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.
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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)
