirates Gen Z)
Juan Ayuso is considered Spain's next great thing but behind him, Pablo Torres and Adrià Pericas are showing even more potential, even as teenagers. They will lead the Spanish team at the Tour de L'Avenir.
19-year-old Torres finished second overall at the Tour de L'Avenir in 2024. He won the final stage on the Colle delle Finestre gravel climb but a tactical blunder on stage 5 meant he lost five minutes to Britain's Joe Blackmore and just failed to gain enough time to win the GC.
Torres stepped up the UAE WorldTour team and has ridden a mixed programme that will allow him to peak for the Tour de L'Avenir.
Pericas is following a similar path but is riding for the UAE Gen Z development team in 2025. He will step-up in 2026 and has a contract until 2030, a sign UAE believe in his talents.
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