After the signing of Marta Lach announced earlier this week, the Human Powered Health team have further strengthened their roster for 2027 with the signing of former world champion Amalie Dideriksen.

Dideriksen won the elite road race rainbow jersey in Qatar in 2016, having won back-to-back world titles at junior level before that.

The 30-year-old hasn't enjoyed the greatest success in recent times, but has declared her 'racing instinct' to be back, and has voiced her desire to 'become the best version of myself'.

Dideriksen has spent the past two seasons at Cofidis, prior to which she had two seasons apiece at Uno-X and Trek-Segafredo, following the six years at Boels-Dolmans (now SD Worx-Protime) that started her career.

"She is a rider with an incredible amount of experience, a proven winner at the highest level, and someone who has shown throughout her career that she can perform in many different types of races,” said Ro De Jonckere, General Manager of the Human Powered Health team.

"Amalie brings strength, versatility and race intelligence, but also the kind of experience that can make a real difference within a growing team."

The move to the US-registered Human Powered Health team marks a return to the Women's WorldTour, Cofidis belonging to the second-tier of women's cycling teams.

"It just looks like a really good team to work with," Dideriksen said. "They feel like they do a lot for the athletes and race in a great way. I really liked how I worked with Magnus Bäckstedt on Cofidis, then he moved on to Human Powered Health, so that makes it even more interesting for me. I’m looking forward to joining."

Dideriksen's has never quite scaled the heights indicated by the flurry of rainbow jerseys so early in her career, and the top-level success has dried up in recent seasons, with six wins in the past eight years, four of those coming at her Danish national championships.

However, after an eye-catch season in which she won the Région Pays de la Loire and collected her sixth Danish road race title, Dideriksen feels like she's on the up.

"I think I’ve found a bit back the last few years, like this racing instinct," she said. “When you as a team can really play in the finals for a good result. You can plan a lot before, but in the end you need this winning instinct or this motivation to really fight.

"I like when you enter the final part of the race where time goes slow and really fast at the same time, to make those decisions on the road."

Much has changed in the decade since Dideriksen won Worlds, with the women's side of cycling developing rapidly and becoming a far more professional environment.

"It gets more and more important now in the cycling world, with all these helping tools, which I find quite interesting," Dideriksen said in relation to Human Powered Health’s Performance Labs sports science facilities.

"I feel like now it’s also a part of me of still being in cycling is trying to become the best version of myself. Accessing basically more data and more knowledge about what I can do, I find really interesting."

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Former QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere has weighed in on Primož Roglič's potential transfer to Lotto-Intermarché, citing Mark Cavendish, Philippe Gilbert, and Richard Virenque from his experience of negotiating contracts with aging stars.

Roglič, the 36-year-old five-time Grand Tour champion, is out of contract at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe at the end of 2026 and has been linked with a surprise move to Belgian squad Lotto, where Lefevere was a director in the 1980s.

Lefevere went on to become the boss of the rival Belgian team currently known as Soudal-QuickStep, where he gained a reputation for signing riders when their value was relatively low and unsentimentally dispensing with them at their peak.

"There are plenty of examples of riders who want to sign a good contract at the end of their careers and then let it slide. I think I can say that I had a good gut feeling in that regard," Lefevere stated in his weekly Saturday column for Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

"When I brought Richard Virenque to the team in 2001, they wanted to hang me from the highest tree. Yet, it turned out to be a huge success," he argued.

"I offered Mark Cavendish a contract in 2021 when he wasn't worth five francs anymore, resulting in four stage wins in the Tour de France and the green jersey."

Virenque was almost 32 when he signed for the team then known as Domo Farm Frites, and went on to win three stages at the Tour de France.

Cavendish was struggling for results and on the verge of retirement towards the end of 2020, before a return to QuickStep – where he'd raced from 2013 to 2015 – kick-started an extraordinary comeback that saw the Manxman win four stages at the 2021 Tour de France. Cavendish, however, was bumped back down the pecking order in 2022 in favour of Fabio Jakobsen and would be on his way out of the team at the end of that season, eventually moving to Astana to complete his ambition to become the all-time record holder for Tour de France stage wins.

"Where my gut feeling also came in handy: knowing when not to offer someone a contract extension, despite their successes," Lefevere wrote on Saturday, citing another former rider, Philippe Gilbert.

Similarly to Cavendish, Lefevere oversaw a remarkable turnaround in Gilbert's career, with the Belgian, after years of tension with Greg Van Avermaet at BMC, finally unlocking his cobbled Classics potential and winning both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix for QuickStep. Gilbert left for Lotto in 2020 but didn't produce any major results.

"Gilbert was very well-liked with us because he was so professional, but I didn't want to pay what Lotto was offering at the time. We parted ways on the very best terms, something that wasn't the case with Cavendish," Lefevere said.

"Certainly not, because he lashed out at me in his book afterwards. I found that ungrateful. After all, I had pulled him out of the shit."

Cavendish's latest autobiography, published last year, accuses Lefevere of reneging on verbal agreements and under-paying him during what he described as a 'frankly insulting saga' when it came to negotiating a contract renewal for 2022. Cavendish had essentially covered his own salary by bringing a personal sponsor with him to QuickStep in 2021, and having returned to his former status as the Tour's top sprinter, felt he warranted a better deal than Lefevere was offering for 2022.

As for Roglič, Lefevere acknowledged that he wasn't aware of the Slovenian's current levels of motivation, which would, he indicated, be the most important factor for him as a prospective boss. However, he questioned the wisdom of a move to Lotto, highlighting the team's recent track record in signing aging stars.

"We have to be honest, that means teams aren't exactly lining up to sign him," he said of Lotto's reported interest in Roglič.

"Although Lotto has already made a few big-name signings in recent years that undoubtedly didn't come for peanuts, but where the transfer turned out not to be a success afterwards. John Degenkolb, Elia Viviani, and Philippe Gilbert rode for the national lottery for a combined six years and recorded a grand total of four victories, none of which were in the WorldTour.

"Suffice it to say: attracting and letting go of people at the right moment is a quality not to be underestimated in our world," Lefevere concluded.

Less than two weeks after Picnic-PostNL announced that Fabio Jakobsen would be leaving the team with immediate effect, Visma-Lease a Bike have confirmed the Dutch sprinter's signing on a deal through 2027.

Jakobsen, 29, has 46 pro wins to his name, including a Tour de France stage, five stages of the Vuelta a España, two editions of Scheldeprijs, and the 2022 European road title. However, he's struggled with health issues in recent seasons, including double iliac artery surgery in early 2025.

Jakobsen's most recent victory came in the opening stage of the Tour of Turkey two years ago, and both he and Visma will hope he'll get back to winning ways in his new surroundings.

"I've raced against the team for several years now, and seeing everything they've achieved throughout the years and how consistently they perform at the highest level, It's a dream come true to wear these colours," Jakobsen said.

"My goal is to get back to the level where I can compete at the highest level again and sprint for victories. As a sprinter, you never win on your own, so being part of a strong team is essential. I believe this is one of the best performance environments in the world", he says.

"I believe we can learn from each other and continue to improve together. There's a lot of work ahead, but I'm confident this is the right environment to make progress."

This season, Jakobsen has toiled away on the lacklustre Picnic-PostNL team. The Dutch team have just a single win to their name at the Tour of Turkey, where Casper van Uden – switching to Alpecin-Premier Tech next year – sprinted to victory.

Picnic currently lie 29th in the UCI world rankings, last of all WorldTour teams and below 11 second division ProTeams, and look set to face a relegation battle over the coming seasons.

Jakobsen's Turkey stage win is his sole triumph during two-and-a-half years at the squad, while his top result in 2026 is 16th on a stage of the UAE Tour.

Visma-Lease a Bike head of performance explained that the team were "looking for a specialist for the flat sprints" and believe they've found one in Jakobsen. He hasn't raced since the Dutch National Championships in June, and Visma noted that the upcoming months will be focused on 'a gradual return to competition… centred on rebuilding his condition.'

"We had been looking for a specialist for the pure flat sprints. The more we looked into Fabio's situation, the more convinced we became that there is still a great deal of untapped potential," Heijboer said.

"We believe we can create the right environment to help him unlock it. At the same time, having Fabio join us now allows us to start working with Fabio straight away instead of waiting until next season."

Analysis

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Visma-Lease a Bike have announced the signing of Dutch racer Femke Markus, who makes the switch after a four-year stint with SD Worx-Protime.

The 29-year-old is Visma's first confirmed incoming transfer for 2027, and she joins Marta Lach on SD Worx's outgoing list. She has joined Visma-Lease a Bike on a two-year deal.

This year, Markus – sister of Lidl-Trek racer Riejanne – has enjoyed her strongest season since joining SD Worx from Parkhotel Valkenburg back in 2023.

Her spring Classics highlight was a top-10 finish at In Flanders Fields, while the following month she scored her first win in four years, leading an SD Worx 1-2-3 at the Antwerp Port Epic Ladies with a 26km solo move.

She narrowly missed out on becoming Dutch road champion in June, taking second in a two-up sprint with future teammate Lieke Nooijen, and she finished eighth at last month's Baloise Ladies Tour.

"What appeals to me about Team Visma-Lease a Bike is the knowledge and expertise that are present within the team," Markus said.

"I am looking forward to learning from that and continuing to develop myself. With support from The Athlete’s FoodCoach and an approach that is strongly based on science, I believe I can still take steps forward here."

Markus comes from a speedskating family. She was a junior world champion before following Riejanne in switching over to cycling. Younger sister Roos, meanwhile, has stuck to skating. She only turned pro in 2022, so her rise to the top of the Women's WorldTour has been rapid.

If her palmarès didn't already show it, Markus said that the Classics are her forte. Her favourite race is Paris-Roubaix, where she has twice finished in the top 20 and took 21st this year.

Three years ago, she was in the winning breakaway at the Hell of the North, but slipped and fell on the Roubaix velodrome, eventually finishing 19th as Alison Jackson went on to score a famous victory.

"I really love Classics, echelons and tough races. I am a bit of a powerhouse rider. I really enjoy it when a race becomes difficult and the strongest rider wins. As a rider, I am above all a team player. I want to win together with the team and always get the best out of myself," Markus said.

"I would like to continue developing in the classics, but I also really enjoy being a reliable foundation within the team, someone the team can always count on."

Markus's biggest dream is to win Roubaix, she said, while Visma-Lease a Bike manager noted that she can be a key rider for the team during the spring Classics.

"Femke is a rider who has proven herself over several years in Classics and races where the difference is made through strength and race intelligence," he said.

"We have seen that she performs well when the race is made hard and the conditions are challenging. That is something we can use well in the spring."

Analysis

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Days after winning the general classification at the Tour de Pologne, Marco Brenner has signed a long-term deal to remain with Tudor Pro Cycling.

After joining in 2024, the team announced the former German champion will remain at the Swiss-registered squad until the end of the 2030 season, when he will be 30-years-old.

"This isn’t just a deal. It’s a declaration of a shared future, ambition and trust," read the team’s statement.

Brenner's contract is among the longest in cycling, with only Isaac del Toro's deal to 2031 with UAE Team Emirates-XRG and the 'lifetime' Visma-Lease a Bike contracts for Marianne Vos and Wout van Aert running longer. Mathys Rondel, Brenner's teammate, is among nine other WorldTour riders with a contract running to 2030.

Brenner joined Tudor in 2024 after beginning his career at what is now Picnic-PostNL at the age of just 19. He soon picked up his first professional victory, taking the opening stage of that year’s Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali.

A punchy climber, the 23-year-old has several other decent results to his name, though his second victory didn’t materialise until last weekend when, after a consistent ride in the Tour de Pologne’s hilly stages, seventh place in the final day time trial was enough to secure him overall victory.

That was an excellent return for Brenner, who suffered serious shoulder and knee injuries following a crash in stage 19 of the 2025 Giro d’Italia which kept him out of competition for almost four months. His return in September barely got off the ground with a series of DNFs, but he began the 2026 season with fourth place overall at the Santos Tour Down Under, steadily improving throughout the year.

"I am really happy to extend my contract and continue my journey with Tudor Pro Cycling," said Brenner, who is set to start his third Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España next week.

"When I joined the Team in 2024, I found a nice environment that allowed me to perform and find joy. And when I was injured and working on my way back last year, I was given the time and support I needed. I now look forward to adding a few more years to this journey.”

Tudor’s CEO, Raphael Meyer, was delighted to have tied down his GC talent. "Marco is a young rider we truly believe in," he said. "His rehabilitation and return to racing after his severe crash at the 2025 Giro d’Italia are a testament to his fighting spirit, a quality that also defines him as a racer.

"Last week’s Tour de Pologne was a perfect example of Marco’s determination and resilience, and a great result of both tremendous teamwork and our born-to-dare racing spirit.”

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Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have snapped up Georg Steinhauser from EF Education-EasyPost, with the German rider joining the German team from 2027.

Steinhauser turned professional with EF in 2022 and made a name for himself when he won a mountain stage at the 2024 Giro d'Italia.

Steinhauser's 2025 season was derailed by Lyme Disease, but he has bounced back in 2026, finishing on the podium of Paris-Nice in the white jersey of best young rider, and going on to race and finish his first Tour de France.

“Georg combines climbing ability, race intelligence and an attacking mindset. He has earned his success through hard work over the past few years, and we believe he is still far from reaching his full potential," said Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's chief of sport, Zak Dempster.

"Together, we want to continue supporting his development and provide the best possible environment for him to take the next step in his career."

Steinhauser can be excited about joining a German team, where he will link back up with one of the team's leading stage racers, Florian Lipowitz, the pair having raced together at the Tirol-KTM team before they hit the WorldTour.

"When I was young, I was always a fan of this team and have been impressed by how they kept reaching one goal after another. Joining a German team with a very professional and international approach will certainly be a good platform for me to progress," Steinhauser said.

"I hope to be able to add to the team’s success with my aggressive style, but also in a strong support role. I’m ready to create lasting memories in the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe kit!"

The length of Steinhauser's contract has not been disclosed, but it is described as a 'multi-year' deal.

Analysis

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's transfer window so far

EF Education-EasyPost's transfer window so far

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Reigning junior time trial world champion Megan Arens made a surprise mid-season switch this week from Picnic-PostNL to AG Insurance-Soudal. The move was announced by the Belgian team, which said it was a mutual agreement between the two Women's WorldTour programmes.

"The 19-year-old Dutch rider joins the squad with immediate effect from Team Picnic PostNL and will continue her career in the colours of AG Insurance-Soudal Team," the statement read.

"The move has been completed by mutual agreement with Team Picnic PostNL, allowing Megan to embrace a new chapter in her career."

Arens, who turned 19 in March, rode with two different Dutch club teams as a 17-18 junior, earning spots on the national team for Road World Championships both years. In her Worlds debut in 2024, Arens had top 10s in both the time trial and road race. Then last year rode a dominant time trial to win the rainbow jersey by 35 seconds, and followed with a UCI junior victory at Chrono des Nations.

She jumped into elite races this year with Picnic-PostNL, earning a most aggressive award on the opening stage at Itzulia Women and riding to seventh on the final stage at Tour de Suisse Women, and in both races was third in the youth classification.

"I’m really excited about joining AG Insurance-Soudal, and I’m very grateful to the team’s management for giving me this opportunity," Arens said.

"Watching the team perform at the Tour de France Femmes has once again shown me what a strong and ambitious team it is. I’m looking forward to being part of this group, continuing to develop and hopefully contributing to many great results together in the biggest races and Grand Tours in the years ahead."

Two months ago, AG Insurance-Soudal added 25-year-old cyclo-cross rider Amandine Fouquenet to the roster. She had previously raced on the road for Arkéa-B&B Hotels for six seasons, scoring a number of top 10s in one-day races at her home Bretagne Ladies Tour stage race.

Fouquenet will be on the Tour of Britain Women start list, while it was not yet known where Arens would make her first appearance for her new team. Both riders show potential as the French squad looks to develop young talent.

"We're very pleased to welcome Megan to our team. She has already shown that she is a rider with a lot of talent and potential, and we believe she fits perfectly within our philosophy of developing young riders," said Jurgen Foré, general manager of AG Insurance-Soudal.

"Over the past few years, we've built an environment where riders can grow step by step, and we're convinced Megan has everything she needs to continue that progression with us."

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.

Well-placed Belgian media have suggested that Grand Tour veteran champion Primoz Roglič may be quitting Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe to head to Lotto-Intermarché for 2027.

The 36-year-old has endured a torrid second half of the season so far, with a training crash impeding his build-up for the Vuelta a España, his big target for 2027, and his exit from the German team, which he joined in 2024 in a shock move from Visma-Lease a Bike, is already viewed as a virtual certainty.

Het Laatste Nieuws now report that Roglič is likely to be joining Lotto-Intermarché for 2027, and that discussions have already begun over his transfer to the Belgian WorldTour squad.

After unnamed sources close to Roglič and Lotto confirmed the ongoing negotiations, HLN suggest that rather than retiring, as was also possible, the four-times Vuelta a España winner could delay hanging up his wheels by at least a season and head to Belgium.

Other teams who reportedly were interested in Roglič's services for 2027 included Q36.5, Movistar and UAE Team Emirates-XRG, but all of these offers have apparently fallen by the wayside. Bahrain Victorious were also reported to be part of the picture, but Cyclingnews understands it was never a realistic option.

'Bombshell news' though this would be, as HLN say, there are good arguments for a transfer to Lotto-Intermarché to happen. Roglič is apparently looking at targeting the Tour de Suisse, the one major week-long stage race missing from his palmares, and is also keen to return to the Tour de France, and rather than the crammed out lineups he has to compete with at his current team and elsewhere to do so, the dearth of top GC names in Lotto-Intermarché mean that Roglič would be knocking on an open door when it comes to taking part in both races.

Given Lotto-Intermarché's imminent lack of a major senior GC star in their ranks, too, the Belgian squad could maintain Roglič as their main focus, whilst giving up-and-coming local talent Jarno Widar, viewed as a possible overall contender in the future, room to grow without suffering excessive pressure. At the same time, as both Lennert van Eetvelt and sprinter Arnaud De Lie are leaving, even if he failed to win in some major stage races, Roglič's consistent ability to rack up top five and top ten places would provide a much-needed source of UCI points.

The Vuelta a España - a decision next week?

Meanwhile there is apparently a continuing questionmark whether Roglič will be taking part in the Vuelta a España. This follows a Tweet last week by well-informed Italian journalist Ciro Scognamiglio of Gazzetta dello Sport that, following his training crash - which has already seen Roglič skip two build-up races, the Clásica San Sebastián and Vuelta a Burgos, the probability currently stood at around 50-50.

Should Roglič take part, he would likely be the biggest obstacle between Tadej Pogačar and overall victory in the Vuelta a España. However, given the UAE Team Emirates-XRG racer's track record over the last seven years, the odds remain massively in favour of Pogačar capturing the final Grand Tour on offer in 2026, whether Roglič is there or not.

Spanish newspaper 'AS' suggested on Wednesday that a decision about Roglič's participation could be taken as late as early next week. That would be just days before the race begins on Saturday, August 22 in Monaco - both Pogačar's and Roglič's adopted residence during the season.

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Human Powered Health made its first move for next season and signed Polish all-rounder Marta Lach for the next two years, beginning in January.

The Women’s WorldTour team refers to her as a 'Classics powerhouse', as evidenced by her finishing speed on a variety of terrain and conditions. She has won Festival Elsy Jacobs à Garnich each of the last three years and has a total of 16 victories across eight pro seasons.

The now 29-year-old has been among the top five most productive riders for SD Worx-Protime the last two seasons, earning 10 podiums.

“I’m really good in the Classic races, especially the crazy ones, like Antwerp or Roubaix, but I also really like sprints after a hard race. I’m very ambitious, always fighting until the end,” she said in a Human Powered Health press release.

"I would really love to use this potential, and I hope in Human Powered Health we can really use it as an advantage. It’s an international team, and the happiness that I see between the girls, and the mentality to push forward, and to be happy on the bike drew me to the project. This environment seems to be a good one for me.

"I believe that with the team, we can achieve a lot. Also to grow as a person and as a rider.”

That allure of the US-based WorldTour squad led to a call between her agent and Human Powered Health General Manager Ro de Jonckere. The reaction was immediate, as De Jonckere said, "we did not hesitate for a second".

"The deal was done within 24 hours, which says a lot about how strongly we believe in Marta and what she can bring to this team. She is an incredibly strong and versatile rider, with all the qualities we love to see in an athlete," De Jonckere said.

"As we continue our commitment to building Human Powered Health into a top WorldTour team, Marta is one of our key signings for the next two seasons. We feel she fits our philosophy perfectly, and we are very excited to have her join us.”

She was a fan of the Olympic Games as a child and has gone on to represent Poland twice, in 2024 finishing 10th in the road race in Paris and adding a top 20 in the time trial.

Lach gained experience with her versatile style at SD Worx-Protime, from cobbled one-day races, such as Nokere Koerse where she won last year, to stage races, taking second on a stage and the overall mountains classification at the Tour de Suisse Women.

"I’m grateful for the past, for these people that I’ve had the chance to meet along the way, and I look back on this time with gratitude. Now, I’m excited to take the new step of my career,” she added.

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.

After spending the first seven years of his career with Bahrain Victorious, Santiago Buitrago is moving on to pastures new in 2027, joining NSN Cycling Team to broaden the team's horizons.

The NSN team, which was rebranded and restructured from the Israel-Premier Tech team, has little quality or depth in the climbing department, but the signing of Buitrago is designed to address that.

The 26-year-old Colombian is a top 10 finisher at the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, along with numerous week-long stage races, where his palmarès includes a win at the 2025 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.

As well as a solid general classification presence, Buitrago has also marked himself out as a strong stage hunter and Classics rider, winning stages at the Giro d'Italia in 2022 and 2023, placing third at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2023, and winning his first one-day race at Trofeo Laigueglia earlier this year.

Buitrago joins on a three-year contract running through 2029, by which point he will have just turned 30.

"The arrival of Santiago Buitrago represents an important addition to NSN Cycling Team’s long-term sporting project," said NSN's General Manager Kjell Carlström.

“Despite a career already spanning seven years, at just 26 years old, Santiago has a long career ahead of him and room for continued growth as a rider. In addition to Santiago’s stage and General Classification victories, he has finished inside the top ten at the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, and we believe the best is yet to come.

“Beyond his own leadership opportunities, Buitrago’s climbing ability and experience will give NSN Cycling Team greater tactical flexibility across the WorldTour calendar. His signing forms part of the team’s continued investment in a roster capable of challenging across multiple race formats, building on the team’s focus of sprinting and opportunistic racing in 2026.”

Buitrago added: "After seven years in Bahrain-Victorious, I felt it was the right time for a new challenge. I experienced some very important moments there, growing as a cyclist and as a person, but I also wanted to step outside my comfort zone and find a different environment that would help me continue to evolve.

“I was really impressed by the NSN sporting project and the confidence the team showed in me from the beginning. I feel we share the same ambition and that this is a place where I can continue to develop and fight for important goals.

“I still feel I have a lot of room to grow, so in the next three years, I want to keep taking steps forward and become an increasingly complete and consistent rider. My main goal will be to remain competitive in stage races and continue to develop in the Grand Tours."

Analysis

Pinarello-Q36.5 confirmed Czech sprinter Pavel Bittner will join the roster to start the 2027 season, the 23-year-old signing for two years.

It's another substantial rung in the ladder for the Swiss WorldTour team, which signed AlUla-Jayco's Mauro Schmid earlier this month on a three-year deal. The win for the top-ranked ProTeam is a major loss for WorldTour squad Picnic-PostNL, where Bittner developed into a top talent and is their top UCI points scorer this season.

Bittner is one of the top performers for the Dutch squad this year, with six top 10s - including second at Scheldeprijs, third at Bredene Koksijde Classic and fifth on a Tour de France stage among his individual race results. He has been the most productive UCI producer for the team so far this season with 580.

"Over the last couple of seasons I've become a more complete rider. I've learned to stay calmer in the decisive moments and I know there's still another step to take. My ambition is to become a consistent winner, fight for victories in the biggest races and keep improving every year," Bittner said in a Pinarello-Q36.5 statement on Monday.

"From the outside I could already see how much this team has grown over the last couple of seasons. Every conversation confirmed the same feeling: it's an ambitious project, but also one where people genuinely enjoy racing together. That family atmosphere really mattered to me because I believe you perform at your best when you truly enjoy the environment you're part of."

At the pro level, Bittner has ridden exclusively in the Picnic-PostNL organisation, beginning on the development squad in 2021 as a teenager. He moved to the WorldTour level when the squad was Team DSM, and began to flash his speed with significant impact in 2024, winning stage 5 at the Vuelta a España in a sprint in Sevilla and then going second on stage 17, a hilly stage that showcased his growing consistency on varied terrain.

"At just 23 years of age he has already experienced two Tour de France campaigns, won a Grand Tour stage and continued to show remarkable progression this season. We believe his best years are still ahead of him," said Doug Ryder, team principal at Pinarello-Q36.5.

"And we're excited to support his development as he continues his journey towards becoming one of the leading sprinters in professional cycling."

Bittner and Schmid officially become teammates with Tom Pidcock at Pinarello Q36.5 on January 1, 2027.

"Pavel represents exactly the type of rider we want to build our future around. His talent has never been in question, but what impressed us most is his mindset. He's ambitious, analytical and constantly looking for ways to improve, qualities that fit perfectly with the culture we are building as a team."

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.

Soudal-QuickStep have announced their first new transfer for the 2027 season, with versatile German rider Tim Torn Teutenberg joining from Lidl-Trek on a two-year deal.

Teutenberg had raced for Lidl-Trek's WorldTour team since 2025, having impressed as an U23 rider on their development squad, winning Paris-Roubaix Espoirs and the Olympia's Tour in 2024.

Since turning professional, the 24-year-old has yet to land a victory, but has shown great promise in sprints – both going for his own ambitions and as a lead-out, time trials, and as a potential Classics star.

"I'm delighted to join this team. I’ve admired Soudal Quick-Step since I was young and was a big fan of Mark Cavendish when he raced for The Wolfpack," said Teutenberg on the team's website.

"It’s a squad with an extraordinary legacy in the Classics, which are the races where I hope to keep improving. At the same time, I also want to develop as a sprinter, so next season will be about finding the right balance between the two."

The team will be known as Soudal Safety Jogger when the German first pins on a race number for them in 2027, with development team rider Ceriel Desal the only other confirmed new arrival for next season.

With GC rider Mikel Landa on his way back to Euskaltel-Euskadi, the Belgian team will be led by Tim Merlier and Paul Magnier in 2027, both in sprints and at the Classics, where Teutenberg could slot in as a valuable support rider.

But he should also get his chance to develop as a sprinter at the races they aren't at, with hopes of matching some of his best results as an U23 rider in the Classics: "I’ve never raced Paris-Roubaix since turning professional, but I hope that by joining this team I’ll get the opportunity to do so and support the squad as best I can in the fight for a great result on the French cobbles."

"Tim has already shown that he is a very versatile rider. He has the speed to compete in bunch sprints, he can perform well in the Classics, and he has also demonstrated his qualities in time trials and on the track," said team CEO Jurgen Fore.

"That versatility, combined with his ambition to improve and his strong work ethic, makes him an exciting rider for the future.

"We believe he is a great fit for our team and our philosophy. He is still young, eager to learn and ready to take the next step in his career. We are looking forward to working with him over the coming seasons and helping him continue his development. We are confident that, together, we can achieve some great things."

After his podium finish at the Tour de France, Mexican champion Isaac del Toro has extended his contract with UAE Team Emirates-XRG, committing his long-term future until 2031.

He had already been confirmed to stay until 2029, but this updated deal makes him the rider with the longest commitment to cycling's top team, with even Tadej Pogačar and rising talents Pablo Torres and Jan Christen's contracts set to expire in 2030.

Del Toro has become the secondary leader at UAE this season, backing up his runner-up finish from last year's Giro with third at his first Tour, all while supporting Pogačar to a fifth yellow jersey and winning a stage himself in Barcelona.

"I’m very happy to continue this journey with UAE Team Emirates-XRG. From the moment I joined the team, everybody has believed in me and given me the best environment to develop as both a rider and a person," said Del Toro on the team's website.

"Every season I’ve learned something new from my teammates and the people working around me, and I feel that I’m improving all the time.

"This team feels like home. We share the same ambition, the same passion for racing and the same desire to keep getting better. Signing long-term gives me a lot of confidence because I know I’m in the right place for my future.

"We’ve already achieved some amazing victories together, but I honestly believe the best is still to come. I’m excited to keep growing with this team and fighting for the biggest races in the world."

Our view

After two and a half lacklustre seasons, Fabio Jakobsen has left Picnic PostNL midway through 2026, the Dutch team confirmed on social media this morning after a mutual agreement was reached.

"After two seasons in our colours, we say goodbye to Fabio Jakobsen," read a post on X from the team.

"After open and constructive discussions, the team and Fabio reached a mutual decision, which means we’ll now go our separate ways. Thanks for everything, Fabio, and all the best for what’s next!"

The news came after Dutch publication Wielerflits first reported this morning that Jakobsen would, surprisingly, be on his way to Visma-Lease a Bike, stating that the 29-year-old could be racing for them as early as this month after terminating his Picnic contract.

Irish journalist Daniel Benson then reported via his Substack that Jakobsen has agreed a one-year deal for the 2027 season at Visma. However, a decision over any racing in yellow and black in 2026 is still to be reached.

Visma have been somewhat lacking in the sprint department despite the rapid rise of Matthew Brennan, after Olav Kooij left for Decathlon CMA CGM last season .The Brit and Wout van Aert are currently their best options, and though successful as versatile riders, they aren't among the top all-out sprinters.

Jakobsen was once the fastest rising prospect in sprinting, winning stages of the Vuelta a España and a national title in the Netherlands before his horror crash into the barriers at the Tour of Poland in 2020. Bouncing back from that near-career-ending incident, Jakobsen won more stages at the Vuelta, a stage of the Tour de France and a European title while on Soudal-QuickStep.

He joined what was DSM-Firmenich PostNL in 2023 on a three-year deal, but has continuously struggled to find his previous best ever since due to crashes, injuries and having to undergo double iliac artery surgery. He was a big-money transfer to Picnic, but that move has largely proved a failure, winning only once at the 2024 Tour of Turkey during his time on the Dutch squad.

Just this year, the majority of Jakobsen's appearances have seen him struggling off the back and rarely even contesting in sprint finishes. He's failed to finish six times in 2026, and was outside the time limit on one occasion. He's also not once been in the top 15 of any stage or race he's competed in.

Jakobsen has spoke several times since his recent struggles that he is still hungry for success, and at only 29, he has time on his side. He's made a huge comeback before from that life-threatening crash six years ago, but he'll have to dig himself out of this lack of form and confidence again if he is to find any success at Visma in the coming 18 months.

Winner of stage 13 of the 2026 Tour de France, Mauro Schmid, will make the switch from Jayco-AlUla to Pinarello-Q36.5 next season.

The Swiss rider has signed a three-year deal, meaning that he will race for the team until at least the end of the 2029 season.

Schmid has been a key rider for the Australian team since joining in 2024 and is their top UCI point-scorer this season with more than 2,500 points. Alongside his Tour stage win, Schmid also won Coppi e Bartali in March and was second at both La Fléche Wallonne and the Tour Down Under.

The 26-year-old will join the Swiss team as one of its leaders, sharing some of the pressure and responsibility with the team’s marquee rider Tom Pidcock.

He says that part of the attraction of moving to the team was his connection with team boss Doug Ryder, who signed him to his first professional contract with Team Qhubeka NextHash in 2021, as well as the opportunity to join a Swiss outfit.

“Doug gave me the opportunity to turn professional, so there was already a strong connection,” Schmid said in a press release.

“But what really convinced me was seeing how much the team has evolved over the last two or three seasons. Especially as a Swiss rider, becoming part of this project makes it even more special."

Schmid has grown into one of the sport’s most versatile riders, able to chase wins on a variety of terrains. He was on flying form during his second Tour this summer, also landing two second places on stages 17 and 18.

"Every season I've managed to take another step forward, but I still feel I haven't reached my full potential. I want to become an even more complete rider, improve my time trial and continue closing the gap in the biggest one-day races.

“I believe this environment gives me everything I need to keep progressing," he added.

Schmid is Pinarello-Q36.5’s first signing ahead of the 2027 season. One departure from the second-tier squad is already known, with Australian Damien Howson announcing his retirement ahead of this year’s Tour. Around half of the squad is out of contract at the end of this year, so it’s possible that the team could look quite different next season.

"Mauro is one of the most complete bike racers in professional cycling today. What has impressed us most is not only the results he has achieved this season, but the way he races—with intelligence, versatility and an unwavering desire to keep improving. Those qualities fit perfectly with the culture we are building at Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team," team manager Doug Ryder added.

“As a Swiss rider joining a Swiss team, there is a natural connection that makes this signing particularly meaningful. We believe our environment, working hand in hand with partners, will give Mauro every opportunity to continue developing, while his experience and feedback will help us continue pushing the boundaries of innovation. We're delighted to welcome him to the team."

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Monegasque rider Victor Langellotti has left Netcompany-Ineos with immediate effect, making a rare mid-season switch to XDS-Astana.

The 31-year-old climber will make his debut in his new jersey at the Tour de Pologne next week, and hopes to race his third Vuelta a España with the team, with the 2026 edition starting near his home in Monaco. He has signed a contract that will run to the end of the 2027 season.

The UCI implemented a new ruling in 2024 allowing riders to transfer between teams in the first two weeks of August if there is a three-party agreement between both teams and the rider. Usually this also includes a transfer fee being paid by the new team to the rider's previous employer.

“I’m incredibly excited to join XDS-Astana Team and begin a new chapter in my career. A mid-season transfer is a huge opportunity for me, and I’m very grateful to the team for the trust they have placed in me,” said Langellotti in a team press release.

Langellotti's is the latest in a series of mid-year deals. The Kazakh team were also the beneficiaries of Tour of Flanders winner Alberto Bettiol’s transfer from EF Education-EasyPost in 2024. Charlotte Kool also made a move from Picnic-PostNL over to Fenix-Deceuninck last year, but this kind of move remains uncommon.

Langellotti’s signing pushes XDS-Astana over the maximum squad size of 31. Cycling journalist Daniel Benson has reported that the team have offloaded young Italian rider Florian Kajamini to ProTeam MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort. XDS-Astana have also signed Greek sprinter Nikoforos Arvanitou as a stagiaire for the rest of the season.

The current national champion of Monaco in both the road race and time-trial, titles he won despite being the only Monegasque rider in the field (the Monaco national championships take place alongside Spain’s), Langellotti began his cycling career with the long-running amateur team U.C Monaco before turning professional with Spanish team Burgos-BH in 2018.

He joined Netcompany-Ineos last season, racing the Vuelta a España and winning a stage at the Tour de Pologne.

“XDS-Astana Team has a rich and successful history, strong ambitions and a truly professional structure. I want to contribute to the team’s success, whether that means working for my teammates or taking my own opportunities when they come,” Langellotti said.

“I’m convinced this is the right place for me to continue not only my career but also my development as a professional cyclist, and I’m highly motivated to repay the team’s confidence with hard work and strong results.”

The team’s General Manager Alexandre Vinokurov, who has been resident in Monaco for two decades, added: ”We had the opportunity to strengthen our roster, and Victor Langellotti fits perfectly into our plans for both the second half of this season and next year. We reached a full agreement with both the rider and his team, Netcompany-Ineos, making this mid-season transfer possible.”

“There are still several busy months of racing ahead this season, so Victor will have the chance not only to settle into the team but also to fight for results straight away. In just two days he will start the UCI WorldTour Tour de Pologne, where he performed very well last year. And we won’t hide the fact that we are also considering Victor for our Vuelta a España lineup.”

After beginning his professional career in the famous orange kit in 2011, veteran Basque climber Mikel Landa will re-join ProTeam Euskaltel-Euskadi next season.

The 36-year-old has agreed a two-year contract to race with the team until at least the end of 2028. Landa originally raced with the team between 2011 and 2013 before stints with Astana, Team Sky, Movistar, Bahrain Victorious and finally Soudal-QuickStep.

The original Basque team folded at the end of 2013, being reborn as a professional outfit in 2020 under its original sponsors.

“For me, rejoining Euskaltel-Euskadi, pulling on the orange jersey again, and reconnecting with [Fundación Euskadi] means coming full circle,” Landa said in a press release announcing his transfer.

“I turned professional thanks to this organisation, and returning here at this stage of my career is deeply meaningful to me personally. I arrive with great enthusiasm and a strong desire to contribute to the team’s sporting project. I feel I still have the strength and experience needed to achieve great results and give the fans something to cheer about.”

“In the coming years, I will give my absolute best to repay the team as it deserves."

Landa’s career achievements include two top-fives in the overall classification at the Tour de France, two podium placings at the Giro d'Italia, alongside three stage wins, and a stage win at the Vuelta a España in 2015.

Throughout his career, Landa has been hailed as a fan favourite for his attacking riding style and often underestimated abilities, giving rise to the ‘Free Landa’ saying as he has often appeared capable of usurping his more favoured team leaders.

Euskaltel-Euskadi has also signed cyclocross star Felipe Orts for the 2027 campaign as well as riders from its development system, but Landa’s signature is a landmark move for the second-tier squad.

“In sporting terms, having Mikel Landa on the team takes us to a new level,” said Jorge Azana, Sport Director at Euskaltel-Euskadi.

“Having a team leader with his experience and ability to compete against the world's best allows us to pursue top-tier goals with genuine ambition. Furthermore, his presence will serve as a guide for the young talents rising through our development ranks.”

Pro cycling's transfer season for 2027 is officially underway, and though the strict August 1 rule no longer exists, the first day of the month still marked a flurry of transfer announcements and the start of what will be a busy few weeks of moves.

Prior to August 1, plenty of contracts have already been extended, and some transfers have been announced or confirmed. Some moves have already taken place mid-season, too, as there are different rules for signing riders who don't currently have a professional contract. Plenty have teams have already confirmed signings of neo-pros from their development squads too.

Teams are allowed to have transfer discussions and ink deals with riders whose contracts are ending before August 1, and often do - especially during the Tour de France, the height of transfer negotiations. Which means plenty of agreements will have been made long before August 1, but may only become public in the coming weeks.

Cyclingnews is tracking all movements during the transfer season – everything from contract renewals to extensions to retirements – with our dedicated transfer index across the men's and women's WorldTeams and ProTeams.

We'll update this page through the rest of the year with every confirmed signing for 2027, building a team-by-team list of ins and outs, while also tracking the latest transfer news from the professional cycling peloton.

Latest transfer news

The week after the Tour de France Femmes saw a flurry of transfer news, including Megan Arens' surprising immediate exit from the troubled Picnic PostNL squad, Femke Markus' move from SD Worx-Protime to Visma-Lease a Bike and Marta Lach signing for Human Powered Health.

On the men's side, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have bolstered their squad with EF's Georg Steinhauser, and Aussie climber Sebastian Berwick has earnt himself a spot on a big and ambitious team as he swaps Caja Rural for Pinarello-Q36.5, with the Swiss team making lots of canny signings this year.

Transfer speculation and rumours

Whilst we will only report on the moves we know to be confirmed here, there are plenty of rumours and whispers of moves that will be important this transfer season.

One of the most high-profile riders on the move this season is likely to be breakthrough star Paula Blasi, who is reportedly leaving UAE Team L'IMAD early for another squad – who will have to pay a hefty buy-out fee to release her from her current contract. The only question is who that new team is.

We also understand that Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney is exiting Canyon-SRAM, but again her destination is unknown. There's also a brand new team in the women's peloton, with Decathlon CMA CGM launching a women's ProTeam for 2027, and Cyclingnews understands that they have already filled a 10-rider roster.

Primož Roglič could be on the move from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe as he looks to extend his career, with Lotto-Intermarché a surprising contender for his signature. And there's still debate over the long-term future of Paul Seixas, though Isaac del Toro extending with UAE Team Emirates-XRG may be a sign he's not heading there.

We'll keep this section updated with some of the most interesting speculation, rumours and riders who are still out of contract as the window progresses.

Retirements and riders out of contract

As well as those on the move for 2027, there are plenty of riders who could be on their way out of the peloton – either by choice as they retire or those that are still searching for a contract.

A whole host of names have already announced their plans to retire, including Damiano Caruso, Magnus Cort, Pello Bilbao, Steven Kruijswijk, Amanda Spratt, Bauke Mollema and more. Kim Cadzow also ended her career with immediate effect recently.

There is speculation over the future of other riders, including Giro d'Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart who is out of contract with Lidl-Trek and seems to have been winding down this year, though it won't become clear until later in the year who is really scrambling for a contract.

Confirmed transfers - team by team

This is our index to all transfers that have been officially confirmed by teams.

Men's WorldTour

Alpecin-Deceuninck

Bahrain Victorious

Decathlon CMA CGM

EF Education-EasyPost

Groupama-FDJ

Jayco-AlUla

Lidl-Trek

Lotto-Intermarché

Movistar

Netcompany Ineos

NSN Cycling

Picnic PostNL

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe

Soudal-QuickStep

UAE Team Emirates-XRG

Uno-X Mobility

Visma-Lease a Bike

XDS Astana Team

Women's WorldTour

AG Insurance-Soudal

Canyon-SRAM

EF Education-Oatly

FDJ United-SUEZ

Fenix-Deceuninck

Human Powered Health

Lidl-Trek

Liv-AlUla-Jayco

Movistar

Picnic PostNL

SD Worx-Protime

UAE Team L'Imad

Uno-X Mobility

Visma-Lease a Bike

Men's ProTeams

Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber

Burgos Burpellet BH

Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

Cofidis

Equipo Kern Pharma

Euskaltel-Euskadi

Flanders-Baloise

MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort

Modern Adventure

Novo Nordisk

Pinarello-Q36.5

Polti-VisitMalta

Solutions Tech - NIPPO Rali

TotalEnergies

Tudor Pro Cycling

Unibet Rose Rockets

Women's Pro Teams

Cofidis

Decathlon CMA CGM

Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi

Lotto-Intermarché Ladies

Ma Petite Enterprise

Mayenne-Monbaba-MyPie

St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93

VolkerWessels Cycling Team

The future of the teenage sensation Paul Seixas has been in question ever since he started setting the world alight this spring, but Decathlon CMA CGM are hopeful of clinging onto the Frenchman and are looking to build a team around him with a string of high-profile signings. Negotiations have only ramped up during the 19-year-old's Tour de France debut.

Cyclingnews understands that Laurens De Plus, Pavel Sivakov, and Ben O’Connor will all be riding for Decathlon CMA CGM from next season.

Sivakov and O’Connor have both been linked to the team by the French newspaper L’Equipe in recent weeks, and we have learned that the pair have signed three-year deals that are now finalised.

On top of that, multiple sources indicated that De Plus will also move to Decathlon, agreeing terms on a two-year deal that just needs to be boxed off.

With Decathlon CMA CGM likely to lose Giro d’Italia runner-up Felix Gall, along with his domestique Gregor Mühlberger, Decathlon are looking to sign quality riders to fill out a Grand Tour team, and it all points towards giving Seixas support - and a reason to stay.

De Plus is regarded as one of the most dependable domestiques in the WorldTour and is set to move after spending six seasons as Netcompany Ineos. Before that, he spent two seasons with Visma and three at QuickStep. He has previously finished 10th overall in a Grand Tour, the 2023 Giro d’Italia, which came after missing nearly two full seasons in 2020 and 2021.

The 30-year-old is lacking recent Grand Tour experience, with his last three-week appearance coming in 2024.

Ben O’Connor will return to the team he rode for during four seasons, and where he won a stage of the Tour de France and finished fourth overall in 2021, as well as a podium at the Vuelta a España in 2024.

The 30-year-old Australian has spent the past two seasons at Jayco-AlUla but has not had the same GC fortunes and now looks set to take on a domestique role for a more realistic challenger.

Sivakov has long since seen his own Grand Tour ambitions relegated at UAE Team Emirates, with whom he has helped Tadej Pogačar to victory in the past two editions of the Tour de France. The 29-year-old Frenchman has spent the past three seasons at UAE after six seasons with Ineos.

The three signings, which follow the appointment of Romain Bardet as Head of Sport, suggest that Decathlon CMA CGM are trying to build a strong project around Seixas as they look to hold onto the sport’s hottest property in years to come. Seixas has a contract through 2027, but rival teams have been circling, with reports of huge-money propositions sent his way and speculation over a possible early exit.

There have also been reports that the Decathlon team could switch their registration from France to Switzerland in a bid to be able to increase Seixas’ salary towards his market value.

L’Equipe reports that Aurélien Paret-Peintre, who is riding this Tour alongside Seixas, is on the verge of signing a new long-term contract extension.

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In a surprise move, FDJ United-SUEZ announced the addition of multi-discipline US rider Kate Courtney to their Women's WorldTour squad. The reigning MTB World Champion in cross-country marathon will join the squad this week, with the 30-month contract effective immediately and running through the end of 2028.

"So freaking excited about this," Courtney confirmed to Cyclingnews.

Courtney's last victory came on a surprising start in the road race at USA Cycling Pro Road Nationals, where she outsprinted former USPro road champion Lauren Stephens (Aegis x Leaders of Enchantment) for her own first USPro road title.

The California native will make her WorldTour road debut as the USPro champion at La Périgord Ladies on July 18. She has committed to line up with her new WoldTour road team at Tour of Britain Women, August 19-23, which begins just four days following Leadville Trail 100 MTB, a race she won last year, and it was not confirmed if she would defend her off-road title in Colorado.

"It is hard to put into words what this opportunity means to me. I never expected to be able to make the jump to the WorldTour level so quickly and I am so motivated to rise to this huge challenge and really find out what I am capable of as an athlete and person in this final chapter of my career," Courtney said in a press release on Monday.

A stranger to road racing

Seven years before she won the XCM world championship last summer, Courtney earned her first rainbow jersey at MTB Worlds in the cross-country discipline. She followed that in 2019 by winning the overall UCI Cross-country World Cup title.

The 30-year-old caught added attention in May with a surprise start at Tour de Feminin in the Czech Republic for Team USA, her first road race since the age of 16, and won stage 4. Riding a second season with She Sends Racing as an off-road privateer, Courtney finished fifth at the Life Time Sea Otter Classic gravel and then third at Levi's GrandFondo The Growler in April.

"Kate is a magnificent athlete whose profile shows great potential on short to mid-range climbs and demanding efforts. We are excited to support her as she discovers European road racing," said Stephen Delcourt, general manager of FDJ United-SUEZ.

"FDJ UNITED-SUEZ has always embraced athletes who have thrived in disciplines beyond road cycling. This diversity of backgrounds and cultures will continue to elevate our team as we pursue the highest levels of performance in women's sport."

The day she won her first US road championship, Courtney noted on social media that it marked one year that she rode a bike outdoors for the first time since fracturing the scaphoid bone in her wrist at a short track MTB World Cup round in Nové Město. Shortly thereafter, she raced and won in her debut at Leadville Trail 100 MTB.

The return to form last summer led to freedom to ride for her new non-profit, She Sends Racing, which led her to Switzerland for MTB Worlds, then South Africa for Cape Epic and eventually USPro Road Nationals.

"It’s crazy to think how much has changed in a year," she noted on Instagram recently. "That injury somehow gave me the mental freedom to reimagine what racing could look like. In the process I’ve found that extra little bit that was missing for so long."

The Red Bull connection and a new direction

Courtney was eager to jump into the European road scene on the weekend with her new team, one common thread being a connection with Red Bull.

"I am so grateful to Stephen and the entire team for seeing the potential and giving me this chance to chase a huge dream.

"It is not hard to see from the outside that FDJ UNITED-SUEZ is building something really special. The way the team races - aggressively, fearlessly and with complete belief in one another - has been inspiring to me as a fan. And now it is even more inspiring to me as a rider.

"It feels like the team environment I have been searching for my entire career - and I could not be more excited to start learning and chasing one of the biggest and most challenging goals I have ever spoken out loud.”

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After being linked with a transfer away, Jai Hindley has committed his future to the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team.

The Australian former Giro d'Italia winner was tipped to join Visma-Lease a Bike, but has now signed a contract extension with his current team, it was confirmed on Tuesday.

The deal was described as "long-term" by the team, although the specific length of the contract was not disclosed.

Hindley, who recently turned 30, joined the German team in 2022, and his most recent contract extension came ahead of the 2025 season, in what was presumably a two-year deal.

"I’m super happy and grateful to extend my contract and continue my journey with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. I love working with everyone in the team and to me it feels like a second family," Hindley said.

"I have big personal ambitions, as does the team and I believe this is the right environment to continue to grow and progress. Thanks to the whole team for the continued trust."

Hindley, who started his WorldTour career with four years at the team now known as Picnic PostNL, made an instant impact when he joined Bora-Hansgrohe, winning the Giro d'Italia in 2022. He went on to win a stage and wear the yellow jersey as he finished seventh at the following year's Tour de France.

That remains his last professional victory and while he endured a slight dip in fortunes in the subsequent 18 months, he placed fourth overall at last year's Vuelta a España and returned to a Grand Tour podium with third at this year's Giro d'Italia in May.

Hindley, who is currently racing the Tour de France in support of Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz, is increasingly seen by the team as a reference point for the team's batch of younger Grand Tour hopefuls, which includes his Giro co-leader Giulio Pellizzari, and his fellow countryman Luke Tuckwell.

“Jai has been one of the world’s best Grand Tour riders for many years. What makes him so valuable to us goes beyond his results – he sets an important example for the whole team, particularly the next generation of Grand Tour riders," said the team's Chief of Sports, Zak Dempster.

"The fact that he has committed his future to our team is a strong statement."

He's not saying a move would definitely be a good thing, but former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis has argued that the recently confirmed backing of Danish sponsor Netcompany for the Ineos Grenadiers team might offer a great opportunity for Jonas Vingegaard to join a new squad and that he should at least give it some thought.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Danish IT company would be a new backer of the British team, with the squad officially to be rebranded as Netcompany-Ineos as soon as the Giro d'Italia in May.

Netcompany has been estimated to be planning to spend around €100 million over a five-year period on the team for their new project.

That figure has not been confirmed, though, and it is not yet fully clear whether there might also be any kind of reduction in Ineos' current financial contribution to the squad as a result, either. Asked directly about this at the new sponsor launch, Director of Racing Geraint Thomas answered regarding Ineos that: "They're still the owners. They're still 100% committed, and I think it's just gonna be a great partnership between everyone."

Even so, the former Tour de France winner and team owner, Riis told BT that he believed Vingegaard – a Dane like himself –might possibly benefit from transferring from his current squad, Visma-Lease a Bike, to the rebranded team.

Asked if Visma should be nervous about the arrival of a powerful new Danish sponsor into the sport, Riis answered, "I would think so.

"It would be unambitious of Jonas if he didn't look into that. I'm not saying he should change, but he should think about it."

For all Riis' argument that the 29-year-old Dane might want to weigh up moving on from his current team, there has never been any real indication up to now that he might do so or that Vingegaard is in any way dissatisfied with his lifelong WorldTour team.

In 2023, Vingegaard extended his contract with Visma-Lease a Bike until the end of 2028. It has been his only WorldTour team since he joined cycling's top league in 2019, after two years with the Continental ColoQuick squad.

Yet for all the Dane has taken two Tours de France and a Vuelta a España, as well as a string of week-long WorldTour events, in the process establishing himself as one of the best stage racers of all time, Riis is seemingly convinced that at least mulling over the possibility of a change would do Vingegaard no harm.

"Right now, it would be a dream team for Jonas. The best team he could get into if he was going to threaten [Tadej] Pogačar," he told BT.

"I definitely see a match. Visma probably won't be happy to hear that, but there's no doubt about it. This new team has the people, resources and experience it needs."

Still known as Ineos Grenadiers, the British squad has given no indication about what it will do in the future regarding signings, although any large injection of extra funding would inevitably give rise to speculation about potential new riders, along with multiple other possible investments.

Team Principal Dave Brailsford has said, however, of the partnership with Netcompany that "Ultimately, it’s about creating the conditions to win the Tour de France.

Ineos Grenadiers currently are planning to build their main GC bid for the 2026 Tour around Oscar Onley, signed from Picnic PostNL at the end of 2025 after finishing fourth overall last July - behind Pogačar, Vingegaard and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

Meanwhile, Vingegaard is currently building for his debut in the Giro d'Italia, where Visma-Lease a Bike are defending champions with now-retired racer Simon Yates. Later this summer, the Danish star will return to the Tour de France to try and win it for a third time in five years.

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It's seemingly never too early for the transfer rumour mill to begin churning out a few possible signings for next season, with Het Laaste Nieuws reporting that British allrounder Ben Turner may be quitting Ineos Grenadiers to strengthen Soudal-QuickStep's Classics line-up in 2027.

A notably versatile rider, Turner, 25, raced all of the major cobbled Classics this Spring from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad onwards, returning to Paris-Roubaix after suffering a spectacular crash in In Flanders Fields, which he later compared to doing a boxing round with Mike Tyson.

Part of Ineos Grenadiers since 2022, Turner has had ten participations across Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix to date. However, his biggest success so far was when, as a last-minute addition to the Ineos Vuelta a España squad, he was the fastest in the peloton on a very hilly stage of the race last year. Earlier last summer, he also secured another bunch sprint victory in a crash-marred, undulating stage of the Tour de Pologne.

Soudal-Quick Step are in the process of overhauling their cobbled Classics line-up following the departure of Remco Evenepoel, most notably scoring a victory in Scheldeprijs with Tim Merlier – back from injury – and a third place in Paris-Roubaix with Jasper Stuyven.

According to HLN, Turner will reportedly be one of their main new assets for that plan in 2027.

In further big changes at Soudal, British time trial specialist Ethan Hayter and veteran Grand Tour specialist Mikel Landa are both likely to leave at the end of 2026.

Dwarfing those changes in a Belgian WorldTour team, though, could be if Lotto-Intermarché's top sprinter Arnaud De Lie could, as HLN reports is possible, move on for 2027. Both Tudor and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe are in the market.

Following the departure of Biniam Girmay from Intermarché – prior to its fusion with Lotto – last winter, if confirmed, this would be the second major fastman to move on from the Belgian WorldTour squad in as many years.

In another important development, again, if confirmed, French Classics specialist Christophe Laporte is set to remain in Visma-Lease a Bike in 2027.

Critical to Wout van Aert's success and fifth himself in Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, according to the newspaper, the Belgian himself highlighted the quality of Laporte's contribution to Visma's Classics lineup, and Laporte now will most likely stay with the team beyond 2026.

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While much of the media attention at the opening stage of the 2026 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana will logically be on Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), another top up-and-coming Belgian racer will quietly be making his debut for new team Movistar in the same five-day event.

Cian Uijtdebroeks, 22, has had his fair share of the spotlight regarding team switches over the last three years, following his early contract terminations first to leave Bora-Hansgrohe for Visma-Lease a Bike and then again to move onto Movistar.

However, as he told Het Laatste Nieuws prior to his first event in Valencia, he's now much happier with a more relaxed attitude to racing with the Spanish WorldTour squad.

After what was – for him, though not for other riders – a less relaxed approach at Visma-Lease a Bike, Uijtdebroeks also expressed strong ambitions for his Tour de France debut this summer, where he'll be battling, he said, for a top ten placing overall. At Valencia, meanwhile, his ambitions are much more modest.

"I can definitely lose another three kilos," he told Het Laatste Nieuws. "We didn't want to go too fast. This race [Valencia] is very punchy and not a main goal for me.

"I can lose a bit more for Paris-Nice, and especially for the Basque Country, which is my first goal and important for our team.

"This will be a test leading up to the Tour, where I'm aiming for a top ten finish. Many of the riders here also ride the Tour. We want to forge the team here and test out the time trial."

Uijtdebroeks said that he had not raced on a time trial bike since Tirreno-Adriatico last year, but that while Visma were very data-driven and, in terms of training, were "the most precise team in the world," he'd personally missed out on his time trialling practice at Visma.

The young Belgian also claimed to Het Laatste Nieuws that he felt he had not had much chance to provide much input into his training programs at the Dutch squad. Putting it all together, as well as with what Movistar had to offer, he felt it was time to move on.

In terms of approaches to racing, Uijtdebroeks argued that the atmosphere was more relaxed. For example, when it came to riders weighing their food intake at dinner – now a standard practice in many top World Tour teams – he said, "There are also scales on the table, but you're free to use them. On Tuesday afternoon, five of the seven riders used them, and I even saw a few enjoying pastries.

"If you want to live a very strict lifestyle, as I do, you can. I'm in daily contact with the nutritionist. If you look at my teammate Enric Mas, he's not the widest in the peloton."

Comparisons with Evenepoel are pretty much de rigeur for top Belgian stage racers, and Uitjebroeks said that in time trialling, he felt he had at least reduced the gap on the rider widely rated as the best specialist in that area in the world.

"I've already lost three minutes to Remco, but now it shouldn't be more than a minute," he said, referring to Thursday's individual time trial. "I have a new bike position and 'bespoke' handlebars. I feel at home in my training here."

Asked why he felt Movistar was a better choice for him after two years at Bora and Visma, respectively, he said, "Because I've already seen both extremes. You can't compare today's Red Bull to Bora in 2023. That team is more Visma-like now.

"I need a more relaxed team, where I can create a professional environment for myself and get my chances. Of course, things will still go wrong. That happened with Primož Roglič when he moved to Bora. That's not a problem; what matters is that I'm in a different position here than where I was last year."

Clara Koppenburg is swapping road racing for gravel this season after becoming Tudor Pro Cycling's first woman rider.

The German has raced on the road for Bigla, WNT-Rotor, Paule Ka, Rally, Cofidis, and EF Education-Oatly since turning professional back in 2015, but she'll switch surfaces in the 2026 season.

Koppenburg, 30, has the 2019 Setmana Ciclista Valenciana as the main achievement on her road racing palmarès, but has explored gravel racing more and more. The latter part of the 2025 season saw her take on several events, finishing fifth at the UCI Gravel World Series in Girona and sixth at the Gravel Burn stage race in South Africa.

Tudor said that the results "lit the fire for her new passion", and she'll now join men's rider Jan Stöckli on the Swiss team's gravel racing squad.

"I'm happy and feel privileged to pursue my newly discovered passion for gravel racing at Tudor Pro Cycling," Koppenburg said upon signing the deal.

"At the first training camp in December, the whole team welcomed me warmly and fully supported me. During the past season, with quite a few ups and downs in road cycling, I felt I needed a change and a new challenge.

"After signing up for a gravel race, I realised how much energy and happiness it brought me, leading me to shift my focus and begin a new chapter in my cycling career. I look forward to starting the race season.

"I will test myself at the most challenging Gravel events and proudly represent the Tudor shield in off-road racing. I am committed to making the most of this opportunity, inspiring and leaving my mark in gravel racing."

Koppenburg and Stöckli are set to make their Tudor gravel debuts on February 14 at the two-day Santa Vall race in Spain. Their main targets for the season will come at The Traka and Unbound Gravel in May.

"Welcoming Clara Koppenburg to Tudor Pro Cycling marks a proud moment for us," said Tudor Pro Cycling CEO and co-owner Raphael Meyer.

"We are thrilled to have secured a promising Gravel rider and to broaden our roster with such an inspiring individual. Clara embodies our core values and, as our first female rider, enhances the diversity of athletes at Tudor Pro Cycling."

Former Soudal-QuickStep team boss Patrick Lefevere has revealed that he contacted Juan Ayuso while he was still a UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider as a potential replacement if Remco Evenepoel left during his time in charge, which ended at the end of 2024.

Lefevere started making moves in the GC rider market after continued interest poured in for Evenepoel from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe owner Ralph Denk, who eventually managed to lure the Belgian away one year before his Soudal-QuickStep contract expired this past summer.

There's not been much love lost for Lefevere whenever he speaks about Denk, admitting several times how he dislikes the German team boss, and that grudge has lingered even past him stepping down from everyday involvement in the sport.

"I sold Remco's project to Soudal for five years. And then, after three years, the trouble started," said Lefevere in a recent extensive interview on La Dernière Heure Les Sports' Radio Peloton podcast.

"Denk offered Remco a contract. Since then, it hasn't stopped. I even filed a complaint with the UCI. Because there's a regulation that says all three parties must agree for a rider to break their contract. I hate him. There was a rule, and he ignored it."

Lefevere also suggested how the UCI were "afraid" to take action against Denk due to his team's financial backing, saying: "In case of a lawsuit, Red Bull has unlimited financial resources that would bankrupt the UCI."

With that in mind, it was the rising Spanish GC rider whom Lefevere had in mind as his contingency plan in the early 2020s, but by 2022, Ayuso had already locked up his future until 2028 – until the issues of last year arose and he departed for Lidl-Trek.

Lefevere said he protected his and the team's interests by "being one step ahead. That's why a few years ago I contacted Juan Ayuso's father in case Remco were to leave. But the rider was under contract and we didn't go any further."

He admitted that he still speaks with Evenepoel, who kicked off his Red Bull career with a bang in Mallorca, taking a hat-trick of wins with his new team, and commented further on his decision to leave early.

"Yes and no," he said, to the question of whether he understood the change. "I can understand that you're fed up with your surroundings. And well, I can also hear that, if you're ambitious, you might think the grass is greener elsewhere. I just hope Remco doesn't ask to come back in two years."

Despite his recent bouts with illness in the autumn, which Lefevere didn't hide the severity of in his words, admitting that "I thought I was going to die. Twice, I told my wife that it was all over for me," he still had a keen opinion on Evenepoel and taking on Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).

While noting how it will, of course, be a "great challenge" for Evenepoel to dethrone the Slovenian, he has high hopes for his former superstar and is well in the belief that the world champion isn't invincible.

"I'm certainly looking forward to seeing them both at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The Tour de France? That's something else entirely. For Remco, having had optimal winter preparation is crucial. Every time he's done that, he's had a great season afterwards," said Lefevere, who called for more cooperation against the UAE rider.

"I'm convinced that Pogačar is beatable. For me, Pogačar isn't killing cycling. What's negative is the lack of coordination among the other teams to try and stop him from winning.

"If I had been in the team car at the 2024 World Championships in Zurich, the Slovenian would never have become world champion. I would have gone to see the national selectors from other countries, and we would have organized ourselves to ride as a team. That's the only way to beat such a champion."

French national gravel champion Axelle Dubau-Prévot will ride for EF Education-Oatly in 2026, adding top-level road racing to her schedule after a rapid rise in the off-road ranks.

Dubau-Prévot, 29, has long mixed the disciplines and ridden for lower-level road teams in the past before taking a break from the sport, but her arrival at EF comes after she found her groove in gravel and had a hugely successful 2025 in the discipline.

The Frenchwoman won two rounds of the UCI Gravel World Series, podiumed at two others, and came second at the Traka 360, before four stages and the overall at Gravel Burn. Her performances were enough to catch the attention of WorldTour teams and allow her to make a return to the road for 2026.

"This is my dream team," she said in a team press release. "They think outside of the box at EF Education-Oatly. It’s the only team where I can see myself because I don’t have a traditional cycling background. I want to be serious and also to keep the joy and the fun in racing."

She will continue to race both gravel and road with the American team, which mixes its WorldTour programs with various off-road and alternative racing calendars, such as Lachlan Morton's adventure programme, or the cyclo-cross team built around Mattia Agostinacchio. Adding a female off-road rider was a goal for EF manager Esra Tromp.

"We were looking for a rider who could be competitive in gravel as well as be an asset with our road team, so Axelle is a great fit," Tromp said.

"On the road, she’s something of an all-rounder, and on gravel, she has the endurance for stage races and the speed to go for one-day races. Axelle’s background isn’t that of a typical cyclist, and I like that.

"I think it gives her a healthy perspective on racing and on life. knowing that she has chosen to step away from the sport at times. This kind of maturity says a lot about her character.”

Dubau-Prévot says her goals for 2026 will include defending her French gravel title, a return to the Traka, and developing as a teammate on the road.

When it comes to road racing, it's no surprise that the Frenchwoman is hoping to start at the Tour de France Femmes in the coming season, particularly after seeing her sister Pauline Ferrand-Prévot win the yellow jersey in 2025.

"When I heard a few years ago that the Tour was coming back, I was out of the cycling world, and I felt a bit sad to think that I would never take part in it," she said. "I’m French, and if someone asks me what I do and I say I’m a cyclist, they immediately ask if I race the Tour de France. It’s the reference.

"Now, after watching the race and seeing that EF Education-Oatly really wants to do something big at the Tour, I would love to make the Tour squad one year."

The news of Simon Yates' sudden retirement announcement sent shock waves across the sport, especially in Spain, where many riders were gathered in training camps.

Everyone is focused on preparing for the new season, with new goals and new motivation, so Yates' announcement was a bolt from the blue. Yet it also touched a nerve with riders about the intensity, stress and demands of the sport.

Tudor Pro Cycling were holding their media day, with riders speaking about their ambitions and plans for 2026, when the Visma-Lease a Bike rider released his message on Wednesday afternoon.

Matteo Trentin raced alongside Yates at Mitchelton-Scott when Yates won the 2018 Vuelta a España. The Italian is now 36 and still hungry to race but praised Yates for his bravery to decide to retire.

"You have to be brave to quit. He's decided to stop and he's done it with a mic drop. Boom! He's gone out on top, as a Giro winner. Chapeau," Trentin told Cyclingnews.

"I'm surprised but not too much. Modern cycling has become super stressful, especially if you ride for the GC in stage races and Grand Tours like Simon did. He could never have a 'day off' and then there's more training camps, more specific work and more pressure.

"Perhaps he's just had enough of all the stress… He won the Vuelta and he won last year's Giro. He won a stage at the Tour and won a Tour with Pogačar. He has little else to achieve.

"I don't think he woke up and suddenly decided to quit today. I imagined it had been on his mind for a while and had been eating away at him."

Larry Warbasse didn't know about Yates' retirement when he sat down to talk to Cyclingnews outside the Tudor team hotel in Moraira on the central Costa Blancas coast. The US rider is 35 and like Yates has been a professional for over a decade.

But he has no thoughts of retirement himself and has a new two-year contract with Tudor. He was shocked to hear about Yates' sudden announcement.

"Are you kidding? That's insane!" was Warbasse's immediate reaction. "It's not like he was slowing down, he won the Giro!"

Warbasse also highlighted the stress of modern-day professional cycling.

"I can understand him," Warbasse said. "When we turned pro, the sport was a lot more balanced in general. You didn't have to be as crazy about everything. Not everyone can handle that, especially the riders who turned pro when I did, back in 2012.

"I imagine that at Visma it's a step higher, for the level of dedication and precision they aim for. Of course, if you can do it, it's super rewarding but not everyone is capable of being that switched on for always.

"That's perhaps what led Simon to call it a day. I'm happy for him if he is happy but it's sad for the sport to lose a great rider so suddenly."

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.

The numbers of WorldTour riders without a contract for 2026 has shrunk by one as NSN Cycling announced the signing of Dion Smith, formerly with Intermarché-Wanty, on a one-year contract. The team also brought Israeli Rotem Tene up from the organisation's development squad.

Despite having a valid contract with his former team, the 32-year-old New Zealander was left on the job market after the Lotto-Intermarché merger.

"To have this late opportunity to sign for NSN Cycling Team this season feels very natural as the team has always seemed like a great fit for myself," Smith said in the team's press release.

"Being surrounded by familiar faces and guys I train with a lot creates an environment I feel very motivated to be a part of. 2026 will now be key for me to show I still belong in the WorldTour, being a valuable asset to race leaders within the team."

Smith, who narrowly escaped being taken down by a goat in a notable incident in last year's Giro d'Italia, won't start with the team until February 2, 2026, following Simon Clarke's retirement after the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on February 1.

"We are pleased to welcome Dion Smith to the team and happy to have made space for him ahead of the 2026 racing season," NSN Cycling Team General Manager Kjell Carlström said.

"At the same time, we have wanted to bring Rotem Tene up from the Development Team, a promotion he well and truly deserves, and it made sense for him [Smith] to take Simon Clarke's spot in the team following his retirement at the end of the Australian racing block.

"Dion brings a wealth of experience after a decade in the pro peloton and will add depth to our one-day and stage race rosters, playing a key role as a support rider. While Rotem has repeatedly shown his strength as a sprinter in the five years he has raced for the Development Team and we are excited to see him develop further over the next two years.

"Dion's experience and Rotem's long-term potential perfectly complement our strategy as we continue to build a competitive and cohesive roster for the coming seasons."

There are approximately 21 WorldTour riders from last season and 28 from ProTeams who either have not announced a team for 2026 or a contract renewal. The most notable riders who might still be on the market include Hugh Carthy, Chris Froome, and Ruben Guerreiro.

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.

After terminating his contract with Israel-Premier Tech over 'personal beliefs', Derek Gee-West has finally found a team for 2026 and joined Lidl-Trek on a three-year deal.

Gee-West completes Lidl-Trek's roster as their 30th rider and sixth new signing. The Canadian will make up part of their GC core, alongside the likes of fellow new signing for 2026, Juan Ayuso, and Mattias Skjelmose.

"It’s pretty special to be joining Lidl-Trek," said Gee-West. "From the outside, you can already see that this is an organisation operating very close to the gold standard in our sport, and that was something that really appealed to me.

"The ambition, the structure, and the depth of talent across the Team are impressive, and it feels like the right environment for the next phase of my career.

"I’m really looking forward to racing with shared ambitions and multiple options within the team. Lidl-Trek have world-class riders across so many areas of the sport, and being part of a group where we can play different cards in stage races and Grand Tours is something new for me. I’m excited to learn from that, to keep developing as a GC rider, and to see what we can achieve together over the coming years."

The Canadian rider ended his contract with Israel-Premier Tech, which was due to run until 2028, before the Vuelta early in August. In an initial statement, he cited how "Certain issues simply made my continuation at the team untenable."

He then clarified further that "it followed an irreparable relationship with the team principal, as well as serious concerns related to racing for the team, both from a safety and personal-belief standpoint that weighed heavily on my conscience."

Israel-Premier Tech were the subject of several protests throughout the 2025 season, as Israel's armed conflict in Gaza continued. But they reached their peak during the Vuelta, where several stages were modified, and the finale in Madrid was cancelled as pro-Palestine protesters dramatically heightened their challenge to the team's participation.

Speaking in October, after the team claimed his contract remained valid and questioned Gee-West's decision, sending the case to the UCI's arbitral board, the Canadian revealed he was facing approximately €30 million in a damages claim.

Gee-West said not having a confirmed place for 2026 was a risk worth taking when it came to his decision, stressing how money had nothing to do with his termination, and how the way things played out legally only vindicated his actions.

"Leaving has meant the risk of having no team or protection if I get injured without a contract," he said.

"It is a risk I was – and am still willing – to take, as I was simply unable to continue racing for the team."

With his signing to the German super-team now confirmed, his former team – who have now rebranded away from their Israeli identity as NSN Cycling Team after an acquisition by NSN and Stoneweg – confirmed that an agreement to end his contract was finalised between the three parties and approved by the UCI. In a statement, NSN wished Gee-West the best with his new team.

In Gee-West, Lidl-Trek have secured one of the fastest developing stars of the sport. The 28-year-old Canadian has improved his consistency during 2025 with a top-four GC finish in all four stage races he competed in and victory in the Canadian National Championships road race, his final appearance in a competitive event before the contract termination saga began.

"Bringing Derek on board is a big boost for us," said Luca Guercilena, Lidl-Trek General Manager.

"Over the last three years, he has shown an incredibly high level in stage races, and we’re sure we haven’t even seen his limit yet. Derek will have the full support of our performance resources to fully realise his potential. As a team, we have big goals across the entire season, and recruiting Derek brings us one step closer to achieving them."

The impact of an overcrowded transfer market, late major moves and team uncertainty is continuing into the new year, with late transfers being announced in January, the latest being Louis Barré signing for Visma-Lease a Bike.

French puncheur Barré is a victim of the Lotto Intermarché merger, which has seen several riders out of contract late in the season. Despite being one of Intermarché-Wanty's best performers in 2025, Barré wasn't brought over to the newly merged team, and seemingly had some delay finding a new home, with his arrival at Visma only announced on Thursday, January 1.

The Frenchman isn't the only Intermarché rider to have his fate confirmed late on, with former teammate Kobe Goossens also announcing his retirement on Thursday at only 29.

Late moves in January aren't unheard of, but the market chaos in 2025 – with mergers and promotion/relegation meaning there were many more riders than spots available – has shifted the transfer period forward, with things still shaking out in the new year.

Moves for riders like Oscar Onley came later than expected as decisions were only made right at the end of December, and we still don't have confirmation on the destination of riders like Derek Gee-West. Uncertainty around big riders also trickles down to other riders, as teams don't know what budget they will have.

Despite what may have been a nerve-wracking late move, Barré will arrive at Visma as an added Classics and stage-winning option who will thrive in the hilly Classics. In 2025, he impressed with top 10s on stages at the Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de Romandie, and sixth at the stacked French National Championships. He has signed a contract through to the end of 2028.

"The team’s story and the plans they have really convinced me," the 25-year-old said. "Team Visma–Lease a Bike is one of the best teams in the world, and I believe that with the support and structure here I can make significant progress. The team is innovative in every area: nutrition, equipment, training camps, and more. I want to challenge myself, and I think this is where I can become the best version of myself."

The team's head of racing Grischa Niermann added: "Louis caught our eye during the tougher one-day races. He achieved some great results there, and he also showed himself in the Dauphiné. He is still relatively young and has good potential for growth. We believe he can continue to develop within our team and see him as a strong addition to our lineup for the demanding hilly classics."

Barré's arrival brings Visma's roster up to 29 riders, so there is scope to sign one more rider for 2026, though they only had 29 riders in 2025, so the roster may be complete.

Though we're into January now and the racing season begins in a matter of days, the results of a chaotic 2025 transfer market will continue to rumble on into the new year, with more contract situations still to be resolved, and more retirements possible as riders give up their searches for new jobs.

Gravel and mountain bike star Keegan Swenson will ride for Specialized Off-Road in 2026, 2027 and 2028, moving from Santa Cruz to the team that will boast several big stars next year.

Swenson, 31, is a multiple-time US champion in mountain bike as well as reigning marathon world champion, and a winner of Unbound Gravel 200, SBT GRVL, and three-time overall Life Time Grand Prix victor.

He is one of off-road racing's most decorated stars and a figurehead of American cycling and beyond.

The Utah native has ridden for Santa Cruz Bicycles since 2021, but will make the move to Specialized for 2026 on a three-year contract, the brand announced on Tuesday.

"Keegan brings extensive experience and consistent top-level performances across some of the sport’s most demanding courses, including a UCI World Championship title in Marathon MTB, a win at Unbound, and multiple course records at Leadville 100 mtb," a press release from Specialized reads.

"Known for his bike handling, race intelligence, and consistent top results, Keegan aligns closely with Specialized’s performance-driven philosophy."

"Together, we hope to achieve big goals at the highest level," Fiona Swartz, Global Sports Marketing Manager for Specialized said.

"With this strategic team, innovative product from Specialized and all of our team partners–I’m excited to see what’s to come in 2026."

Swenson also expressed his excitement, writing on Instagram that "2026 with [Specialized] is going to be an absolute heater".

"Specialized is always looking forward to create the best and most innovative equipment on the market," he said in the brand's press release. "For us athletes ,all these small gains can add up to big ones awfully quick and can mean the difference between winning and losing."

Specialized have not confirmed the full line-up for their off-road outfit in 2026 yet, promising "a balanced roster of returning athletes, and more new signings". But Swenson will join what is already one of the sport's strongest squads.

The US rider will line up alongside women's gravel's dominant force Sofía Gómez Villafañe, multiple-time Cape Epic champion Matt Beers and five-time world champion Annika Langvad.

The exact role of teams in gravel has been hotly debated, especially in 2025. But Specialized Off-Road are certainly approaching super team status by adding one of the sport's biggest stars to their already stacked line-up.

Rising French cyclo-cross star Amandine Fouquenet will ride for Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw in 2026 after a late battle for a contract, moving to one of the sport's top teams after an impressive season so far.

Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw team manager Jurgen Mettepenningen confirmed the news to Sporza over the weekend in Dendermonde, where Fouquenet finished third.

Victim of the collapse of the Arkéa-B&B Hotels team, Fouquenet was simultaneously having a breakthrough season and fighting to find a home for 2026 over the festive period of racing, after announcing in October that she didn't have a contract lined up.

Following podiums in the first two rounds of the World Cup, she took the biggest win of her career at the Superprestige in Heusden-Zolder on December 23, backed up with second at the World Cup in Gavere on Boxing Day.

Even after Gavere, she said in her post-race interview that she did not yet have a contract, adding "I certainly hope [recent results] strengthens the teams' confidence in choosing me".

Clearly her efforts and successes have not gone unnoticed, though, and after a lengthy wait, she has a home at Pauwels Sauzen in 2026. She'll swap jerseys after the New Year – possibly debuting for the Belgian team at the GP Sven Nys on January 1 – and will ride alongside the likes of Michael Vanthourenout, Eli Iserbyt and Leonie Bentveld.

"We believe in her," Mettepenningen told Sporza. "She's motivated and even wants to move to Flanders for six months a year to race here.

"She has a lot of potential; we just need to work on her technique. But I think we can write a great story with her."

Though it took until the final weekend of December for Fouquenet to sign a contract, it wasn't for lack of interest, Mettepenningen said, with his team winning a battle to secure her signature.

"Many teams had their eyes on her," he said. "But we absolutely needed someone to compete alongside Leonie Bentveld week after week at the top of women's cyclo-cross."

Bentveld, the team's other top female cyclo-cross rider, rides on the road with AG Insurance-Soudal during the summer, and Pauwels Sauzen said they are "looking into whether that's also possible" for Fouquenet.

As well as being good news for Fouquenet, the arrival of the French rider offers a big boost to the Belgian team, who are currently without their star rider Eli Iserbyt who is dealing with a long-term iliac artery problem.

The 28-year-old, who used to battle with riders like Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock, is yet to start his 2025/26 campaign, and it's unlikely he will race at all this winter, with no return or even improvement in sight.

Mettepingen said "there's little change in Eli's situation", and many have speculated that early retirement could even be on the cards.

"Let's hope Eli finds the courage to make the miracle happen and that everything works out. But it's going to be a difficult story."

Scottish rider Oscar Onley has signed for Ineos Grenadiers for 2026, prematurely ending his contract with Picnic PostNL in a very late season move.

Onley was under contract with Picnic PostNL until the end of 2027 – though, notably, his contract was not publicly extended or renegotiated after his success this year – but under current UCI rules, mid-contract moves can take place if both parties and the UCI agree. Such moves often involve a buy-out fee.

"I grew up watching Geraint, Dave and the team dominate the sport and put cycling on the map in the UK, so I am really proud to be joining the Grenadiers on a long-term deal, which will also mean racing for a British team when the Tour de France departs from Scotland in 2027," Onley said in the Ineos announcement.

"I want to thank Team Picnic PostNL for all their support, I'm really proud of what we have achieved together. I'll miss my friends in the team and hold the memories made with them close, and I know I'll face tough competition from the next generation of talent they develop in the years to come."

Ineos' new Head of Racing, the now-retired Geraint Thomas, sees Onley's signing as a new chapter for the team. "Our whole team has worked really hard over the winter to refocus and reset our ambition, changing our structures and processes to help us deliver against our goals. Oscar fits naturally with this project – and I'm confident the new system we're building will help him achieve his absolute best."

Still only 23, Onley had a break-out year in 2025, finishing fourth overall at the Tour de France, and being a large part of Picnic PostNL's successes, but they weren't able to hold off the advances of rival teams, with Ineos Grenadiers successfully securing the young rider's signature.

"Oscar's performance in 2025 has been incredible," Thomas said. "I rode my first Tour when I was 21, so to see what he achieved at this year's Tour at just 22 was super impressive. The way he rides and understands a race is mature beyond his years – he's a proper racer. I can't wait to work with him – at his age there's still loads of headroom."

The news is not entirely surprising, with rumours around Onley's future brewing for some time, and only fuelled by his confirmation to Cyclingnews at the start of December that is future was still "up in the air".

He then did not attend Picnic PostNL team camp as his future was undecided, but his destination for 2026 is now known.

Picnic PostNL head coach Rudi Kemna credited the team for Onley's progression in the team's announcement that they had reached an agreement to terminate the contract.

"Our team is all about getting the most out of our riders, and we have a credible track record of doing so. What Oscar has achieved this year is testament to that.

"We of course would have loved to have kept Oscar but knowing the young riders in our team and those coming through our Development program, we're confident that the next generation is on the brink of becoming world-class riders."

Elite women's world champion Magdeleine Vallieres will remain on the EF Education-Oatly women's team through the next Olympic Games in 2028, the young Canadian star given a one-year extension to her contract that already had her in the Women's WorldTour for the next three seasons.

The reigning road World Champion has already announced that her 2026 campaign will begin at the Tour Down Under, her first appearance at the Australian stage race. It also marks the first time the rainbow jersey will be part of the peloton at the early-season race.

Vallieres now has the longest contract deal with the WorldTour squad. Teammates Noemi Rüegg and Mirre Knaven are next in line with terms through 2027.

“I learned a lot from helping others. I won the worlds because of it," Vallieres said about her development as a domestique in the past four seasons with EF Education.

"Now, I am looking forward to taking a different approach and trying to bring everything I learned to race more as a leader. I also know that I still have a lot to learn to be consistent at the top and I'm looking forward to taking this as an opportunity to continue learning in this new role and learn together with my teammates."

Vallieres began her journey in the professional peloton with a move from Canada to Switzerland in 2020 to compete on the World Cycling Centre squad, then joined EF Education in 2022 when the squad was part of the TIBCO-SVB programme. When EF Education-Cannondale formed their own Continental-level squad in 2024, Vallieres was given a contract as one of the original riders.

In that debut season, Vallieres went on to earn her first professional race in just her second race day of the season, soloing to victory at the Trofeo Palma Femina. She then won the Canadian criterium championship in June.

A few weeks after turning 24, the slight but powerful Canadian pulled off a daring solo attack in Kigali at the Worlds which resulted in her successfully claiming a rainbow jersey, her only race victory of the season. In the distinct colours as world champion for her final two races of the season, she netted two top 10s in the hilly late-season Italian one-day races.

“Daring to race and have confidence in herself and finally get that world championship win was really inspirational for all of our riders,” said team General Manager Esra Tromp in a team statement.

"Mags will draw a lot of confidence from the jersey and will get more confidence from the team to go out and race a lot of finales and find more wins.

"For the other girls now, seeing her rainbow jersey there in the group when they are out training or at dinner will make them think, ‘Okay, now we need to step up, because we have the World Champion in our team and we need to show that in the races. We need to be able to help her'."

After a start with WorldTour racing in the Southern Hemisphere, Vallieres is expected to focus on a block of Spring Classics. She has her sights set on retaining the rainbow stripes on home soil when the Road Worlds take place in Quebec, September 20-27, 2026.

Four national champions and a Nations Cup race winner are among the 10 new riders confirmed for the NSN Development Team next season. The Continental programme enters a seventh season in 2026 with a 20-rider roster.

Following the lead of their WorldTour parent organisation NSN Cycling Team, NSN Devo also boasts a "clear evolution" with a refreshed roster and a team rebrand that includes new registration in Switzerland.

British junior cyclocross champion Oscar Amey joins as the youngest rider in the group, just 17 until December 28, while a trio of 18-year-olds include Canadian junior road champion Ben Morin, Australian junior TT champion Max Goold and Nations Cup race winner Filip Smørås of Norway. Polish under-23 road champion Dawid Lewandowski is also among the new arrivals at just 19 years of age.

Six of the 10 retained riders for 2026 rode with NSN’s professional team this past season, and Australian U23 time trial champion Zac Marriage joins the squad after a successful time as an end-of-year stagiaire, which emphasizes the pathway offered to the highest level of the sport.

"Our team is a real springboard to the WorldTour. We’ve successfully progressed riders into key roles at the highest level before, and that pathway remains a central part of what we do," said Tim Elverson, NSN Devo team manager, in a press release.

“We race as a team to win, but we’re equally focused on every part of the process required to get there. While 2025 was another strong year, the 2026 roster reflects a clear evolution of the squad. We have an exciting group of young riders, including new national champions such as Morin, Goold, Lewandowski, and Amey, alongside many other promising talents. I believe we can win a lot of races – never say never.”

Amey is an example of budding young talent that the team relishes. His cyclocross skills prove he has strong technical abilities and "explosive power", demonstrated at UCI Cyclocross Worlds in February, where he finished sixth in the men's junior division. He was also part of Great Britain's team mixed relay gold medal performance. With a Dutch club team last summer, Amey finished second overall in Austria's Junior Tour and had five podiums in British one-day races.

"Joining the NSN Devo Team means a lot to me, as it’s the next step towards becoming a professional, something I’ve been working towards since I was a kid. My main goal for the season is to fight for podiums and victories in UCI races, while learning as much as possible from the experienced staff and teammates around me,” Amey said in a team statement.

Among the familiar faces on the squad, Moritz Kretschy and Matar Peretz return for their third seasons. The 23-year-old Kretschy won two stages at the Alpes Isere Tour on the devo team, and when called up for an appearance with the parent squad in March, he scored second overall at Tour de Taiwan. Peretz, 20, is one of four Israeli riders on the squad and holds U23 national titles in both the road and time trial races.

The team scored 12 victories in 2025, Australian Brady Gilmore the most prolific winner with a GC title at Circuit des Ardennes and two stage victories at Volta a Portugal. On an appearance with the WorldTour squad, he won the overall at the Tour de Taiwan. He earned a promotion to NSN Cycling Team for next season along with Pau Marti and Floris Van Tricht.

Among the programme's alumni who have had success at the ProTeam and WorldTour levels are Canadian Derek Gee-West, who finished fourth overall at the 2025 Giro d'Italia, and British rider Joseph Blackmore, who won the U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2024.

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.

NSN Development Team roster 2026

• Oscar Amey (GBR)
• Dylan Bibic (CAN)
• Patrick Casey (IRL)
• Roei Edinger (ISR)
• Imry Faingezicht (ISR)
• Alvaro Garcia (ESP)
• Max Goold (AUS)
• Alex Hewes (AUS)
• Moritz Kretschy (GER)
• Dawid Lewandowski (POL)
• Enrique Maranchón (ESP)
• Zac Marriage (AUS)
• Ben Morin (CAN)
• Matar Peretz (ISR)
• Miko Pirinen (FIN)
• Omer Ramon (ISR)
• Filip Smørås (NOR)
• Finlay Tarling (GBR)
• Jens Verbrugghe (BEL)
• Kiaan Watts (NZL)

Ineos Grenadiers' new director of racing Geraint Thomas said that he has no new information to provide on the swirl of rumours that top-five Tour de France finisher Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNL) may end up racing with Ineos Grenadiers in 2025.

Onley has been repeatedly linked with Ineos Grenadiers, although so far there have been no direct recent comments from either the team or the rider on the possible signing.

When asked about it by Cyclingnews at the Vuelta a España presentation on Wednesday evening, Thomas was not willing to open up on the current state of play.

"I don't know what to say about it, I'm just focussing on the riders in the team, and he's not in the team at the minute, so that's something for people higher up than me," Thomas said.

Whilst the Onley rumours will not evaporate until a clear direction of travel emerges for the young British racer, Wednesday saw the Vuelta a España 2026 route published in full, starting on roads that as a Monaco resident of 13 years standing, Thomas knows very well indeed.

"It's a hard race and looks as hard as ever. The opening time trial is going to be amazing, very technical and grippy, it'll be a good first test," he said. "It'd be good for a guy like [Primož] Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) to gain some time on the climbers, so it's definitely going to be key."

While Ineos have a fairly clear idea of who will be doing the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, Thomas said, their Vuelta leaders had yet to be decided in full.

"We've got a rough idea of who'll be doing all three, but a lot can change. There's always some guys who don't end up making the Tour or Giro who end up doing the Vuelta, so maybe on paper at this time of year, the line-up might not seem so deep, but it's always super-stacked by the end."

That said, there is speculation amongst the Spanish media that Carlos Rodríguez, as a rider hailing from the region of Granada and who grew up in Almuñecar, one of the Vuelta's stage start towns, will likely be heavily involved.

Meanwhile, Thomas continues to settle into his new role as head of sport, something he says he's "looking forward to going to races on the other side, while hopefully I keep remembering what it's like. Ex-riders quickly forget how hard it is, so I need to remember that."

"It's all new, very early days, but I'm looking forward to it." He said that perhaps when he sees the riders on the streets of Monaco next summer, "it'll maybe make me feel a bit nostalgic to be racing again, but when I think about what it takes to get there - No."

He agreed, though, that with the final stages being very tough in Granada on roads he knows himself from a couple of altitude training camps in Sierra Nevada, the race will not be decided until the very last few days.

"A lot of the racing is down south. I don't know Spain as well as a lot of people here, but I certainly know it's going to be hot. It's going to take a lot out of the boys. Every year there's a lot of climbs, but this year it's certainly stacked."

No news yet: Grand Tour champion Chris Froome has yet to reveal if he will definitively hang up his wheels in 2026 despite having no team lined up for next season.

The 40-year-old received a moving homage at the end of the 2026 Vuelta a España route presentation in Monaco, being brought up on stage to watch a brief film of his double victories in the Vuelta in 2011 and 2017.

Froome has been a pro with Israel-Premier Tech for the last five years but currently has no squad for next year.

However, when asked by Cyclingnews after the Vuelta presentation about plans for his future, the four-time Tour de France winner would not reveal if he had decided to retire or not.

Following a bad crash earlier this autumn, Froome did confirm that he was back on the recovery trail, having had a third operation in hospital as recently as Tuesday.

"The last few months I've been in and out of hospitals, only getting out there just yesterday, so my focus has been on that," Froome told Cyclingnews.

"I'm not really ready to talk about my plans just yet, but when I am, I'll be sure to let everyone know."

Asked directly if a decision had not been made or if plans had not been made yet, he said, "People will know soon enough." Asked for a specific point when it might become public, he replied, "in the next couple of months. Literally, I just got out of the hospital so it's been about getting back on my feet.

"I've got a pretty good idea, but I'm not quite ready to announce it yet."

Froome said he got very emotional watching images during his first pro win at Peña Cabarga in the 2011 Vuelta a España.

"It was like watching a race from back in the 1980s or 1990s, it feels so long ago, but that really was where it started for me, in terms of believing in my own GC potential and what I could achieve as a professional rider."

"The Vuelta really has been such a special part of my career, as a rider, it's given me so many special memories, and a lot of suffering in between. But it's the race I've always looked forward to the most."

Regarding the 2026 route, he said, "It's incredible how the organisers manage to make each year's edition harder than the last and next year's doesn't disappoint. What did they say, it's got the most altitude metres it's ever had?"

"Especially heading from here in Monaco to the south, the heat is going to predominate, and it'll get hotter and hotter all the way. It's going to be a brutal edition."

For several weeks after the transfer market officially opened, SD Worx-Protime didn't make a noise. No signings, no departures, no drama. For a minute, I wondered if they were even going to sign anyone new, such is their commitment to not just signing riders for the sake of it.

But, eventually, at the end of November, SD Worx did get going with the signings, and what they may be lacking in quantity or speed, the signings they made us wait for certainly bring the quality. They have signed just two new riders for 2026 – fewer than most other WorldTour teams – but they're making it count.

Those two riders are up-and-coming climbers Valentina Cavallar and Nienke Vinke, whilst most of their roster is filled by strong riders they've retained from this season. Only three riders are departing the team at the end of this year.

Consistently ranked the best team in the world for most of the last decade, SD Worx-Protime were knocked off the top of the UCI rankings this year, bettered by FDJ-Suez. That isn't to say they had a bad year, but they didn't quite hit the mark in terms of GC racing, where there are a lot of points to be gained, so it's no surprise to see that their recruitment has centred around climbing.

Let's get into a closer analysis of the team's transfer activity and roster building for 2026.

Maintaining the core

More so than recruiting new stars, SD Worx's main focus in 2025 and going into 2026 (and even before that) has been about maintaining their core of riders. They've extended deals with Lotte Kopecky, Lorena Wiebes and Mischa Bredewold, with Marie Schreiber and Femke Gerritse locked in until 2028, too.

When you have a core group as strong as that, you don't need to go on a wild recruiting spree, and SD Worx clearly didn't. In many ways, that's never been their style, always taking time over signings and maintaining very high standards – you very rarely see them taking a punt on an unproven rider.

On the theme of rider retention, the team are only losing three riders at the end of this season, and none of them currently have other homes. Chantal van den Broek-Blaak already retired mid-year, and December will see contracts expire for Geerike Scheurs, Laura Stigger and Skylar Schneider. Scheurs and Stigger are primarily off-road riders supported by Specialized, and both raced sparingly on the road this season

To be able to retain so many riders – literally no one has been tempted away to another team – is fairly rare in cycling, and a testament to the professional, functioning set-up at SD Worx, where a lot of riders must feel that they're treated fairly and given opportunities. This maybe wasn't true two years ago, when some of their biggest stars, including Demi Vollering and Niamh Fisher-Black, opted to seek pastures new, but something must be working now.

Even if they had signed no one new, a team boasting Kopecky, Wiebes and Bredewold would do well in any season, but given Kopecky's move back away from GC racing after a brief foray into that, the team is fairly Classics-focused, and 2025 left them wanting more on the climbing front.

A focus on climbing

In their first year without Demi Vollering (and Marlen Reusser and Niamh Fisher-Black), SD Worx-Protime were always going to feel something of a gap when it came to GC racing. There was a hope that Anna van der Breggen might quickly return to her high level in stage races, or that Kopecky might build upon the promise she showed at the Tour in 2023.

Unfortunately, neither of those things quite materialised, and whilst Van der Breggen still has time to improve, it became clear quite quickly that SD Worx needed to reinforce their climbing contingent and focus on riders who could deliver good Grand Tour performances.

The two riders they've recruited to that end may not be the biggest, headline names, but they are truly canny signings that reflect a team looking for real potential and talent rather than flash-in-the-pan results.

Valentina Cavallar may be a fairly new name to many readers, but she shouldn't be. The 24-year-old Austrian is a former Olympic rower and only started cycling at the UCI level partway through 2024, but immediately showed her talent, coming second at the Tour des Pyrénées, and then seriously impressing at the Tour de France Femmes, finishing seventh on Alpe d'Huez and 22nd overall in her first-ever Grand Tour.

So clear was her talent that Arkéa-B&B Hotels signed her up until the end of 2027, but with that team's unfortunate demise this year, the opportunity opened up for another team to snag her signature, and SD Worx succeeded.

Still only young and relatively inexperienced, Cavallar has a lot of room to grow, and the high-performance set-up at SD Worx seems like the ideal place to really tap into her abilities. It doesn't seem over the top to suggest she could be aiming at top 10s and top fives in stage races this season, plus Grand Tour stage wins.

The team's other new recruit, Nienke Vinke, tells a pretty similar story: a growing talent who was locked in with another team, but the opportunity for a move opened up, and SD Worx acted swiftly. Vinke has more headline results than Cavallar, finishing on the podium of the Tour Down Under last year and then claiming the white jersey at the Tour this year.

Vinke had extended with Picnic PostNL last year, but had a clause in her contract that left the door open for a move at the end of 2025, and she took it, after SD Worx had reportedly been interested in her for some time – unsurprising that the Dutch team wanted to sign a young Dutch talent.

Given her results in stage races so far – including ninth at the Vuelta Femenina this year – Vinke is already a top 10 GC contender, so 2026 will be about how far she can step up. A Grand Tour top five should certainly be her goal.

Of course, the ambitions of Cavallar and Vinke will have to be balanced against those of Van der Breggen and other riders, but it helps spread the pressure out at SD Worx-Protime, and means they should be able to target the top 10 in all three Grand Tours, something they didn't have the horsepower to do in 2025.

The verdict

Quality over quantity really is the key to SD Worx-Protime's recruitment strategy this year. I respect the fact that they haven't rushed into filling the gaps left by Vollering, Reusser and Fisher-Black, and have prioritised real, long-term talent over a quick return in terms of results.

Given that various high-profile moves have dominated the transfer discourse in 2024 and 2025, this is a pretty assured approach, and one that could really pay dividends for the Dutch team. They have bided their time and been rewarded with not one but two riders who could be really serious GC contenders in the years to come.

Retaining Kopecky and Wiebes, they're sure to remain a dominant force in the cobbled Classics and sprints, whilst Mischa Bredewold is a great contender for the hillier Classics, so even without doing any recruitment, SD Worx were already very well-placed for 2026. But with two well-considered signings, they've rounded their team out again, and if things go to plan, they should be fighting for that top spot on the UCI rankings again next year.

Canyon SRAM zondacrypto Generation have completed their 2026 roster with the signing of reigning double Eritrean National Champion Monaliza Araya Chneslasie, on a two-year deal.

Araya Chneslasie is the fifth new signing made by the WorldTour team's Continental development squad, joining Germany's Sophie Alisch, Italian rider Erja Bianchi, Poland's Weronika Wąsaty and the exciting rising Ethiopian talent, Tsige Kahsay Kiros.

The five new signings join five continuing riders to complete the roster, with Valentina Corvi, Jule Märkl, Joëlle Messemer, Awen Roberts and 2025 Zwift Academy winner, Emily Dixon, continuing into next season.

After only racing in Africa throughout her first five racing seasons, this will be 22-year-old Araya Chneslasie's first season on a UCI team.

"I am so excited to be part of the team. In my first season, I expect to learn a lot, to be competitive in the races I will take part in, and to aim for good results," said the Eritrean via the team's website.

The team highlighted Eritrean influences in her pursuit of a racing career, following the success of the likes of Daniel Teklehaimanot and Biniam Girmay, who have blazed a trail for Black Africans in cycling over the past 15 years.

"When I was a child, I used a bike to go to school, and that’s when I started to love cycling," said Araya Chneslasie. "I also enjoyed watching races in our village."

The team laid out big dreams for the Eritrean, who made contact with them to try and secure a place and race in Europe this past season. One of her long-term ambitions is to become the best time trialist in Africa.

"I met Monaliza at the World Championship in Rwanda, and a few weeks before that we had already been in contact because she wanted to join our team," recalled sports director Gosia Jasinska.

"I saw that she was very motivated and determined, and that she was one of the strongest African riders in the Worlds road race. After the race, we spoke together and I saw a lot of passion in her; she wanted to go to Europe to race her bike and to show that she’s a capable rider.

"I think she has the potential to be a strong puncheur and also a good time trialist. We will need to work on her bike skills and communication, but that aside, she has a huge passion for cycling. I believe this is the key to growing into a great rider, because without that passion, nothing truly amazing will happen."

After the UCI officially awarded a three-year WorldTour licence to the now-official Lotto-Intermarché merged organisation, the team announced a 30-rider roster for the men's WorldTour. The team also stepped up their women's outfit from a Continental license to ProTeam status, with 14 riders on the roster for 2026.

The UCI's announcement also confirmed that Cofidis would no longer be a part of the WorldTour after failing to make the top 18 in the three-year UCI Team Rankings, while Uno-X Mobility have been promoted to the WorldTour through 2028. The French team missed the top 18 by just 397 points over three seasons.

For Lotto-Intermarché, the merger was not an even split. Most of the riders came from the 2025 Lotto team, with 20 of their riders remaining, while only eight riders moved across from the Intermarché-Wanty organisation.

However, Intermarché-Wanty's General Manager Jean-François Bourlart will lead the merged team as CEO and Aike Visbeek takes the reins as performance manager after serving as a director sportif with Intermarché-Wanty. Lotto's DS Kurt Van de Wouwer will take the role of sports manager in the 2026 team.

The team's equipment sponsors come mostly from Lotto, with Orbea, Vermarc, Ekoï, and Caps, while Intermarché-Wanty's bike sponsor Cube will support TotalEnergies in 2026.

"Today, thanks to the unification of two historic Belgian teams, a new chapter begins in international cycling," Bourlart said in the team's announcement. "In recent months we have worked very hard behind the scenes to build a solid project, based on the foundations of Lotto Cycling Team and Intermarché-Wanty.

"We are pleased that the UCI places its confidence in us for the next three years to make this project succeed. The recognition of the UCI ProTeam status for the women's team also makes us happy. Preparations for the new season are now in full swing, with the first collective training camp in Spain currently underway. I already feel a strong enthusiasm throughout the entire team."

The team held onto sprinter Arnaud De Lie and climber Lennert Van Eetvelt, winner of the UAE Tour and Tour of Guangxi in 2024, as well as Classics specialists Jasper De Buyst and Taco van der Hoorn. However, they lost Biniam Girmay to the ex-Israel-Premier Tech team, NSN.

Van de Wouwer emphasised the team's continuing commitment to developing young riders between the WorldTour squad and the 20-rider Lotto-Wanty development team.

"Newly crowned European champion Jarno Widar joins the pro squad, and with Huub Artz and Felix Ørn-Kristoff, we welcome two more former European champions from the youth categories. It demonstrates the potential of our group and the quality of our development programs," Van de Wouwer said.

"Talent development remains one of our key pillars in the renewed structure. In recent seasons, both development teams together delivered more than 26 riders to the pro ranks. With combined expertise, I am convinced we will continue to be one of the best continental development teams with Lotto-Wanty."

Visbeek said he "conducted an in-depth analysis of both performance organisations" in deciding which staff to bring on. "It quickly became clear that each team has complementary strengths. Lotto Cycling Team has strong collaborations with Ghent University and the department of Professor Jan Boone, coupled with a great deal of knowledge in nutrition under the leadership of Britt Lambrecht.

"From Intermarché-Wanty, we bring a tightly structured and methodical approach with a clear focus on R&D, along with technical innovation driven by Head of Equipment Mikey van Kruiningen. Bringing all this knowledge together today is a tremendous asset in elevating the new team to an even higher level."

Of course, with every merger comes a load of riders and staff left looking for new positions elsewhere. Of the combined teams' riders, 16 have found homes for 2026, six have retired, and the status of nine riders is still unknown.

Lotto-Intermarché for 2026

Lotto-Intermarché Men

• Arnaud De Lie (Lotto)
• Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto)
• Cédric Beullens (Lotto)
• Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Wanty-Nippo-ReUz)
• Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Huub Artz (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Jarno Widar (Lotto Development)
• Jasper De Buyst (Lotto)
• Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto)
• Jonas Rutsch (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Joshua Giddings (Lotto)
• Lars Craps (Lotto)
• Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto)
• Liam Slock (Lotto)
• Lionel Taminiaux (Lotto)
• Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Luca Van Boven (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Mathieu Kockelmann (Lotto Development)
• Matthew Fox (Veloce Club Rouen 76)
• Matys Grisel (Lotto Development)
• Milan Menten (Lotto)
• Reuben Thompson (Lotto)
• Robin Orins (Lotto)
• Roel van Sintmaartensdijk (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Sébastien Grignard (Lotto)
• Simone Gualdi (Wanty-Nippo-ReUz)
• Steffen De Schuyteneer (Lotto)
• Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Toon Aerts (Lotto)
• Vito Braet (Intermarché-Wanty)

Lotto-Intermarché Women

• Dina Boels (Lotto)
• Julie Brouwers (neo)
• Katrijn De Clercq (Lotto)
• Elisabeth Ebras (BePink)
• Romina Hinojosa Cruz (Lotto)
• Marieke Meert (Volkerwessels)
• Annelies Nijssen (neo)
• Linda Riedmann (Visma-Lease a Bike)
• Ilken Seynave (Lotto)
• Sandrine Tas (neo)
• Lea Lin Teutenberg (Lotto)
• Anna Van Wersch (Lotto)
• Sterre Vervloet (Lotto)
• Lani Wittevrongel (Lotto)

Transfers out

• Francesco Busatto (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
• Gerben Thijssen (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
• Alec Segaert (Bahrain Victorious)
• Hugo Page (Cofidis)
• Eduardo Sepúlveda (Continental)
• Henri Vandenabeele (Flanders-Baloise)
• Dries de Pooter (Jayco AlUla)
• Lorenz van de Wynkele (Lotto-Wanty Development)
• Biniam Girmay (NSN)
• Alexy Faure Prost (Picnic-PostNL)
• Brent van Moer (Pinarello-Q36.5)
• Arne Marit (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
• Jarrad Drizners (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
• Laurenz Rex (Soudal-Quickstep)
• Alexander Kamp (Uno-X Mobility)
• Arjen Livyns (XDS Astana)

2026 Team Unknown

• Dion Smith (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Gijs van Hoecke (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Jarne van de Paar (Lotto)
• Kamiel Bonneu (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Kevin Colleoni (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Kobe Goossens (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Logan Currie (Lotto)
• Louis Barré (Intermarché-Wanty)

Retired

• Adrien Petit (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Elia Viviani (Lotto)
• Jonas Gregaard (Lotto)
• Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Tom Paquot (Intermarché-Wanty)

Oscar Onley will not immediately travel to the Picnic PostNL team camp in Spain this week and has been given permission to stay at home, Cyclingnews understands, as discussions about his future at the team and a possible transfer to a rival team continue.

Daniel Benson's Cycling Substack first reported Onley's absence on Wednesday and Cyclingnews also verified that he is not currently at camp. Like many other teams, Picnic PostNL riders and staff are gathering in Calpe, Spain from today, with pre-season training and preparations due to start on Thursday. Onley has just returned from Australia where he spent the winter and most recently took part in the recent Tour of Bright event.

When Cyclingnews' Australian Editor Simone Giuliani asked Onley at that race if he would still be in Picnic PostNL colours in 2026, he said: ​​"For now, yes. We'll see. But yeah, it's still things up in the air a little bit."

He may still travel to Picnic PostNL's camp at a later point.

Daniel Benson has indicated for some time that Ineos Grenadiers are interested in signing Onley and confident of reaching a deal, even in time for the 2026 season. The British team are trying to reboot their Grand Tour ambitions after several disappointing seasons and following the return of Dave Brailsford and the appointment of Geraint Thomas as Director of Racing.

It is not clear if Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe and key sponsor TotalEnergies have agreed to fund a transfer move for Onley. Mid-contract moves are allowed by the UCI but require both teams and the UCI to agree, and any deal would likely include a fee to break Onley's current contract – which runs until 2027 with Picnic – and a salary that could be upwards of €2 million for a rider of his ability.

Cyclingnews understands that Picnic PostNL have so far refused a number of formal and informal offers for Onley and would be happy for him to stay at the team despite the contract tension. Some kind of contract extension would reward Onley's breakthrough Tour de France performance from this summer.

The 23-year-old Scot is logically keen to capitalise on his success, admitting to Cyclingnews that 15 teams had reached to the team or his agent.

Picnic PostNL could also be open to a rider trading deal if a team makes what they consider is an acceptable offer. Because Onley has a contract with Picnic PostNL until the end of 2027, a three-party agreement is needed between Onley, Picnic PostNL and any new team, with the UCI then giving final approval.

Onley finished an impressive fourth in the 2025 Tour de France, fourth at the Tour Down Under and third at the Tour de Suisse this year. His haul of points helped Picnic PostNL avoid relegation from the WorldTour. Losing him for 2026 would be a major blow but could be mitigated by a hefty transfer fee.

PicnicPostNL was only given a one-year WorldTour licence for 2026 by the UCI on Wednesday as they work to secure a key contract extension with a title sponsor for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.

Picnic PostNL team manager Iwan Spekenbrink has often used 'rider trading' to bolster his team's budget and has always preferred to release riders who claimed to be unhappy with the team's way of working and strict protocols, with two riders – Charlotte Kool and Nienke Vinke – already leaving the team early this year.

Despite the UCI trying to regulate rider trading has become more frequent in recent years as riders become unhappy and feel locked into long contracts. Remco Evenepoel ended his contract with Soudal-QuickStep a year early to move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Lidl-Trek signed Juan Ayuso after his fallout with UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Cyclingnews understands that Picnic PostNL have refused a number of formal and informal offers from rival WordTour teams to buy Oscar Onley out of his contract. At least for now, the talented Scot is on their roster for 2026 and expected to arrive at the team's Spanish training camp on Tuesday.

Onley is currently traveling from Australia to Spain after spending the winter down under and recently riding the Tour of Bright event.

His fourth place overall at the Tour de France made him one of the revelations of 2025 and his UCI points helped save Picnic PostNL from WorldTour relegation. However, his success and future Grand Tour potential have sparked huge interest from wealthier rival teams.

Onley has a contract with Picnic PostNL until the end of 2027 but Cyclingnews understands he and his agent Eelco Berkout of the SEG agency have yet to agree a new deal that reflects and rewards Onley's 2025 results. Berkout preferred not to comment about any ongoing negotiations with Picnic PostNL when contacted by Cyclingnews.

Onley's comments about his future to Cyclingnews only fueled a report last week on Daniel Benson's Cycling Substack that Ineos Grenadiers are one of the teams working on trying to sign him.

"For now, yes. We'll see. But yeah, it's still things up in the air a little bit," Onley told Cyclingnews when asked if he would still be in Picnic PostNL colours in 2026.

When asked if he was considering Ineos, Onley told Cyclingnews: "It's quite obvious that there's going to be interest in me after coming fourth in the Tour, and there's been, I think, probably 15 teams that have reached out to my manager or reached out to the team directly.

"And you know … you also have to capitalise on what I've done this year, but, yeah, I can't really say so much just now."

Picnic PostNL refused to comment about Onley's future at the team when contacted by Cyclingnews on Tuesday. They expected Onley to attend the December training camp on the Spanish coast. The team has already planned their race calendar for 2026 with Onley scheduled to make his season debut at the Tour Down Under.

Picnic PostNL appear to be standing firm and refusing the offers from rival WorldTour teams, at least for now. Any deal would have to be a three-party agreement that satisfies Picnic PostNL, with the UCI then giving final approval based on their regulations.

Team manager Iwan Spekenbrink has regularly used 'rider trading' to boost his team's budget and release riders who claimed to be unhappy with the team's way of working and strict protocols.

​​Tom Dumoulin ended his contract early to transfer to Jumbo-Visma for 2020, while Marcel Kittel also left a year before the end of his contract to join Etixx–QuickStep in 2015. Other riders to make similar moves include Michael Matthews and Marc Hirschi.

If a huge offer arrived for Onley from Ineos or another big-budget team, Picnic PostNL may decide to ultimately cut a deal and invest the cash in other riders and future talents. However, they would lose their team leader and Grand Tour hope and would need other riders to score vital ranking points in the next three-year WorldTour cycle.

Rider trading has become more frequent in recent years as riders become unhappy and feel locked into long contracts.

Remco Evenepoel will be presented as a Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider on Wednesday in Mallorca after striking a deal to end his contract with Soudal-QuickStep a year early. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe reportedly covered a fee of six million Euro to secure Evenepoel's signature and become their Tour de France leader.

Lidl-Trek signed Juan Ayuso after his fallout with UAE Team Emirates, with reports the German team will pay ten million Euro as part of the deal.

It is unclear how much Picnic PostNL would be willing to accept and if Ineos even have the funds in place for such a deal. Ineos have also been linked to Derek Gee after the Canadian unilaterally terminated his contract with Israel-Premier Tech before the team was taken over by NSN.

As Remco Evenepoel's official departure from Soudal-QuickStep looms ever closer, team CEO Jurgen Foré has recognised the massive contribution made by the Belgian star to his squad, but also highlighted the drawbacks of the protracted saga surrounding Evenepoel's exit.

Soon to leave for new team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe – in fact he is already at their training camp – Evenepoel took 67 wins during his time at Soudal-QuickStep, with the Vuelta a España, a podium finish overall and stages of the Tour de France, and multiple editions of Liège-Bastogne-Liège amongst his many triumphs.

However, as Foré told Belgian newspaper Dernière Heure, while Evenepoel's success was a huge part of Soudal's history, he also had the feeling that for part of the outside world, the team "only existed for the rider from Brabançonne [Evenepoel]". On top of that, he said, the lengthy uncertainty about Evenepoel's departure had partly befogged their rider recruitment strategy.

"We're talking about a process that unfolded over several years… I joined the team in January 2024, and this issue was already on the table," Foré told Dernière Heure.

"The uncertainly sometimes got to be a burden; I prefer clarity to a question mark that lingers for too long.

"Last winter, this doubt wasn't helpful when it came to certain recruitment decisions: was it worth continuing to invest around Remco if he was just going to leave a few months later?" Foré asked rhetorically.

When faced with Evenepoel's decision to end his contract a year early, Foré argued that the team had little room for manoeuvre, as Belgian labour law normally favours employee rights in these sorts of situations.

"I've never hidden my opinion that a contract is made to be respected," Foré said. "We're not like football" – a sport where contracts are often terminated early – "and I'm very glad about that.

"But the Belgian labour legislation hasn't helped that because it always puts the Belgian riders in a position of strength."

"We didn't have any choice, in fact, but to accept Remco's departure. If he'd been a different nationality, we'd have been in a better position."

Moving on

Evenepoel is now about to leave, though, and the team has continued, with Foré saying that once it became official, "I turned a page in my head for good."

Looking ahead, he insisted that Soudal-QuickStep would aim to win at least as many races in 2026 as they had in 2025, where the team took 56 victories, a total only beaten by UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

"It's been a huge achievement to work with a superstar like Remco, but a new chapter of the team is now about to open next season," he reasoned.

"These last few years, several of the guys have been able to mature, patiently, in Remco's shadow, but now they're ready to blossom.

"Evenepoel's exit marks a new approach and new responsibilities for these riders, but I'm convinced it can be a fruitful one."

Foré pointed out that Evenepoel's abandon in the 2025 Tour de France in the Pyrenees when ill and injured had already shown how the team could turn things around, with a subsequent triumph on the Ventoux for Valentin Paret-Peintre coming off the back of sterling support from teammates like Pascal Eenkhoorn and Ilan Van Wilder.

Equally, the signing of riders for 2026 like Classics veterans Jasper Stuyven, amongst others, would offer the squad a chance to support their up-and-coming talents such as French sprinter Paul Magnier.

"Above all, and I'll say it again, we're reconnecting with the team. The Tour de France remains the most important event of the year in terms of advertising revenue for our partners, and my primary goal at the start of a new season is to win there. This was a key factor in our recruitment," Foré told Dernière Heure.

In what is surely another encouraging sign for the Soudal-QuickStep squad in the post-Evenepoel era, Foré said that the team's budget was already securely in place for two more years. Most of the principal sponsor contracts were in place until the end of 2027, and the squad was already negotiating to prolong them even further.

Jayco-AlUla have confirmed the finalisation of their 2026 roster of 29 riders with two late signings: Rudy Porter returns after a season away from the WorldTour while rehabilitating a pinched artery in his left leg, and Dries De Pooter joins the team from Intermarché-Wanty, who work to complete their merger with Lotto.

Leaving the team are Michael Hepburn, Campbell Stewart and Welay Hagos Berhe.

De Pooter, 23, closed out his 2025 season with a stage win in the Tour de Kyushu in Japan and finished seventh overall. A strong climber who can still have a strong sprint on a tough day of racing, De Pooter showed his promise as an under-23 when he won a stage of the Flanders Tomorrow Tour in 2022.

After three full seasons in the WorldTour and two Grand Tours in his legs - the Giro d'Italia in 2024 and Vuelta a España this year - De Pooter is destined to be a part of Jayco-AlUla's team for the Spring Classics.

"I'm feeling super excited about joining this team. I grew up watching them rocking the TTTs back in the day and now to be part of this team with such a great history makes me super happy," De Pooter said.

"I'm most looking forward to being part of the Classics squad for next year and to giving it a shot at trying to win races together because that's what makes us all start racing bikes in the end."

Sporting Manager Gene Bates sees big things for the young Belgian. "He is still young with lots of potential and paired alongside some of the more experienced riders in the Classics group, we believe he can develop and learn a lot from them. He's already been racing at the top level for a few years now and has done two Grand Tours which is a big plus for a young rider."

Porter, who turns 25 next week, had a strong under-23 season with Trinity Racing in 2022, finishing second overall in the Course de la Paix and fourth overall in the Alpes Isère Tour. However, after his first neo-pro season, he began to have problems with his left leg, and ended his season in May. By the end of 2024 his doctors finally solved the problem of a pinched artery with a Botox injection into his psoas muscle.

He did not get a contract for 2025, but competed with the Australian National Team at the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, finishing 11th on the Willunga Hill stage and 16th overall.

"I'm really excited to be coming back to GreenEDGE. Returning after the long injury I dealt with in 2024 feels especially meaningful," Porter said. "I've put in a huge amount of work to get back to full strength, and that period taught me a lot. It'll be great to reconnect with familiar faces, meet the new ones and collectively work towards a successful year as a team."

Bates said, "It is great to see him come back after a season away from the WorldTour. He is a rider with plenty of talent, but injury has prevented him from really exploring his strengths as a rider. He has had a season to recover and reset, and we hope that with this opportunity that Rudy is able to show what he is capable of."

Jayco-AlUla 2026 roster

• Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech)
• Koen Bouwman
• Amaury Capiot (Arkea-B&B Hotels)
• Filippo Conca
• Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
• Dries de Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)
• Dries de Pooter (Intermarché-Wanty)
• Davide de Pretto
• Robert Donaldson
• Paul Double
• Luke Durbridge
• Felix Engelhardt
• Anders Foldager
• Patrick Gamper
• Alan Hatherly
• Asbjørn Hellemose
• Christopher Juul-Jensen
• Jelte Krijnsen
• Michael Matthews
• Hamish McKenzie (Hagens Berman Jayco)
• Luka Mezgec
• Kelland O'Brien
• Ben O'Connor
• Finlay Pickering (Bahrain Victorious)
• Luke Plapp
• Rudy Porter (none)
• Mauro Schmid
• Jasha Sütterlin
• Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)

Australia's Jack Haig has signed for Ineos Grenadiers for 2026, moving from Bahrain Victorious after five years to join the British team on a two-year contract.

Now 32, Haig has shown strength and success in Grand Tours, finishing third at the Vuelta a España in 2021, and whilst individual success hasn't come often in recent years, he has developed into an experienced road captain and climbing domestique.

On Monday morning, journalist Daniel Benson reported that Haig was at Ineos Grenadiers' team camp in Denia, Spain, and the official news of his transfer came shortly after.

"I can’t wait to get the season started, meet my new teammates, and play my part in challenging for future successes," he said in a team press release. "I’m also looking forward to supporting some of the talented young guys who’ve joined the team."

New Director of Racing Geraint Thomas also praised the Australian, bringing him on board after confirming recently that he hopes to take Ineos back to the top step of the Tour de France.

"I raced wheel to wheel against Jack for many years and he’s always impressed me," Thomas said. "He’s a fighter and a grafter, and he knows what it takes to stand on the podium at a Grand Tour. I’m sure he’ll be a big part of what we’re going after in the next few years."

Haig may not be the only Australian joining Ineos next year, however, with Daniel Benson's report also suggesting that Sam Welsford is at the team's camp with his compatriot.

Some Strava sleuthing – first pointed out by Bluesky user @cyclingreno – shows that Welsford has been completing rides in Denia that start and follow the same route as rides logged by Ineos riders, including Kévin Vauquelin, Thymen Arensman and Dorian Godon.

Though nothing has been officially confirmed yet, it seems as if Welsford is at least at the Ineos camp this week, which would heavily suggest that contract news is on the way.

Welsford, who this year rode for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, was pushed out of their sprinting hierarchy and left searching for a new home for 2026. According, again, to Daniel Benson, talks with Ineos have been in the works for some time, and had stalled at one point, but his presence at team camp looks like the move is back on.

With the arrival of Haig, Ineos have now made five new signings for 2026 with six departures confirmed. Their confirmed roster for next year is up to 28, leaving just two free spots, one likely to be filled by Welsford.

Whether they fill the spot to make a maximum of 30 remains to be seen, but they continue to be heavily linked with young Scottish talent Oscar Onley, who recently confirmed to Cyclingnews that things were still "up in the air" regarding his future and a possible mid-contract move away from Picnic PostNL.

Australian Hamish McKenzie will make a year-delayed move into the WorldTour in 2026, stepping up from Hagens Berman Jayco to Jayco-AlUla.

McKenzie, 21, signed for Hagens Berman Jayco at the start of 2024 and was due to step up to the WorldTour squad in 2025, but spent an additional year at development level owing to an injury.

In 2026, however, the Australian will finally make the move, joining the WorldTour team from January.

"Hamish is one of our long-term projects, he’s a big talent and we’re delighted to see him making the step up into the WorldTour next season," Jayco sporting manager Gene Bates said.

"The plan was always for him to spend some time with Axel Merckx and our development setup before graduating to the pro ranks with us.

"Unfortunately, he had an injury that meant the move was delayed by a year, but we believe he’s proved that he is ready after his performances this season and we’re looking forward to helping him develop further."

McKenzie's 2025 season centred around a steady programme of European stage races, racking up a solid 40 race days and plenty of racing experience, if not many stand-out results.

A high point of his season came in September when he finished 10th in the under-23 time trial at the Road World Championships in Rwanda, confirming his readiness for the next step.

He has already had two tastes of riding for the WorldTour team, having raced alongside his future teammates at the CRO Race and Tour of Hellas, and expressed his joy at making the permanent move after an extra year of racing.

"I’m really proud and excited to be stepping up to the WorldTour with Team Jayco-AlUla. It’s a team that truly values development, teamwork, and creating opportunities for younger riders like myself," he said.

"I’ve watched and admired this team for years, and I’m incredibly grateful for the trust they’ve shown in me leading up to this point. I’m looking forward to learning from riders I’ve always looked up to, as well as working with the amazing support staff. I can’t wait to get stuck in and kick off my season in Australia in January!"

McKenzie's compatriot Wil Holmes signed for Hagens Berman Jayco at the same time in 2024 and was slated to move up to the WorldTour in 2026. However, the 19-year-old has also delayed his move and will spend an additional year at under-23 level. He's slated for a two-year contract with Jayco AlUla starting in 2027.

Jayco-AlUla's roster for 2026 now stands at 27 riders out of the maximum of 30.

Tour de France Femmes white jersey winner Nienke Vinke has signed for SD Worx-Protime on a three-year deal, despite having a year left on her contract with Picnic PostNL.

The Dutch climber was set to continue for Picnic PostNL until at least the end of 2026 after extending her contract in May 2024, but has broken that deal early to join SD Worx-Protime through to the end of 2028.

Under current UCI rules, riders can move mid-contract if all parties agree and get approval from the UCI. The Picnic women's team have already released one rider this season, with Charlotte Kool making a move to Fenix-Deceuninck in the summer.

However, in the case of Vinke, Picnic PostNL told Cyclingnews that an unspecified clause in her contract allowed for the move.

"Nienke had a clause in her contract allowing her to change teams after the 2025 season. We were happy with Nienke and we would have loved to see her longer in our team colours, however, we wish her all the best," the team said.

A talented climber, Nienke Vinke shot to recognition at the 2024 Tour Down Under, where she finished second overall and won the young rider classification, and has since impressed further, taking eighth at Flèche Wallonne and ninth overall at the Vuelta Femenina this year, before securing the white jersey at the Tour de France Femmes.

In a team press release confirming the news, SD Worx-Protime say that the team "had Vinke on its radar several years ago already, but back then [team sports manager Danny] Stam was unable to sign her", but they have made the move happen for 2026.

"We see Nienke as a rider who can develop into a GC contender in the major stage races in the coming years, but also as someone capable of achieving strong results in the Ardennes classics," Stam said.

My view

For the 21-year-old Dutch rider, there is clearly a lot of excitement about moving up to one of the sport's best teams to ride alongside some top Dutch talents.

"There are big names and riders with a lot of experience in the team. I hope to learn a great deal from them," she said. "It’s also a team where winning is very important. With that mindset, the team starts practically every race. I hope to help the girls achieve new victories next season and to continue developing myself in that supporting role."

After the success she had in the Vuelta and Tour this year, GC improvement is a big goal for Vinke, and she is in line to be a possible future leader at SD Worx-Protime, who said goodbye to riders like Demi Vollering and Niamh Fisher-Black last year. She won the white jersey this year, but was close to doing even better, finishing 19th overall.

"In the Tour, I had hoped to finish one day a bit closer to the big GC riders," she explained. "Partly due to a puncture in the penultimate stage, in the valley leading up to the Col de la Madeleine, that didn’t quite work out. Still, winning the white jersey in the Tour is, of course, very special."

"It was clear early on that Nienke is a real talent," Stam added. "We’re happy to have been given a second chance to work with her. In her first year, she can continue to grow in the shadow of riders such as Lotte Kopecky, Anna van der Breggen, Lorena Wiebes and Mischa Bredewold. She has already shown her climbing potential. Both on hilly terrain and on the long climbs in stage races, she performs very well."

Vinke is only the second signing SD Worx-Protime have made for 2026 so far, after also securing the signature of fellow talented climber Valentina Cavallar. However, having secured most of their existing riders for next year, their roster is already at 17.

They are currently in the process of winter preparation, with their team launch planned for January 8.

Biniam Girmay has joined NSN Cycling Team on a three-year contract, the team, which emerged from the acquisition and rebrand of Israel-Premier Tech, confirmed on Monday.

A three-time Tour de France stage-winner, Girmay had been linked with Israel-Premier Tech from earlier in the year, but it remained unclear what kit he would be racing in for 2026 as the messy fusion of Lotto and Intermarché began to take shape. The late confirmation of the merger of the Eritrean's old team – which he had been signed with through 2028 – and the changes at his prospective new team delivered a dual roadblock.

But after it was announced on November 28 that he had departed Intermarché early after agreeing a deal to terminate his contract early, this opened the door for his big move to take place and NSN to get the star they wanted.

"We are incredibly excited to welcome Biniam to NSN Cycling Team. Not only will 2026 mark a new chapter for the team, but it also represents one for Biniam and I couldn’t think of a better time to embark on a new chapter together," said team General Manager Kjell Carlström.

"Biniam represents everything we love about cycling. His talent is obvious, but his humility and drive are what make him an extraordinary cyclist. From the first conversation, it was clear he shares our vision both on and off the bike and I have no doubt he will be a fantastic fit and will be a leader of our team, inspiring our riders and the entire cycling community."

Israel-Premier Tech changed to NSN on November 20 after a joint takeover by sports and entertainment company NSN – which was co-founfed by legendary Spanish footballer, Andres Iniesta – and global investment platform Stoneweg. The latter is a Swiss company, and the team will race under a Swiss licence in 2026.

Girmay had been looking to stay with Intermarché-Wanty for the long term before the merger took place with Lotto, which, if he stayed, would have left Girmay racing alongside fellow versatile sprinter Arnaud De Lie.

"I’m really happy to be here, especially with a new atmosphere and a new beginning, for me and for the team," added Girmay. "When I look back at the last two years of the team, the team has improved so much. There is a really good team spirit.

"I see a great opportunity with NSN Cycling Team and I feel that this is the best thing for my future."

Girmay started his professional cycling career with ProTeam Delko in 2020, before moving up to the WorldTour mid-2021 with Intermarché-Wanty and quickly adding a historic Gent-Wevelgem victory to his palmarès in 2022. He also took his first Grand Tour stage victory at the Giro d'Italia later that year. Then, in 2024, Girmay made more history as the first black African to win a stage of the Tour de France, to which he added two more and the green points jersey.

The momentum didn't continue into 2025 with a winless season, his first since beginning his career; however, his record and still strong results, including a runner-up spot on the opening stage of the Tour de France, meant there was never any doubt that the 25-year-old would remain a sought-after rider.

As a headline signing for the next three seasons, Girmay will garner considerable support at NSN Cycling alongside a new train, delivering a key sprint option for the team, which will be stepping back up to WorldTour level in 2026.

"To be honest, I never look back at what I achieved. I always look to the future," said Girmay.

"I always care what the next step is. What’s done is already done, so I don’t want to look back or be satisfied. I always want to do more. My main objective for the future, because I’m still only 25, is simple – to win bike races. I really love to win at the classics, and, for the moment, I only won Gent – Wevelgem so I still want to achieve more together with the team. I believe one day we can win one of the biggest races in cycling together."

After weeks of near-silence were broken on Friday by the confirmation of Biniam Girmay's departure from Intermarché-Wanty at the end of the season, quiet but solid progress on the squad's upcoming fusion with Lotto is now also reported to be taking place.

Criticisms of the prolonged uncertainty surrounding the futures of riders affected by the fusion had been made by CPA president Adam Hansen, partly as a result of the dearth of available information, former Lotto team manager Marc Sergeant described it to Dernière Heure as "a fiasco", and retired Lotto rider Thomas de Gendt, writing for Cyclingnews, directly described the ongoing situation surrounding the fusion as "a bit of a shit-show."

However, according to Het Laatste Nieuws, the teams' respective management had deliberately opted to take a low-profile approach about the upcoming fusion – and now, finally, some concrete details have emerged.

Quite apart from Girmay's long-expected exit, it's also emerged that the team will hold two training camps in Spain, HLN says, with the first running from December 6-20. Then there will be a team presentation on January 12 in the team's service course in Temse, Belgium, followed by a second training camp in Spain, starting January 13.

Describing the lack of news as "a compliment," Lotto's Gregory Maes – a board director in the team and member of the Captains of Cycling company which owns the team told the Belgian newspaper that "We always wanted to work discreetly."

"This is a scenario which isn't straightforward, and it's maybe a unique one in cycling."

While the team's 2026 bikes have already been delivered and the new jersey is '90% ready', according to the newspaper, the merger will likely not be officialised before the UCI announces the list of WorldTour teams for the next 2023-2025 cycle, expected shortly after the UCI WorldTour Congress on December 10.

It has also been reported by HLN that Intermarché-Wanty and Lotto's respective development teams will continue to exist as separate entities.

However, with some unspecified financial issues still unresolved, the newspaper concluded that "The fact is that there is still a lot to be 'cleaned up' and many [Intermarché-Wanty] riders and staff members, unlike Lotto, still don't know exactly where they stand at the moment."