News

The cycling world knew that it was only a matter of time before we’d see Pauline Ferrand-Prévot back on the road again, after she announced her intention to retire from mountain biking after the Olympic Games in Paris and pursue road racing full-time once again, but now the time has finally come. She will be making her road-racing comeback debut at the 2024 World Championships in Zurich – 10 years after she won the race back in 2014.

The team for the Road Race will also include elite climbers Juliette Labous – the current French Road Race Champion – and Évita Muzic. Supporting them, will be Marion Bunel, Léa Curinier, Cédrine Kerbaol and Jade Wiel. Kerbaol and Labous will also take part in the Elite Individual Time Trial, as well as the mixed relay, where they will be joined by Audrey Cordon-Ragot.

When to watch:

The Women’s Individual Time Trial is up first, on 22/09/2024, followed by the Mixed Relay on 25/09.2024, and the Road Race on 28/09/2024.

Source: French Cycling Federation Press Release

17/09/2024

Countries competing in this year’s UCI Road World Championships – taking place in Zurich, Switzerland, on 21-29 September – have continued to announce their teams, including Belgium, Switzerland and Spain. These teams will feature current World Champions, Lotte Kopecky and Remco Evenepoel, as well as Elise Chabbey, Marc Hirschi, Mavi García and Carlos Rodríguez, alongside a range of top-tier support riders.

Team Belgium

The Women’s team for the Elite Road Race will include: Lotte Claes, Valerie Demey, Lore De Schepper, Julie De Wilde, Justine Ghekiere, Julie Van de Velde, Margot Vanpachtenbeke, and the reigning World Champion, Lotte Kopecky. De Wilde and Kopecky will also be participating in the Elite Individual Time Trial.

The Men’s team for the Elite Road Race will include: Tiesj Benoot, Laurens De Plus, Victor Campenaerts, Quinten Hermans, Jasper Stuyven, Maxim van Gils and Tim Wellens, who will try to lead the 2022 World Champion, Remco Evenepoel, to another World Championship victory. Evenepoel will also attempt to defend his current title in the Elite Individual Time Trial, and Campenaerts will participate alongside him.

Team Switzerland

The Women’s team for the Elite Road Race will include: Elena Hartmann, Caroline Baur, Elise Chabbey and Noemi Rüegg. Hartmann will also compete in the Elite Individual Time Trial.

The Men’s team for the Elite Road Race will include: Stefan Küng, Silvain Dillier, Marc Hirschi, Johan Jacobs, Mauro Schmid and Yannis Voisard. Küng will also contest the Elite Individual Time Trial, alongside Stefan Bissegger.

Team Spain

The Women’s team for the Elite Road Race will be led by Mavi García, who will be supported by Mireia Benito, Sara Martín, Usoa Ostolaza – the current Spanish Champion on the road – Eneritz Vadillo and Paula Blasi. Benito, the Spanish Individual Time Trial Champion, will also compete in the Elite Individual Time Trial, as will Blasi, but in the U23 division.

The Men’s team for the Elite Road Race is full of big names, including: Tour de France stage winners, Pello Bilbao and Carlos Rodríguez; three-time Vuelta a España runner up, Enric Mas; and the recent two-time Vuelta a España stage winner, Pablo Castrillo. Top riders Mikel Landa, Juan Ayuso, Álex Aranburu, and Roger Adriá will also form part of the team. David de la Cruz, the current Spanish Champion, and Raúl García Pierna, will compete in the Elite Individual Time Trial.

Sources: Announcements from the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation, Belgian Cycling and Swiss Cycling

17/09/2024

After the third European title in the U23 category for Alec Segaert (Lotto-Dstny), the UCI have announced that the riders who have a contract with a team in the first or the second division of professional cycling will not be able to ride in an international championship as from the 2025 season. Nowadays, the riders are launched into the professional level much sooner than before, meaning that there is a huge gap between the riders who benefit from a World Tour or a Pro Team equipment and another who is still in a Continental team. Indeed, according to the UCI rules, riders such as Arnaud De Lie, Olav Kooij or Juan Ayuso could compete in the U23 World or European championships, while they are some of the best riders at the World Tour level. This new rule will allow the race to be more equal and will help some riders less known to shine to the eyes of the cycling world. It is however important to notice that riders from a Development team will still be able to race those championships, as they have not signed a professional contract with the main team yet.

Source: Direct Vélo

13/09/2024

One of the season’s long-awaited transfer announcements has finally been made: Oier Lazkano will leave Movistar at the end of this year to join RedBull BORA-Hansgrohe.

The promising young Spaniard has already had a great career so far – with a stage at the Vuelta a Burgos, wins at Clasica Jaén and the Spanish National Championships, and a second place at Dwars Door Vlaanderen, already in his palmarès, amongst other impressive results. Over the past few years especially, he has proven to be a force to be reckoned with in one-day racing, drawing the attention of many of the top WorldTour teams.

We now have official confirmation, however, that it was RedBull BORA-Hansgrohe, with their newfound sponsor’s resources, that managed to lure him away from the Spanish team that launched his WorldTour career. In the team’s official press release, Lazkano stated that he believes that the move will be “a big step forward in [his] career”, and that “working with the biggest names in the sport” was an opportunity that he just couldn’t turn down.

He will now be working alongside the likes of Laurence Pithie, Danny Van Poppel, Nico Denz and (likely) Jan Tratnik, as part of the RedBull BORA Hansgrohe Classics team, and will also feature as part of the team’s squad for stage races, which should give him plenty of opportunities to grow and develop into one of the team’s key leaders.

Source: RedBull BORA-Hansgrohe Press Release

11/09/2024

Following multiple announcements detailing how Team SD Worx-Protime would be losing quite a few of its key riders at the end of this year - including Niamh Fisher-Black, Demi Vollering and Christine Majerus - the team has now revealed who will be coming in as their replacements. Alongside Anna Van der Breggen – one of the team’s Sports Directors, who is set to rejoin the pro peloton next year – Marta Lach will also be joining the team, on a three-year contract through to 2027.

The Polish rider currently rides for the newly-promoted CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team, and has so far shown great promise and versatility. Throughout her career, Lach has won a good number of one-day races and stages in one-week races so far, and only just recently, she finished 10th in the road race at the Paris Olympics. The team are therefore bringing her in as “a rider who can do well in both stage races and one-day races” – according to the Sports Manager, Danny Stam, and in particular, as a replacement for Majerus, who will retire at the end of the year.

Lach herself has stated that accepting the offer to join SD Worx-Protime was a no-brainer, calling it “a dream come true”, and naming the team “the best team in the world”. She believes that this marks a big step in her career, and that the team will be able to help her to develop further – especially in the Individual Time Trial discipline, owing to the team’s top-of-the-range equipment. Going forward, therefore, her main focus will improving in this discipline, as well as competing strongly in the spring Classics – both as a team player, and riding for her own results.

Source: SD Worx-Protime X (formerly Twitter) Post

11/09/2024

The first few team announcements for this year’s UCI Road World Championships – taking place in Zurich, Switzerland, on 21-29 September – have been made. Australia, the USA and the Netherlands have all announced strong teams, with the likes of Ben O-Connor, Neve Bradbury, Matteo Jorgenson, Kristen Faulkner, Mathieu Van der Poel and Demi Vollering, as team leaders.

Team Australia

The Women’s team for the Elite Road Race will include: Neve Bradbury, Grace Brown, Brodie Chapman, Sarah Gigante, Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Amanda Spratt – with Bradbury also being eligible for the under-23 competition. Brown and Chapman will also be participating in the Elite Individual Time Trial, along with Isabelle Carnes – the latter also eligible for the under-23 competition.

The Men’s team for the Elite Road Race will include: Jack Haig, Jai Hindley, Michael Matthews, Ben O’Connor, Nick Schultz, Callum Scotson, Michael Storer and Jay Vine – with Vine coming in as a replacement for Chris Harper, who withdrew for medical reasons. Vine will also be participating in the Elite Individual Time Trial, replacing Lucas Plapp, after he too had to withdraw for medical reasons, following his crash in the Olympic Games.

Team USA

The Women’s team for the Elite Road Race will include: Chloe Dygert, Ruth Edwards, Emily Ehrlich, Heidi Franz, Lauren Stephens, and the reigning Olympic Road Race Champion, Kristen Faulkner. Dygert, Edwards and Ehrlich will also compete in the Elite Individual Time Trial, alongside Amber Neben.

The Men’s team for the Elite Road Race will include: Matteo Jorgenson, Riley Sheehan, Brandon McNulty, Sean Quinn, Neilson Powless, Kevin Vermaerke, Quinn Simmons and Magnus Sheffield. McNulty and Sheffield will also contest the Elite Individual Time Trial.

Team Netherlands

The Women’s team for the Elite Road Race will be led by Demi Vollering, supported by Puck Pieterse, Riejanne Markus, Pauliena Rooijakkers, Shirin van Anrooij, Mischa Bredewold, and former World Champion, Marianne Vos. Vollering will also participate in the Elite Individual Time Trial, alongside either Ellen van Dijk or Riejanne Markus (this decision will be made following the European Championships taking place this week).

The Men’s team for the Elite Road Race will include the reigning World Champion, Mathieu van der Poel, as well as elite climbers more suited to the race, such as Wilco Kelderman, Bart Lemmen, Frank van den Broek, and Bauke Mollema. Oscar Riesebeek, Daan Hoole, Sam Oomen and Sjoerd Bax, have also been selected for the Road Race squad, and Daan Hoole will also compete in the Elite Individual Time Trial.

Sources: Announcements from AusCycling, USA Cycling, and the Royal Federation of Dutch Cycling

07/09/2024

It was announced today that Alpecin-Deceuninck will be losing two important riders – Axel Laurance and Søren Kragh Andersen – to INEOS Grenadiers and Lidl-Trek, respectively.

Laurance has signed a two-year contract with the British team through to 2026, and will join the team primarily with the aim of developing as one of their lead riders in the stage races that suit him. So far, his relatively short pro career has been spent with Alpecin-Deceuninck, after he joined the development team in 2023, and was quickly promoted to the WorldTour team in 2024. During this time, the young Frenchman has proven his ability to perform well at this top level, winning the Tour of Norway, and stages in the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and Etoile de Besseges, as well as riding in his first Tour de France, all in his debut year at WorldTour level. He is also the reigning Under-23 World Champion in the road race, and these impressive results soon attracted the attention of the other WorldTour teams. It has now been revealed that out of those teams, Laurance chose the INEOS Grenadiers, and in the team’s press release, he stated that this was due to his admiration for the team, and belief that it is the best fit for him and his future ambitions. He will therefore join the team in 2025, with the goal of winning races and achieving impressive results.

Alpecin-Deceuninck will also be losing one of their older, more experienced riders – Søren Kragh Andersen – who has signed a two-year contract with Lidl-Trek, through to 2026. Kragh Andersen had also only been with Alpecin-Deceuninck for two years, but during this time, he proved himself to be a key player within the team – winning Eschborn-Frankfurt and the points jersey at the Skoda Tour Luxembourg, achieving great results at Milano-Sanremo, the Renewi Tour and the Tour of Denmark, and acting as a key domestique in the spring Classics for the team’s lead rider, Mathieu Van der Poel. Additionally, his palmarès also includes stages at the Tour de France, Paris-Nice and the Tour de Suisse. The Dane will now move into his tenth season as a professional cyclist with a new team, where he can bring his valuable experience, and focus on playing a significant role in their spring Classics squad. He has also hinted at a desire to take another Grand Tour win for himself, if the opportunity arises. When asked what swayed him to sign with Lidl-Trek, instead of remaining with his current team, Kragh Andersen cited the opportunity to join “some of the best Danish riders of this generation” and ride on a ‘superteam’.

Sources: INEOS Grenadiers Press Release, Lidl-Trek Press Release

02/09/2024

Lidl-Trek is definitely the most active team in this Women’s transfer window. Indeed, after signing Riejanne Markus, Emma Norsgaard and Anna Henderson, the American team just announced that Niamh Fisher-Black will be riding for them for the next three season. The 24-years-old New Zealander began her professional career in 2020 with Bigla-Katusha, before signing with SD Worx under which colours she spent the last three seasons. She is a very good climber, as proved by her stage win on the last Giro d’Italia, at the top of the climb of Toano. With her new team, she will have a role of leader on the stage races: “I am eager to explore my potential in GC riding, perhaps starting with shorter stage races and progressing to the Grand Tour lengths.”, a role that she will discover with, let’s hope, great success.

After already announcing Alberto Bettiol, Florian Kajamini and Nicola Conci, Astana-Qazaqstan seems to really like Italian riders as they officialised the arrival of the veteran Diego Ulissi until 2026. Ulissi started as a pro in 2010, with Lampre, with who he spent all of his career. Indeed, he stayed when the team became UAE Team Emirates and has been a key member of the team during his 14 seasons with them. During his long career, Diego Ulissi won a lot, including 8 stages on his national Grand Tour but also the Grand Prix of Montreal in 2017. This year, he won the Tour of Austria along with one stage, but also finished second of the Tour of Poland and the Czech Tour. According to Alexandr Vinokurov, “Diego will strengthen Astana Qazaqstan Team, becoming a leader in many races, while also being able tu support his teammates when needed.”

Soudal Quick-Step needed some reinforcements in their Classics squad after their deceiving 2024 campaign. They found one with the Belgian Dries Van Gestel, who will arrive from TotalEnergies for the next two seasons. At 29 years old, the native of Turnhout in Northern Belgium will discover the World Tour level, after spending all of his career in Pro Continental teams such as Sport Vlaanderen Baloise and TotaleEnergies. Dries Van Gestel is not a rider who won a lot since he passed pro in 2016, with only two wins including the Ronde van Drenthe 2022. However, he already finished 3 times in the top 20 of a Flanders Monument, with a 13^th place on Paris-Roubaix 2024. Van Gestel could be an important man for the Classics season with Soudal Quick-Step, as confirmed by Patrick Lefevere: “He is a kind of rider who never gives up and always gives his all in a race, and this mentality is a perfect match to that of our team.”

After the signing of Alexey Lutsenko, Israel Premier Tech still want to extend their climbing team with the arrival of Jan Hirt until 2026. The Czech climber spent the last 6 seasons at the World Tour level, with four different teams and will join the Israeli team at the age of 33, in order to bring experience and quality when the road will rise. Indeed, Jan Hirt is a very good climber, as proved by his 6^th place on the general classification of the 2022 Giro d’Italia, along with one stage win. This same year, he also won the Tour of Oman, signing the best season of his career. In 2024, Hirt finished 8^th of the Giro and was a very important domestique for Remco Evenepoel on the Tour de France. With his new team, he will have “more opportunities […] especially when it comes to the Grand Tours and stage races”, according to the General Manager of Israel Premier Tech Kjell Carlström.

Sources: Lidl-Trek Press release; Astana Qazaqstan Press release; Soudal Quick-Step Press release; Israel Premier Tech Press release

31/08/2024

After a calm start to the transfer window, Uno-X Mobility have announced their first recruit for the next season with the Danish rider Andreas Kron until 2027. The 26 years-old joined Lotto Soudal in 2021 after 4 years with the Danish team Riwal, entering the World Tour. With the Belgian team, he managed to win three times, all in World Tour, including a stage on La Vuelta but also on the Volta a Catalunya and on the Tour de Suisse. Andreas Kron is a very good puncheur and is capable to shine on the Ardennes classics as shown by his fourth place on the Amstel Gold Race in 2023. This signing is really important for Uno-X Mobility as they are chasing UCI Points in order to get promoted in the World Tour for the 2026 season. Despite a more complicated season for Andreas Kron in 2024, Uno-X Mobility’s General Manager Thor Hushovd said “Andreas has tremendous potential and his results clearly demonstrate. We believe he can develop even further with us”

After already losing Laurence Pithie and Lenny Martinez, Groupama-FDJ will have to do without one of their young stars for the next season as Sam Watson has signed as a new rider for INEOS Grenadiers. Sam Watson began his professional career with the French team 2 years ago and recently won his first win with the World Tour team, the fifth stage of the Etihas-Tour de Wallonie. He also finished in the top 10 of several French races such as the Tour de la Provence or the Boucles de la Mayenne. With INEOS Grenadiers, the young rider from Leeds will be an important rider for the Classics, as said by the performance director of the team Scott Drawer: “Sam’s profile and the range of capabilities will likely see him take a place in our Classics squad and feature in one-week races”. At 22 years old, Sam Watson signed with his new team until 2026 and is “beyond excited to start working together and see what we can achieve”.

After spending all of their career with Visma-Lease a Bike, the Van Dijke twins, Mick and Tim, have both signed with Red Bull Bora for the next three seasons. The Dutch brothers will both be a very good improvement for the Classics squad of the German team, as they both finished in the top 20 of Paris-Roubaix this year. While Mick never won as a pro, his brother raised his arms once, on the ITT of the 2022 Sibiu Tour. In addition of being an excellent time trialist, Tim Van Dijke is also a good sprinter, as shown by his top 5 on the Tour of Romandie and on the Giro. As mentioned by Ralph Denk, the CEO of Red Bull Bora, “Both are powerful and quick. Combined with their physical presence, this is a combination that will help us in the spring”

After the loss of the Van Dijke twins, Visma Lease a Bike needed a replacement for their Classics squad. They chose to sign an experienced rider, who already knew the team with Victor Campenaerts from Lotto-Dstny. The Belgian spent his first seasons in the World Tour with the Dutch team, who was then called LottoNL-Jumbo. Under the yellow colours, he became the ITT European Champion and won a stage on the Ruta del Sol. After leaving the team, “Campi’”’s raised his arms numerous times, including some in World Tour such as a stage on the Giro 2021 and, more recently, a stage on the last Tour de France. The Belgian rider, who will turn 33 in October, has signed with Visma Lease a Bike until 2027. Grischa Niermann, the team director of the Dutch team said that Campenaerts was “a very experienced rider known for his pursuit of innovations. We can really use that experience.”

Sources: Uno-X Mobility press release; INEOS Grenadiers press release; Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe press release; Visma Lease a Bike press release

28/08/2024

In the past week, Lidl-Trek has announced three significant signings to its women’s team: Riejanne Markus, Anna Henderson and Emma Norsgaard. This trio will be crucial in supporting and strengthening the team, following the expected departure of their star rider, Elisa Longo Borghini, and all three have been signed on three-year contracts, through to 2027.

The team announced their signing of Markus first, the Dutch individual time trial (ITT) champion who currently rides for Visma Lease-a-Bike, and has already enjoyed a successful career – having secured great results in the Classics, stage wins in multiple stage races, and national titles in both the road race and ITT, and finishing second in the general classification of this year’s Vuelta a España. Markus is now targeting even more success – wishing to pursue good general classification results in stage races and excel in time trials especially – and so has stated that Lidl-Trek’s “world-class bikes” played a large role in her decision to switch teams, as did the team’s “atmosphere among the riders and staff” and “pioneering role within women’s cycling” (with Lidl-Trek being known for giving their women’s team the same level of support as their men’s team, which is unfortunately rare amongst WorldTour teams with both men’s and women’s divisions). It is expected that next year, Markus will target the European and World ITT Championships, as well as the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España, and hilly Classics races, such as Strade Bianche and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Here she will have opportunities to ride for herself, but will also be a valuable asset to the overall team.

The team then went on to announce another rider that will be coming over from Visma Lease-a-Bike: Henderson. She too is an ITT specialist – having won a silver medal at this year’s Olympic Games and last year’s European Championships, as well as being a two-time British Champion in the ITT – but has also achieved impressive results in the general classification of races such as the Tour of Britain, Simac Ladies Tour, and Baloise Ladies Tour. She has stated that “a wish for new challenges and opportunities to grow as a rider” was her main reason for deciding to change teams, and that she chose Lidl-Trek due to its “interesting environment with strong support…clear vision for [her] future, and…team dynamic that aligned with [her] professional and personal goals”. Additionally, she revealed that next year she will be targeting the spring one-day races and time-trials, and will work both as a leader, and in a support role for the team.

Finally, the team announced the signing of Emma Norsgaard yesterday. Norsgaard currently rides for Movistar Team, where, over the years, she has proven her prowess in one-day races – having won stages in the Tour de France Femmes, Giro d’Italia, Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour, and Ceratizit Festival Elsy Jacobs, as well as many one-day races. She has also held national titles in the road race and ITT, as well as on the gravel. The versatile rider will join Lidl-Trek as a Classics specialist, and believes that the team is “one of the absolute best teams in the world” that can help her to become “the best version of [herself] and the best possible teammate.” Next year, she will therefore aim to both pursue her own individual goals, and strengthen the team’s performance.

Source: Lidl-Trek’s Press Releases on Markus, Henderson and Norsgaard

26/08/2024

After having announced the signings of Dylan Teuns and Emanuel Buchmann, amongst others, Cofidis has now added one more to the impressive list: Alex Aranburu. The team have signed the reigning Spanish National Champion on a three-year contract, through to 2027, during which he will lead the team – alongside Teuns – in the Classics and stage races alike. Aranburu, who currently rides for Movistar, has already thoroughly proven his one-day racing prowess – having won stages in Itzulia Basque Country, Vuelta a Burgos, and the Baloise Belgium Tour, and achieved three second places in the Vuelta a España – but is now looking to take his career to the next level. He believes that Cofidis is the right place for him, as a team that has shown great trust in him, and where he already has friends, and he has even stated that in preparation for the next season, he will begin learning French!

Additionally, Lidl-Trek has announced that they will be promoting Tim Torn Teutenberg from their development team, Lidl-Trek Future Racing, to their WorldTour team in 2025, on a two-year contract, through to 2026. The German rider joined their development team officially at the beginning of this year, and immediately won the GC at the Olympia’s Tour, as well as the prestigious Paris-Roubaix Espoirs, and a number of stages in various other stage races. The team therefore feel that he is ready to make the step up to the WorldTour, where he will be able to continue his development and learn from the more experienced riders in the team. This signing marks the first time that Lidl-Trek has promoted a rider from their development team to the WorldTour team, and in the team’s press release, they emphasise how special this is, to show completion of the development team project, and the team’s dedication to developing young talent.

Groupama-FDJ have also moved to add additional young talent to their roster, signing Tom Donnenwirth – who is currently riding for the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale development team – for two years, through to 2026. He will join the team in a support role, riding as a domestique for the team’s leaders, in order to gain experience riding at WorldTour level, and aid his development.

Finally, Soudal Quick-Step have announced that they have signed Pascal Eenkhoorn on a two-year contract, through to 2026. Eenkhoorn currently rides for Lotto-Dstny, after having joined them last year, however he is now looking to continue to advance in his career with a different team. In Soudal Quick-Step's press release, he expressed great excitement to join the team, praising it as “a team that has had a huge impact in the cycling world…with an incredible heritage”. He believes that the “professional environment and top equipment” at the team will help him to return to his best level, and aims to bolster the team’s squad in both the Classics and one-week stage races.

Sources: Team Cofidis Press Release, Lidl-Trek Press Release, Groupama-FDJ X (formerly Twitter) Post, Soudal Quick-Step Press Release

21/08/2024

After announcing the Italian champion Alberto Bettiol a few days ago, Astana Qazaqstan officialised the arrival of the Dutch veteran Wout Poels for the 2025 season. Poels began his professional career in 2009 and has spent 14 seasons at World Tour level. He was a key part of Team Sky between 2015 and 2019, helping his leaders win the biggest races in the world, including four Tours de France. Poels’ biggest win is undeniably Liège–Bastogne–Liège, which he won in 2016. He also won at the Tour de France in 2023 in St Gervais Mont Blanc. With Astana, Poels, who will be 37 in October, will be a road captain but he will also be “fighting for victories and podiums in both stage races and the classics” according to Alexandr Vinokurov.

While losing the former World Champion Julian Alaphilippe, Soudal Quick-Step announced that the Brit Ethan Hayter has signed for the Wolfpack until 2026. The native of London began his career with Ineos in 2020 and will change teams for the first time to join Patrick Lefevre’s team. The biggest win of Hayter’s career is the GCata the Tour of Poland 2022, but the multiple World Champion on the track has also won at the Tour de Romandie in addition to becoming the 2024 British National Champion on the road. Patrick Lefevre spoke about his new rider in the team statement: “Ethan is a multi-discipline rider, somebody who is used to winning and who has caught our attention with his many qualities”. At 25 years old, the all-rounder is capable of shining on every type of profile and this will be his goal with Soudal Quick-Step.

Sources: Astana Qazaqstan team statement; Soudal Quick-Step team statement

19/08/2024

Following last week’s news that Marc Hirshi had signed for Tudor Pro Cycling, the team has now announced another big signing: Julian Alaphilippe. He too will be joining Tudor Pro Cycling next year, and will remain with the team for at least three years, through to 2027.

The two-time World Champion currently rides for Soudal Quick-Step, after having joined the WorldTour team in 2014, and since then, he has shown himself to be up there with the best of the best in one-day racing, having won La Flèche Wallonne three times, six stages in the Tour De France, and many other prestigious races, such as Strade Bianche, the Clasica San Sebastián, and Milano-Sanremo. He did experience a difficult couple of seasons following a serious crash in the 2022 edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège that left him with two broken ribs, a broken shoulder-blade, and a collapsed lung – however this year he has finally been getting back on track, and won a stage in his maiden Giro d’Italia.

It is clear though that the Frenchman is now approaching a new stage in his career, and he has therefore cited the need for a “change of scenery” as the main reason for his departure from the team he has been with for over ten years. It was long-speculated as to which team he would join, with the French-speaking TotalEnergies, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale and Cofidis all being suggested as likely options, however it is now clear that Alaphilippe has set his sights on a Swiss team instead. In his new team’s press release, Alaphilippe states that this is due to his excitement to join the “Tudor Pro Cycling project”, revealing that he has been watching the team develop, and already become familiar with a few of the riders and other staff members.

It is expected that Alaphilippe will join the team as a leader, alongside Hirschi, and the two of them will work together to achieve top results – especially in the spring Classics. Additionally, he has openly shared his willingness to use his experience to “guide the youngsters”, and act as an advisory figure that can provide the team with stability and support.

Source: Tudor Pro Cycling Press Release

19/08/2024

After the announcement of the new Chinese investor, Astana-Qazaqstan had to improve their squad for the seasons to come with the objective of staying in the World Tour. They started their transfer window very well with the arrival of Alberto Bettiol with immediate effect. The former winner of the Ronde van Vlaanderen and recent Italian champion left his - almost - forever team EF Education-EasyPost to join the Kazakh team as of 15 August. Bettiol will be an important weapon for Astana in the chase for UCI Points, especially at the Flanders classics. The manager of the team Alexander Vinokurov said: “Together with other riders, Bettiol will form a strong group capable of competing for top positions in classic races of any level.” The Milano-Torino-winning rider signed with his new team until the end of 2027 and will hope to shine as soon as possible in his new colours.

Another team started their business on the transfer market in the past few days as Lidl-Trek announced the signing of Lennard Kämna for the next three seasons. The German climber has already won a stage at all three Grand Tours as well as stages of prestigious one-week races such as the Critérium du Dauphiné and Volta a Catalunya. Unfortunately, Kämna suffered multiple injuries following a road accident while he was training earlier this year. The BORA hansgrohe rider’s last race was Tirreno-Adriatico in March and we still don’t know if he will be capable of racing prior to the end of the season. At 27 years old, the 2022 German ITT Champion will start a new chapter of his career in a very strong collective, where he will have his chance to shine at the biggest races in the world. As Lidl-Trek general manager Luca Guercilena said: “When the opportunity arose to bring him on board, it was a clear and natural for for our Team.”

Another rider leaving Red Bull-BORA is Marco Haller, who is joining the ambitious Tudor Pro Cycling team. Indeed, after the signing of the two Swiss Marc Hirschi and Fabian Lienhard, Raphael Meyer’s team recruited another World Tour rider with the 33-year-old Austrian. Haller has not won a lot during his career but he is a very important teammate and road captain for his leaders. He is also capable of performing very well at the Classics, as proved by his 6^th place at the 2024 Olympic road race. The former Austrian Champion also aims to help the team to improve, in every way possible, as he mentioned: “At the end of the day, contributing to the project’s progress is the most important thing for me. I am not just a rider.”

After the arrivals of Guillaume Martin and Clément Braz Afonso, Groupama-FDJ officialised the signing of the Swiss rider Johan Jacobs for the next two seasons. The 27-year-old has spent all of his professional career with Movistar and will try to give a new boost to his career by signing with Marc Madiot’s team. Jacobs is a solid teammate for the Flanders classics and will reinforce the group of one-day racers for Groupama-FDJ. The Swiss never won during his time as a professional and will aim to unlock his potential with his new team.

Sources: Lidl-Trek team statement; Astana-Qazaqstan team statement; Tudor team statement; Groupama-FDJ post on X

After the signing of Guillaume Martin, Groupama-FDJ announced the arrival of another French rider: Clément Braz Afonso. The 24-year-old began his professional career this year with CIC U Nantes Atlantique and already showed some great capacities on his home soil. Indeed, he finished in the top ten of several French Cup races but he was also very often at the front of the race, trying to trap the big teams. With Groupama-FDJ, he will discover the World Tour level for at least the next two seasons, and will aim to raise his arms for the first time in his career.

Red Bull-BORA hansgrohe opened their transfer window with the signing of Giulio Pellizzari. They continue to go for young talents as they confirmed the signing of two 22 year-olds from New Zealand: Laurence Pithie and Finn Fisher-Black. The first one began his World Tour career in 2023 with Groupama-FDJ and posted an amazing first half of the season n 2024, winning the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race as early as January. He also finished in the top ten in Paris-Roubaix and even wore the yellow jersey on the roads of Paris-Nice. As said by the general manager of Red Bull-BORA, Ralph Denk: “Laurence is still young but his talent is no longer a secret.” While Pithie will reinforce Red Bull's Classics squad, the other New Zealand signing, Finn Fisher-Black, will be a very important rider when the roads rise. Indeed, the current UAE Team Emirates rider is a very good puncheur, who is also very capable in time trials. He already won three times this year and will hope to improve even more with his new team.

While some teams have already announced a lot of riders for next year, others have been quiet during these first days of August. Israel Premier-Tech was one of them before the confirmation of their first signing of the summer: Alexey Lutsenko. The Kazakh rider spent all of his career with the team of his country, Astana, and will move for the first time at 31 years old. During his 12-year career, Lutsenko collected some amazing successes such as a stage win at two Grand Tours: the Tour de France and La Vuelta. He also won a few stage races, including the Arctic Race of Norway of the Tour of Oman. Israel Premier-Tech General Manager Kjell Carlstrom said about him: “Alexey is a proven winner, you only need to look at his palmares to see that, but beyond that he is also an excellent teammate and someone who will fit the culture of the team”.

The most active team on this beginning of transfer window is undeniably Cofidis. Indeed, their latest signing, Emanuel Buchmann, is already the sixth for the French team. After spending all his career with BORA hansgrohe, the German climber chose to start a new chapter by signing with Cédric Vasseur’s team. The best season of Buchmann’s career is obviously 2019. During this year, he won a stage on the Itzulia Basque Country but he also finished fourth at the Tour de France, posting the best result of his career at a Grand Tour. This season was more complicated for the man of Ravensburg despite a second place at the Tour of Hungary. He will bring experience to his new team, especially at stage races, including Grand Tours, and could maybe replace Guillaume Martin as a leader for the GCs.

Sources: Groupama-FDJ's post on X (formerly Twitter); Red Bull-Bora's team statement; Israel Premier-Tech team statement; Cofidis team statement

14/08/2024

Intermarché-Wanty have just announced that their rider, Taco van der Hoorn, will finally return to racing this month, after taking 16 months out of the pro peloton due to the effects of a concussion.

The Dutchman crashed heavily in the Ronde van Vlaanderen last year, suffering a heavy concussion, and since then, his recovery journey has been full of ups and downs. For most of 2023, van der Hoorn was unable to train, and whilst he was able to join his team’s training camp at the beginning of 2024, he still could not cope with heavy training. Consequently, he has so far been unable to compete in any professional races.

During this time, it was unclear whether van der Hoorn would ever be able to return to racing - given the unpredictable nature of concussion symptoms, and the fact that recovery from concussion is never linear - however now it has been confirmed that he will be back racing this year. He will take to the start line on the 15^th August, for a one-day race – the Tour of Leuven – alongside his teammates Mike Teunissen, Dries de Pooter, Gerben Kuypers, Madis Mihkels, Laurenz Rex, and Huub Artz.

Source: Intermarché-Wanty X (formerly Twitter) Post

13/08/2024

Confirming the rumours that have been circulating for the past few months, Tudor Pro Cycling has just announced their signing of Marc Hirschi for three years, through to 2027.

Hirschi currently rides for UAE Team Emirates, and since joining them in 2021, has accumulated a number of high-profile victories – including the Tour of Hungary, the Czech Tour, and the Tour of Luxembourg – and impressive podium places. Most recently, the former Swiss Champion impressed in the Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa, beating Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) in a two-man sprint to take the win.

However, despite his success with the Emirati team, he has decided to embark on a new journey with Tudor Pro Cycling, where he will have the chance to ride as leader and chase his own victories in all the races that suit him, instead of mostly working as a domestique or back-up leader in the majority of the biggest races as he does currently. Additionally, the 25-year-old has stated that as a Swiss rider, “it feels special to join a Swiss team”.

This ‘poaching’ of a top-class WorldTour rider from the best WorldTour team makes for an impressive statement from the Pro-Continental team, and following their success this year in securing their first ever WorldTour victory in Paris-Nice and then following it up with another in the Tour de Romandie, this further shows that they are developing in a positive direction, and cements their upwards trajectory.

Source: Tudor Pro Cycling Press Release

12/08/2024

Intermarché-Wanty Gobert started its transfer window with the arrival of the Belgian climber Kamiel Bonneu. The native of Hamont-Achel, near the Dutch border, started his professional career in 2022 with the team Flanders-Baloise, in whose colours he spent the last three seasons. picking up three wins, including the queen stage at the recent Arctic Race of Norway. His recruitment will help Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert to “reinforce its climbing core”. Aike Visbeek, the performance manager of the Belgian team, added: “We will assess his ability to keep up the pace in the high mountains, we know he is ready to take a step up in the WorldTour peloton.” At 25 years old, Kamiel Bonneu signed with Jean-François Bourlart’s team for the next two years.

Soudal Quick-Step also started the transfer window by announcing their first recruit for the next two seasons, Maximilian Schachmann. The man from Berlin is already known to the Belgian team as he spent the first two years of his World Tour career with the Wolfpack before joining Bora-Hansgrohe. With the German team, Schachmann won Paris-Nice twice but also became a two-time National Champion. With this return, the 30-year-old rider will try to get back to his best level and to raise his arms again after more than one year of waiting. The CEO of Soudal-QuickStep Patrick Lefevre described Schachmann as a “very good and versatile rider who still has plenty to show in the sport”. Indeed, the German should have the chance to play his cards at a few races but he could also be an excellent teammate for his leaders, such as Remco Evenepoel.

Jayco-AlUla have been very active at the beginning of this transfer window and they once again announced the signing of a new rider for the next two seasons with Patrick Gamper. The Austrian spent all of his professional career with BORA hansgrohe with whom he won his ITT National Championships last year. He is an all-rounder who can be useful for his leaders on all types of profiles. He took part in the success of Jai Hindley at the Giro 2022 and will aim to help Ben O’Connor in the same way during the next two years. However, Gamper could also have his chance from time to time as mentioned by Jayco-AlUla General Manager Brent Copeland: “It will be great to see Gamper also take his own opportunities with us throughout the year.”

Sources: Intermarché-Wanty team statement; Soudal Quick-Step team statement; Jayco-AlUla team statement

10/08/2024

Amongst the new signings that have been announced in this year’s transfer period, additional contract extensions have been revealed too. Just this past week, it has been announced that Julien Vermote, Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier, and Jonas Abrahamsen, have all extended their contracts with their current teams.

Julien Vermote extended his contract with Visma Lease-a-Bike for one more year, until the end of next season, after joining the team just this year, in January, and slotting nicely into the team’s spring classics squad. Since joining, he has demonstrated his value as a domestique, and as stated by the team’s sports director, Grischa Niermann, “the experience he brings…is very valuable”. Vermote himself revealed that he immediately felt comfortable with the team, was given great opportunities to ride big races, and loves the team’s atmosphere – and all of this contributed to his decision to sign up for one more year. Next season, it is therefore expected that he will continue to support the team in a domestique role in a variety of races, from classics to stage races.

Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier has also extended his current contract with his team, Lidl-Trek. He has been with the team since 2021, and has now extended his stay for two further seasons, through to 2026. During his time with the team, the Eritrean has proven that he is both a great climber, and a rider who excels on the flat and can work well at the front of the peloton as a ‘rouleur’ for his team – putting the fact that he is a three-time Eritrean time trial champion to great use. He therefore now aims to not only continue contributing to success for his team leaders – as he did in this year’s Giro d’Italia for Jonathan Milan – but also to pursue his own top results.

Finally, Jonas Abrahamsen has extended his contract with Uno-X Mobility for four more years, through to 2028. The Norwegian has been with the team since it properly began, and has been achieving good results ever since – with second places in Dwars Door Vlaanderen, Dwars Door Het Hageland and a Tour de France stage. Following his impressive performance in this year’s Tour de France – where he held the green points classification jersey for a few days, and the King of the Mountains jersey for most of the first week – the team has made sure to secure his services for the next four years, as one of their main riders for one-day races and stage-hunting.

Sources: Visma Lease-a-Bike Press Release, Lidl-Trek Press Release, Uno-X Mobility X (formerly Twitter) Post

09/08/2024

Team Cofidis is the most active team in this beginning of transfer window and they confirmed it by announcing two more riders that will ride for them for the next two seasons. The first of them is Damien Touze, who will make his return under the red and white colours after four seasons spent with Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale. The rider from Normandy never won at the professional level but he already finished twice on the podium of the French National Championships. With his new team, he could have his chance at the Flanders Classics, which he particularly enjoys. The other recruit for the Northern French team is Simon Carr, arriving from EF Education-EasyPost. The British climber grew up in France and started his career with a French team, Delko Marseille Provence. At 25 years old, Simon Carr’s greatest success is undeniably his two stage wins on the Tour of the Alps, both times from a breakaway. He also won the Tour of Langkawi in 2023 and the Trofeo Calvià at the beginning of the season. With his new team, Simon Carr’s main goal will be to raise his arms at World Tour level but also to take part in the Tour de France for the first time.

Jayco-AlUla also signed two more riders in the past few days. The first one is the English rider Paul Double, who has signed from Polti-Kometa for the next two seasons. The man from Winchester will discover the World Tour level next year with the objective of being a key teammate for his leaders when the road goes up. This year, Paul Double finished third at the Tour of Turkiye and sixth at the Tour of Slovenia. The General Manager of Jayco-AlULa Brent Copeland described Paul Double as “a talented climber and domestique, but he will also get his own opportunities to go for results with us.” In addition to Double, Jayco-AlUla also signed Dutch climber Koen Bouwman, continuing to improve their mountains team. Bouwman spent almost his entire career with team Jumbo (now Visma-Lease a Bike) and will be moving teams for the first time since 2015. The biggest achievement of his career is undeniably his Giro 2022, during which he won two stages and brought home the Azzurra KOM jersey. With his new team, Bouwman’s objective will be to “be a strong domestique for GC riders” according to Brent Copeland. However, he could also play his card on some races, as he did this year on the Settimana Inter Coppi e Bartali which he won. After the recruitment of Ben O’Connor, the announcement of two new climbers for Jayco-AlUla show the desire of the Australian team to create a new dynamic in their climbing division.

Sources: Jayco-AlUla team statement, Cofidis team statement

08/08/2024

The race organisers of the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men have just announced the full list of teams that will be participating in this September’s race, consisting of a mix of teams that are ‘newcomers’ to the race, and 'race regulars’ that have enjoyed previous success at the Tour of Britain Men in the past.

Four UCI WorldTour teams will be present: INEOS Grenadiers, a home team; DSM-Firmenich PostNL, returning after participating in last year’s edition; race debutants, Bahrain Victorious, and one of the race’s most successful teams, Soudal Quick-Step, who will be racing in Britain for the first time since 2021.

Three UCI WorldTour teams are sending their development teams – Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Groupama-FDJ, and Lidl-Trek – and three UCI ProTeams will also take part: Uno-X Mobility, who won a stage in last year’s race with their rider Ramus Tiller, Israel-PremierTech, and Q36.5 Pro Cycling, who won the team classification, and secured third place in the general classification with their rider, Damien Howson.

Furthermore, alongside INEOS Grenadiers, there are three more British ‘home’ teams in the race: the Great Britain national team, Saint Piran and TRINITY Racing.

Finally, there are five more UCI Continental teams participating: Global 6 United, REMBE Pro Cycling Team Sauerland, Van Rysel-Roubaix, Sabgal/Anicolor, and Project Echeleon Racing.

Full list of teams:

· INEOS Grenadiers
· DSM-Firmenich PostNL 
· Bahrain Victorious
· Soudal Quick-Step
· Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team
· Équipe Continentale Groupama-FDJ
· Lidl-Trek Future Racing 
· Uno-X Mobility
· Israel-PremierTech
· Q36.5 Pro Cycling
· Great Britain national team
· Saint Piran
· TRINITY Racing
· Global 6 United
· REMBE Pro Cycling Team Sauerland
· Van Rysel-Roubaix
· Sabgal/Anicolor
· Project Echeleon Racing

More details on the official rider start list are expected to follow in due course, with the race itself beginning on Tuesday 3 September and concluding on Sunday 8 September.

Source: British Cycling Press Release

07/08/2024

As reported by GCN and Wielerflits two months ago, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has signed with Visma Lease-a-Bike on a three-year contract, through to 2027.

After a successful road career that saw her become the World Champion at 22 years old in 2014, the Frenchwoman decided to focus solely on mountain biking in 2019. In this discipline, she has won the World Championships five times, and just last week, she finally managed to clinch the elusive Olympic mountain biking gold medal that she has been chasing for the past 12 years. With this, she now feels as though she has “completed mountain biking”, and will therefore retire from the sport at the end of the year, as she prepares to pursue a “new challenge in cycling”, that will take her back to the road.

The 32-year-old has chosen Visma Lease-a-Bike as the team to accompany her in this journey, as her current team, INEOS Grenadiers, still does not yet have a women’s road racing team that she could switch over to. Additionally, Ferrand-Prévot has stated that “the way the team works and its professional approach really appeal to [her]”, and the team have made it clear that they are ready to support her road-racing ambitions.

Her ultimate goal now is to win the Tour de France Femmes, and so she will join the team as Visma Lease-a-Bike’s designated Grand Tour leader. She will also specifically target the Ardennes Classics.

Source: Team Visma Lease-a-Bike Press Release

07/08/2024

FDJ-Suez has announced the signing of Juliette Labous from Team dsm-firmenich PostNL for the next three seasons.

The French rider has spent all of her professional road career with Team Sunweb, which later transformed into team DSM, and became one of the best climbers of the peloton in the past few years. At 25 years old, Juliette Labous already finished in the top four of all three Grands Tours, including a second place on the 2023 Giro Donne. She also won the French National Championships in the past few weeks and will aim to podium at the next Tour de France Femmes.

Her signing with FDJ-SUEZ is a very good recruitment for the French team as confirmed by manager Stéphane Delcourt: "Juliette is a remarkable athlete and undeniably one of the best climbers in the professional peloton".

Juliette Labous is not the first signing of this transfer window for FDJ-Suez as the arrival of one of the future big names of the international peloton Célia Gery has already been announced by the team. Stéphane Delcourt's squad should continue to be active in the next weeks with big names of the professional peloton such as Elise Chabbey and, most of all, Demi Vollering linked to the French team.

Source: FDJ-Suez team statement

Team Bahrain Victorious has just announced their signing of Lenny Martinez for the next three seasons, through to 2027 – thereby confirming the rumours that have been circulating since the beginning of the 2024 season.

The young Frenchman – who has already shown his strength this year, winning the youth classifications at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and O Gran Camiño, and multiple one-day stage races – will move across from his current team, Groupama-FDJ, to form part of Bahrain Victorious’ general classification squad. He will therefore be joining the team’s current pool of young GC talent, including Santiago Buitrago, and aim for success in the general classification and youth classification of Grand Tours and one-week stage races.

In the press release for the announcement, Martinez cited “the solid project around the team and [himself]” as his reason for leaving his current team and joining Bahrain Victorious, and Milan Erzen, Managing Director of Bahrain Victorious, revealed further that this ‘project’ involves “achieving a podium at the Tour de France with a French rider” and helping Martinez “create his own legacy in French cycling”.

Source: Team Bahrain Victorious Press Release

04/08/2024

After the signing of Dylan Teuns yesterday, Cofidis continues the announcements with two new riders today. First of all, the Belgian climber Sylvain Moniquet has signed from Lotto-Dstny, with the goal of replacing Guillaume Martin on the mountainous races but also of performing on the Ardennes classics. At 26 years old, Sylvain Moniquet is still waiting for his first professional win so he will also have this objective in mind with Cédric Vasseur’s team. The other rider who will wear the red and white colours next year is Valentin Ferron. The Frenchman has already won on a World Tour race, with the 6^th stage of the 2022 Critérium du Dauphiné and will aim to repeat this performance with his new team. Valentin Ferron is a versatile rider capable of shining in all types of races, which is a very important asset for a team like Cofidis, looking for UCI Points before the end of the 2025 season. Both of these riders signed with Cofidis until 2026.

After the announcement of the Ecuadorian Champion Jhonathan Narvaez, UAE Team Emirates continues to strengthen its Classics squad with the former Paris-Roubaix podium finisher Florian Vermeersch from Lotto-Dstny. The 25-year-old Belgian has not raced a lot this season due to a crash at the Vuelta Ciclista de Murcia in February but he remains a very good improvement for UAE Team Emirates to support Nils Politt and Tim Wellens in races such as the Ronde or Paris-Roubaix for the next two seasons. Raising his arms will be one of the main objectives for Vermeersch, who has only won once in his professional career, at the 2022 Antwerp Port Epic.

The British team INEOS Grenadiers started its transfer period with the announcement of two new riders on this second day of August. The first of them is a former Monument winner, the Luxembourgish Bob Jungels, winner of Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2018. Jungels also won his national championship six times, and two stages on Grand Tours. Bob Jungels will arrive from Red Bull-Bora for the next two seasons with the objective of bringing experience to the team, especially to the young riders, according to Scott Drawer, the Performance Director: “Bob will form an important part of that mentoring culture”. The other recruit for the British team will be the Monegasque Victor Langelotti, who has signed a two-year contract. He will become the first ever rider from Monaco to compete at the World Tour level, making history for his country. Victor Langelotti is currently part of the Spanish team Burgos-BH, with whom he started his professional career. The Monegasque is a good climber who already won twice in his career, at the Tour of Turkey and the Volta a Portugal. According to Scott Drawer, “Victor will have a role to play in the future GC ambitions that we have”.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe has been subject to a lot of rumours concerning this transfer window, including some very good young talents. The German team confirmed one of these talks by announcing the signing of the young Italian climber Giulio Pellizzari from VF-Group Bardiani. The 20-year-old shone at the recent Giro, finishing second on the stage arriving at Santa Cristina Valgardena and also in the KOM classification, only beaten by Tadej Pogacar. Pellizzari is supposed to be one of the best climbers in the world in the next years and will be an important asset for his new team at Grand Tours but also one-week races.

Sources: Cofidis team statement; INEOS team statement; Red Bull-Bora Post on X (formerly Twitter); UAE Team Emirates team statement

02/08/2024

Following yesterday’s announcement of Axel Zingle’s signing, today Visma Lease-a-Bike announced that they have also signed Simon Yates, on a two-year contract through to 2026.

The British rider is set to leave Jayco-AlUla, his current team, and will join Visma Lease-a-Bike as part of their Grand Tour and one-week stage race general classification team. He has already proven himself in this area – having won the general classification in the Vuelta a España, and Tirreno-Adriatico, as well as multiple stages in the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Paris-Nice – and will therefore slot in nicely alongside the likes of Matteo Jorgenson, Wilco Kelderman and Sepp Kuss.

It is expected that like these riders, his main role will be that of a superdomestique for the team leader, Jonas Vingegaard, but he will likely also have chances to ride for his own result. Yates – who thus far has only ridden for one team throughout his whole career on the WorldTour – has expressed excitement to be in a new environment, and take his career in a new direction, stating that Visma Lease-a-Bike is a team he has “admired for a long time” and that he “couldn't pass up the opportunity to join”.

Source: Visma Lease-a-Bike Press Release

02/08/2024

Amongst the frenzy of transfer announcements made yesterday on the 1^st August – the date upon which the official transfer window opens each year – three more interesting signings were revealed for Visma Lease-a-Bike, Groupama-FDJ, and Cofidis.

Visma Lease-a-Bike announced that they have signed Axel Zingle – currently riding for Cofidis – to their team for three years, through to 2027. He is expected to form part of their classics team, and target the hillier stages in stage races – where his skills in a reduced-bunch sprint can shine. There is also potential for him to join the sprint train for Visma Lease-a-Bike’s main sprinter, Olav Kooij, which may need reinforcements should the speculation about the Van Dijke brothers leaving the team prove to be true.

Meanwhile, confirming the rumours that have been circulating for the past month, Guillaume Martin has signed for Groupama-FDJ on a two-year contract. He is therefore also leaving Cofidis, his current team, and switching out one French team for another. It is expected that he will continue to aim for success in the General Classification of stage races, as well as individual stages and one-day races that suit his climbing capabilities well.

Despite Cofidis thereby losing two of their riders, they’ve also gained one: Dylan Teuns. The team announced that they have signed the Belgian rider for the next two seasons, and intend for him to lead their classics team. The 32-year-old has already won stages at the Tour de France, as well as la Flèche Wallonne, and so the team will be relying on his experience and prowess in one-day racing to bring them success in the spring classics, but also in individual stages in stage races.

Sources: Visma Lease-a-Bike Press Release, Groupama-FDJ X (formerly Twitter) Post, Team Cofidis Press Release

02/08/2024

UAE Team Emirates started their transfer period with the announcement of the signing of the Ecuadorian Jhonathan Narvaez from INEOS Grenadiers for the next two seasons.

Jhonathan Narvaez started his professional career in 2018 with Quick-Step Floors before moving to Sky/INEOS, where he stayed 6 seasons. The Ecuadorian Champion won two stages on the Giro, including the first of this year, ahead of Schachmann and... Pogacar, his future leader! Narvaez is a very complete rider, who will help his leaders throughout the season but who could also have his chance to shine on some races such as the Classics.

The first Pink Jersey wearer of this year's Giro is ready for a new chapter in his career at the age of 27: "I feel like I still haven’t reached my full maturity as a rider and hope to keep progressing and improve both as a classics rider and as an all-rounder.” His capacities on every type of races makes him a very important rider for his new team, as said by the CEO of UAE Team Emirates Mauro Gianetti: "He’s shown his ability both as a winner and as a worker and we feel he can slot in well to our team."

Source: UAE Team Emirates team statement

01/08/2024

The transfer season has officialy begun on this 1st of August and Jayco AlUla were the first to announce a new rider for next season with Ben O'Connor

The Australian rider started his World Tour career with Dimension Data, under which colours he won one stage on the Giro in 2020. After joining AG2R-Citroën the next season, he revealed himself to the world as an excellent climber by finishing 4th of the overall classification of the Tour de France after winning the stage arriving in Tignes. In 2024, Ben O'Connor had a really good season so far with a second place overall on the UAE Tour and on the Tour of the Alps, a fifth place on Tirreno-Adriatico and a fourth place on the overall classification of the Giro.

At 28 years old, the native of Subiaco in Western Australia will aim to "change these fourth-place overall finishes at Grand Tours into overall podium placings" in a team full of Australian riders to support him. For Jayco-AlUla's manager Brent Copeland, Ben O'Connor "will fill in that general classification gap with Simon Yates moving on." The current Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale rider will have a role of leader in his new team until at least 2026.

Source: Jayco-AlUla team statement

01/08/2024

Exactly one year after the biggest win of his career on the Champs-Elysées, Jordi Meeus has had his contract extended by his team Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.

The Belgian sprinter joined Bora-Hansgrohe in 2021 and has raised his arms eight times under the German team's colours. The biggest win of all was of course his incredible sprint on the Champs-Elysées last year, revealing him to the eyes of the world. Yesterday, Jordi Meeus took his second win of the season by winning the first stage of the Ethias Tour de Wallonie, an early celebration before the announcement of his renewal.

In the team statement of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Meeus declared: I'm really happy to stay with the team. I've become a professional cyclist here and I've felt at home from the beginning." Let's hope for him that he will shine again on World Tour roads very soon, maybe at the Tour of Poland in which he will take part in August.

Source: Red Bull-Bora team statement

23/07/2024

After his historical wins at the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) was awaited in Paris for the Olympic Road Race, where he was one of the favourites. However, the Slovenian has announced on Instagram that he needed "to take a bit of rest" in order to be as strong as possible for his next objective: the UCI World Championships. The non-selection of Pogačar's fiancée Urška Žigart (Liv AlUla Jayco) may also have had an impact on the decision of the triple Tour de France winner, as he showed his disapproval of this choice publicly a few days ago.

With this announcement, "Pogi" also confirmed that he will not take part in La Vuelta, where he could have tried to make history once more by winning the three Grand Tours the same year. He will now aim for a first rainbow jersey in Zurich before defending his title on the Giro di Lombardia.

Tadej Pogačar's replacement for the Olympics race will be his teammate Domen Novak, who will ride alongside Luka Mezgec (Jayco-AlUla), Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious) and Jan Tratnik (Visma-Lease a Bike).

Source: Tadej Pogacar Instagram story

23/07/2024

Following a ‘fairytale’ ride at the 2024 Tour de France, where he won three stages (Stages 3, 8 and 12), and brought home the green ‘points’ jersey, Biniam Girmay has just announced that he has extended his contract with his current team, Intermarché-Wanty, through to 2028.

Girmay joined the team in 2021, and since then, has shown himself to be an impressive sprinting and one-day racing talent – having won a stage in the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de Suisse, Gent-Wevelgem, and the Circuit Franco-Belge, in the past few years. He was close to a stage win in last year’s Tour, but prior to this year, his best result in a Tour de France sprint was a solid third place.

This year, however, after having had to abandon the Giro d’Italia, following two nasty crashes on Stage 4, the young sprinter came to the Tour de France ready to perform, and managed to secure three stage wins, and the points classification – with a lead of 33 points on Jasper Philipsen, last year’s winner. This Tour was therefore historic for both Girmay and Intermarché-Wanty. The impressive Eritrean became the first Black African in history to win a stage in the Tour de France, and the first African to win the points classification. Additionally, he gave the Belgian team their first ever stage win at the Tour (plus two more), and this marks the first time that they have ever won a classification at the Tour de France, and brought home a distinctive jersey.

Therefore, following this performance, it is only natural that the team would want to re-sign the young star for as long as possible, and Girmay himself seems more than happy with this arrangement. In confirming that he broke open his contract to extend it for two more years than planned, he stated that Intermarché-Wanty is “like a family” and “the perfect team to achieve [his] goals”. Girmay and the team now look to the future to see what more they can achieve together.

Source: Intermarché-Wanty X (formerly Twitter) Post

23/07/2024

The organisers of this year’s Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men have finally announced the race route, which will travel from Scotland’s Kelso, to Felixstowe on the Suffolk coast, over six days of racing.

Four new locations have been added this year (Barnsley, Derby, Northampton, and Lowestoft) alongside six previous host locations (Kelso, Redcar, Newark-on-Trent, Felixstowe, Darlington, and Sheffield).

Full Route:

Stage 1 – Kelso to Kelso (03/09/2024)

Stage 2 – Darlington to Redcar (04/09/2024)

Stage 3 – Sheffield to Barnsley (05/09/2024)

Stage 4 – Derby to Newark (06/09/2024)

Stage 5 – Northampton to Northampton (07/09/2024)

Stage 6 – Lowestoft to Felixstowe (08/09/2024)

It is expected that further details, including route maps and detailed timings, will follow in the coming weeks.

Source: British Cycling Press Release

19/07/2024

Team GB have just announced their official selection for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.

The men’s team for the Road Race includes Tom Pidcock, Stevie Williams, Fred Wright and Josh Tarling. Tarling will also compete in the Individual Time Trial, as will Ethan Hayter, and Hayter will also compete in Track Endurance, alongside Dan Bigham, Charlie Tanfield, Ethan Vernon and Ollie Wood. Pidcock (the reigning Mountain Bike gold medallist) is also looking to repeat his success at the last Olympic Games in the Mountain Bike race, alongside Charlie Aldridge.

The women’s team for the Road Race includes Lizzie Deignan, Pfeiffer Georgi (the current British Champion) and Anna Morris – with Anna Henderson competing in the Individual Time Trial. Anna Morris will also participate in Track Endurance, alongside Elinor Barker, Neah Evans, Josie Knight and Jess Roberts.

Source: Team GB Press Release

10/07/2024

Belgium was one of the first countries to announce their selection for the upcoming Olympic Games, and as expected, their men’s team will be led by Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel. They will both compete in the Road Race and the Individual Time Trial, and will be supported by Van Aert’s trade teammate, Tiesj Benoot, and Jasper Stuyven, in the Road Race.

The men’s ITT will take place on 27/07/2024, and the Road Race on 03/08/2024.

The women’s team will be led by the current World Champion, Lotte Kopecky, who is set to compete in the Road Race, Individual Time Trial, and Track races (Madison and Omnium). She will be supported by Justine Ghekiere, Margot Vanpachtenbeke and Julie Van de Velde in the Road Race.

The women’s ITT will take place on 27/07/2024, and the Road Race on 04/08/2024.

Source: Team Belgium’s Instagram Post Announcements for the Men & Women

10/07/2024

It has just been revealed that CANYON-SRAM have signed three incredible riders to their team for 2025.

The first is Kasia Niewiadoma, who has been with the team since 2018, and just signed a two-year contract extension to remain with the team through to 2026. During her time with the team so far, she has established herself as a world-class rider, having won the polka-dot ‘Queen of the Mountains’ jersey at the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift, La Flèche Wallonne, and the Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition. She is now almost synonymous with the German team, and as stated by the Team Manager, “has achieved the most significant results for the team”. Niewiadoma herself has stated that no other team felt right for her, and that at CANYON-SRAM, she can fully be herself, and feels “accepted, understood and motivated”. Her future goals are now to win the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift, Strade Bianche, the Tour of Flanders, and the World Championships Road Race.

Additionally, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig is set to move over from FDJ-SUEZ, and will likely bolster the CANYON-SRAM classics team, as well as being a valuable asset in Grand Tours for her stage-hunting prowess.

Finally, Chiara Consonni will move across from UAE Team ADQ. The Italian sprinter – who has already won multiple one-day races this year, as well as a stage in the Giro d’Italia Donne for the past two years in a row – is expected to slot nicely into the CANYON-SRAM team, which is currently more climber-heavy.

Source: Wielerflits, ProCyclingUK

28/06/2024

BORA-Hansgrohe (now newly named Red Bull BORA-Hansgrohe) have just announced their roster for the 2024 Tour de France, which is built around their new leader, Primož Roglič.

Despite having won both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España, and being known as one of the best one-week stage racers in the world, at this point in his career, Roglič is still missing the Tour de France from his palmarès. In order to have a better chance at going for the yellow jersey, he decided at the end of last year, to leave his old team (then Jumbo-Visma) to seek full leadership at another. BORA-Hansgrohe jumped at the chance to sign him, and the team is now heading into the Tour with Roglič as their undisputed leader, and aiming for first place in the General Classification.

Roglič will be supported by Aleksandr Vlasov, who will act as his right-hand man in the mountains – as he did at the Critérium du Dauphiné a few weeks ago, where he helped Roglič to take his first stage race victory of the year. The team will also be bringing Jai Hindley, who won a stage in the Tour last year, and wore the yellow jersey. Alongside his role as a helper for Roglič, he too will likely be aiming for a good place in the GC again this year. Finally, Danny van Poppel has also been chosen to compete, and it is assumed that he will be able to go for stage wins on the stages that suit him.

In the team announcement, BORA-Hansgrohe also revealed their new ‘Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe’ kit, which will make its debut at the tour.

Full team:

Nico Denz (GER), Marco Haller (AUT), Jai Hindley (AUS), Bob Jungels (LUX), Primoz Roglic (SLO), Matteo Sobrero (ITA), Danny van Poppel (NED) and Aleksandr Vlasov (RUS).

Source: Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe X (formerly Twitter) Post

28/06/2024

Team Intermarché-Wanty have just announced their roster for the 2024 Tour de France, which will be aiming to take the team’s first ever stage win at the Tour, and have a rider finish in the top ten in the General Classification.

Louis Meintjes – who has already achieved a top-ten place in the Tour before, in 2022 – will be their GC leader, and Biniam Girmay – a previous Giro d’Italia stage winner – will be their main man for the sprints. As a back-up, they are also bringing Gerben Thijssen, another sprinter, who will be making his debut in the Tour.

Hugo Page and Laurenz Rex are also making their debuts in the Tour this year, and are expected to play a role in the team’s sprint train, as well as potentially being able to pursue opportunities of their own, on the stages that suit them.

Finally, this team will also be supported by Kobe Goosens and Georg Zimmermann, and Mike Teunissen – stage winner at the 2019 Tour de France – will be there too, to lend experience to the team. 

Full Team:

Biniam Girmay (ERI), Kobe Goosens (BEL), Louis Meintjes (RSA), Hugo Page (FRA), Laurenz Rex (BEL), Mike Teunissen (NED), Gerben Thijssen (BEL) and Georg Zimmermann (GER).

Source: Intermarché-Wanty X (formerly Twitter) Post

25/06/2024

Alpecin-Deceuninck has announced their line-up for the upcoming Tour de France, with high hopes of stage wins.

The Belgian team will have one of the best sprinters in the world at the start in Florence with Jasper Philipsen. Last year Green jersey will try to bring home this classification another time. With a full lead-out train with him - including Jonas Rickaert and Soren Kragh Andersen - the Belgian will be the main favourite for the bunch sprints. 

The World Champion Mathieu Van der Poel will surely help Philipsen but he will also try to go for his own stages on some punchy days. The young French Axel Laurance will also be a man to watch for his first Grand Tour.

Full team:

Mathieu Van der Poel (NED); Jasper Philipsen (BEL); Axel Laurance (FRA); Jonas Rickaert (BEL); Soren Kragh Andersen (DEN); Robbe Ghys (BEL); Silvan Dillier (SWI) and Gianni Vermeersch (BEL).

Source: Alpecin-Deceuninck's Instagram post

25/06/2024

Team TotalEnergies, the only French Pro Team, has announced its roster for the 2024 Tour de France, with the objective of winning for the first time since 2017 on the July roads.

We should see Jean-Rene Bernaudeau's men at the front of the race very often, on all types of profile. Sandy Dujardin and Mathieu Burgaudeau could shine on breakaway days, while Jordan Jegat and Stef Cras will be expected in the mountains.

Full team:

Anthony Turgis (FRA); Sandy Dujardin (FRA); Jordan Jegat (FRA); Stef Cras (BEL); Mathieu Burgaudeau (FRA); Thomas Gachignard (FRA); Matteo Vercher (FRA) and Fabien Grellier (FRA).

Source: https://x.com/TeamTotalEnrg/status/1805209643775312033?t=zRyr9w30x0GqcIqJBqoOGg&s=19

25/06/2024

Team Lotto-Dstny have just announced their roster for the 2024 Tour de France, and their intention to aim for stage wins.

Arnaud De Lie – the newly-crowned Belgian Champion – will be making his debut in the Tour this year, and is aiming to perform well in the sprint stages, as well as any other stages that might suit his profile. In the sprints, he will be led out by Jarrad Drizners and Cedric Beullens.

The team has announced however, that De Lie’s main priority is to gain experience, and therefore that they don’t want to put any pressure or expectations on his performance. Thus, there are a number of other riders on the team that will also be free to go for stage wins. For example, Harm Vanhoucke will be permitted to join breakaway groups, as well as having complete freedom in the hilly and/or mountain stages. Brent Van More will also be free to chase his own stage success.

Additionally, Victor Campenaerts – who won last year’s super-combativity award – will be there, to bring his experience to the young team.

Full team:

Maxim Van Gils (BEL), Arnaud De Lie (BEL), Victor Campenaerts (BEL), Brent Van Moer (BEL), Jarrad Drizners (AUS), Harm Vanhoucke (BEL), Sébastien Grignard (BEL) and Cedric Beullens (BEL).

Source: Lotto-Dstny Press Release

25/06/2024

Soudal Quick-Step have just announced their roster for the 2024 Tour de France – revealing a team that has been built around their ‘star rider’, Remco Evenepoel.

Despite having ridden both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España twice (and having won the latter once), Evenepoel is still yet to ride the biggest Grand Tour of them all: the Tour de France. He will therefore be making his debut this year, and the team hopes that he can perform highly in the General Classification, and secure some stage wins. Evenepoel has attempted to temper expectations somewhat, however – not only is this his first time racing in the Tour, but he is also still recovering from the injuries he sustained in a crash at the Itzulia Basque Country race a few months ago. He therefore insists that “the plan is to discover the race, take it one day at a time and see where this leads us”.

Evenepoel will be supported by Mikel Landa, who will also be aiming for a good GC result. Additionally, Jan Hirt, Yves Lampaert, Gianni Moscon, Casper Pedersen, Ilan Van Wilder and Louis Vervaeke, will also be there to assist their leader.

Full team:

Remco Evenepoel (BEL), Mikel Landa (ESP), Jan Hirt (CZE), Yves Lampaert (BEL), Gianni Moscon (ITA), Casper Pedersen (DEN), Ilan Van Wilder (BEL) and Louis Vervaeke (BEL).

Source: Soudal Quick-Step Press Release

25/06/2024

Team Arkéa-B&B Hotels have just announced their roster for the 2024 Tour de France, with their main goal being to win stages.

Their sprinter, Arnaud Démare – who has already won a stage at the Tour de France twice before – will be looking to win on the flat, pure sprint stages. He will be supported by a leadout train including Amaury Capiot and Luca Mozzato, with Daniel McLay as his ‘last man’. Capiot will also be free to join breakaway groups, and aims to pursue a stage victory that way, whilst Mozzato will be free to go for the win on stages less suited towards the ‘pure sprinters’.

Clément Champoussin will be their main man for the ‘puncheur’ stages, and Cristián Rodríguez is their main ‘climber’ for the mountain stages. Raúl García Pierna and Kévin Vauquelin have also been selected, and so will be making their debut in the tour this year, in a supporting role for this team.

Full team:

Amaury Capiot (BEL), Clément Champoussin (FRA), Arnaud Démare (FRA), Raúl García Pierna (ESP), Daniel McLay (GBR), Luca Mozzato (ITA), Cristián Rodríguez (ESP) and Kévin Vauquelin (FRA).

Source: Arkéa-B&B Hotels Press Release

25/06/2024

EF Education-EasyPost have just announced their team for the upcoming Tour de France, where they will aim for stage wins.

The American team send a very complete roster at the start in Florence with riders who have the possibility to perform on every profile. They will be a team to watch in the breakaways with riders such as the recent Italian champion Alberto Bettiol and Ben Healy. Marijn Van den Berg will be in charge for the sprints but he will be almost alone, only Stefan Bissegger will be there for him.

On the mountains, Richard Carapaz will be the leader of EF Education-EasyPost despite his crash on the Tour de Suisse. The two Americans Neilson Powless and Sean Quinn should be his main domestiques when the road will go up.

Full team: Alberto Bettiol (ITA); Stefan Bissegger (SWI), Rui Costa (POR); Richard Carapaz (ECU); Sean Quinn (USA); Neilson Powless (USA); Marijn Van den Berg (NED); Ben Healy (IRE)

Groupama-FDJ have announced the 8 riders that will compose their team for the 2024 Tour de France, with one clear objective : winning.

The French team has not won on the roads of its national tour since 2019 and Thibaut Pinot at the Tourmalet. This year, they bring a team with a lot of potential for playing, on almost every stage. Indeed, Stefan Kung will be the man for the time trial but he is also capable of winning after a long breakaway. Valentin Madouas and Romain Grégoire showed their strength in their national championships, such as Kevin Geniets who became Champion of Luxembourg.

For the mountains, David Gaudu is the official leader but the surprise Lenny Martinez could also ride behind this objective. The young French climber was not supposed to ride the Tour de France, focusing on La Vuelta, but he took the place of Rémy Rochas, who had a concussion after a crash on the Dauphiné.

Full team: David Gaudu (FRA); Lenny Martinez (FRA); Romain Grégoire (FRA); Stefan Kung (SWI); Kevin Geniets (LUX), Valentin Madouas (FRA), Quentin Pacher (FRA); Clément Russo (FRA)

Source: Groupama-FDJ's post on X

25/06/2024

Cofidis have just announced their roster for the 2024 Tour de France, with their main goal being to win at least one stage.

The team includes a number of talented climbers, with Guillaume Martin expected to be the leader. Ion Izagirre, Jésus Herrada, and Simon Geschke, will be there to support him, and ready to take advantage of any opportunities that arise. Bryan Coquard will also be there, as their sprinter, with a leadout train including Alexis Renard, Piet Allegaert and Axel Zingle – the latter of whom will also be free to go for a stage win himself, on the hillier stages that might suit him.

Full team:

Piet Allegaert (BEL), Bryan Coquard (FRA), Simon Geschke (GER), Jésus Herrada (ESP), Ion Izagirre (ESP), Guillaume Martin (FRA), Alexis Renard (FRA) and Axel Zingle (FRA).

Source: Team Cofidis Press Release

24/06/2024

Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL have just announced their roster for the 2024 Tour de France, as they aim to take as many stage wins as possible.

Fabio Jakobsen, a previous Tour de France stage winner, will be their main man for the pure sprint stages, and will be led out by John Degenkolb, Bram Welten and Nils Eekhoff. Then, they have a few riders in the team suited for the hillier stages, including Frank van den Broek – who is making his debut in the Tour this year. Finally, in the mountains, the likes of Oscar Onley, Warren Barguil and Romain Bardet, will have their time to shine – with the latter looking to perform well in his final Tour de France before he retires next year.

Full team:

Romain Bardet (FRA), Warren Barguil (FRA), John Degenkolb (GER), Nils Eekhoff (NED), Fabio Jakobsen (NED), Oscar Onley (GBR), Frank van den Broek (NED) and Bram Welten (NED).

Source: DSM-Firmenich PostNL Press Release

24/06/2024

The INEOS Grenadiers have just announced their roster for the 2024 Tour de France, which will be built around co-leaders Carlos Rodríguez and Egan Bernal.

Rodríguez – who has shown his General Classification potential in multiple stage races this year already – will be aiming for GC success in this year’s Tour, alongside Egan Bernal, who has already won the Tour once before. Bernal has made an impressive comeback after his life-threatening accident in 2022, and his 2024 season so far has shown that he has built up good enough form to challenge for at least a top-ten place.

These two will be supported by a strong team, including Jonathan Castroviejo, Laurens De Plus, and Ben Turner. Previous Tour de France stage winners, Michal Kwiatkowski and Tom Pidcock, will also be part of the team, and will likely be free to go for stage wins alongside helping their GC co-leaders. Finally, Geraint Thomas – who himself won the Tour years ago – will also be there, to support and lend experience to the new, younger GC leaders.

Full team:

Egan Bernal (COL), Jonathan Castroviejo (ESP), Laurens De Plus (BEL), Michal Kwiatkowski (POL), Tom Pidcock (GBR), Carlos Rodriguez (ESP), Geraint Thomas (GBR) and Ben Turner (GBR).

Source: INEOS Grenadiers Press Release

24/06/2024

Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale will have a "double objective" on this Tour de France 2024 with the general classification but also stage wins.

On the announcement post of the team, the general manager Vincent Lavenu spoke of the objectives of his team for this Tour de France. He mentioned a "twofold objective" with, first of all, the general classification.

The Austrian Felix Gall finished 8th last year on the French July roads and his goal for this edition is to stay on the top 10 of the biggest race in the world.

Except for Gall, Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale will aim for stage wins on all types of profiles. Indeed, Sam Bennett will be the man for massive sprints whereas riders such as the recent French Champion Paul Lapeira will go on breakaways.

Full team: Bruno Armirail (FRA); Sam Bennett (IRE); Felix Gall (AUT); Dorian Godon (FRA); Paul Lapeira (FRA); Oliver Naesen (BEL); Nans Peters (FRA) and Nicolas Prodhomme (FRA)

Source : Decathlon-AG2R team statement

24/06/2024

Astana-Qazaqstan will aim for stage wins at the Tour de France 2024.

The main objective of these three weeks for the Kazakh team will be for Mark Cavendish to beat Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stage wins on the French roads. The British veteran will have the majority of the team to work for him during the flat stages, including Davide Ballerini, Cees Bol and Michael Morkov, who will compose his lead-out train.

On the more difficult profiles, we should see Alexey Lutsenko and Harold Tejada going on breakaways, in order to compete for the win.

Astana-Qazaqstan's success on this Tour de France will likely be decided by Mark Cavendish's ability to win a stage or not, for what should be his last ever Tour de France.

Full team: Davide Ballerini (ITA); Cees Bol (NED); Mark Cavendish (GBR); Yevgeniy Fedorov (KAZ); Michele Gazzoli (ITA); Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ); Michael Morkov (DEN) and Harold Tejada (COL).

Source : Astana-Qazaqstan's post on X

24/06/2024

Lidl-Trek have just announced their roster for the 2024 Tour de France, which will be aiming for stage wins.

The team had to make some last-minute substitutions and strategy adjustments, after Tao Geoghegan Hart – who would’ve been their General Classification rider – fell ill, and Alex Kirsch got injured, but the final selection looks perfectly optimised to take stage wins with a number of the riders.

Mads Pedersen – a previous Tour de France stage winner in the past two editions – will lead the charge, and is likely aiming for the sprint stages. Supporting him, will be Jasper Stuyven and Toms Skujins – both of whom may be able to go for stage wins of their own, on the more hilly stages. Tim Declercq will also be there to assist the team in controlling the peloton on the flatter roads.

Giulio Ciccone – last year’s King of the Mountains jersey winner – has also been selected, and will aim to perform well in the mountains once again.

Full team:

Julien Bernard (FRA), Jasper Stuyven (BEL), Giulio Ciccone (ITA), Tim Declercq (BEL), Ryan Gibbons (RSA), Mads Pedersen (DEN), Toms Skujins (LAT) and Carlos Verona (ESP).

Source: Lidl-Trek Press Release

24/06/2024

Movistar Team have just announced their roster for the 2024 Tour de France, which is built around their General Classification leader, Enric Mas.

Mas – having come close to winning the Vuelta a España three times in the past – will be looking to take his GC potential and convert it into a good performance in this year’s Tour de France. He will be supported by Davide Formolo, Gregor Mühlberger, Javier Romo, and Nelson Oliveira.

The team also looks prime for stage-hunting, with riders like Oier Lazkano and Alex Aranburu set to take to the start. Additionally, Fernando Gaviria will be there to contest the sprint stages.

Full team:

Enric Mas (ESP), Oier Lazkano (ESP), Davide Formolo (ITA), Nelson Oliveira (PRT), Alex Aranburu (ESP), Fernando Gaviria (COL), Gregor Mühlberger (AUT) and Javier Romo (ESP).

Source: Movistar Press Release

24/06/2024

Team Bahrain Victorious have just announced their roster for the 2024 Tour de France, which will be built around their General Classification leader, Santiago Buitrago, with opportunities for their other riders to hunt the stages that suit them.

Buitrago has shown his talent and secured a stage win in each of his last two appearances at the Giro d’Italia (in 2022 & 2023), but has never ridden the Tour, and so this year will be making his debut. He hopes to perform well in the General Classification and fight for the white jersey, and will be supported by Pello Bilbao, Wout Poels, and Matej Mohorič – all of whom won a stage each in last year’s edition of the ‘Grand Boucle’ – as well as Jack Haig and Fred Wright.

As well as supporting Buitrago, these riders are also aiming to win stages themselves, whenever the opportunity arises – Mohorič, the current gravel World Champion, is especially looking forward to stage 9, which is set to feature 14 gravel sectors. The team is also bringing their sprinter, Phil Bauhaus, and aiming to win the sprint stages with him, led out by Nikias Arndt.

Full team:

Matej Mohorič (SLO), Wout Poels (NED), Pello Bilbao (ESP), Phil Bauhaus (GER), Santiago Buitrago (COL), Jack Haig (AUS), Fred Wright (GBR), Nikias Arndt (GER).

Source: Bahrain Victorious Press Release

23/06/2024

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) has just announced that he has extended his contract with the team, for four more years, until 2028.

For much of this year, there has been increasing speculation about where Philipsen would sign after his contract expires at the end of the year, however today, Philipsen put an end to the guessing-game in an Instagram post, captioned: "I'm not leaving". He also confirmed the news in a pre-Tour de France press conference in Wevelgem.

Since joining the team in 2021, Philipsen has grown into one of the best sprinters in the world. He has won six stages in the Tour de France – and the Tour de France green ‘points’ jersey – three stages at the Vuelta a España, three stages at Tirreno-Adriatico, Milano-Sanremo, and a number of other prestigious races. He has also achieved second place at Paris-Roubaix, two years in a row.

Philipsen and the Belgian team therefore seem like a ‘match made in heaven’, and Philipsen has echoed this statement. He stated that it was “an obvious choice to stay”, as they “have the same mindset and goals", and he feels at home with the team.

Source: Cycling News

21/06/2024

It has just been announced that Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) will retire from road racing next year.

The Frenchman has thus far enjoyed a great career – having won many prestigious races, including three stages at the Tour de France (and the King of the Mountains jersey), a stage at the Vuelta a España, and the Tour of the Alps. He has also podiumed the Tour de France twice, and just a few months ago, he came second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).

However, despite still being in good form, Bardet has decided to retire next year, at the age of 34. He plans to compete in the first half of the season, and will participate, once again, in the Giro d’Italia – where he achieved a top ten place in the General Classification this year. He will then end his road racing career in June, with his favourite race: the Critérium du Dauphiné. Following this, Bardet plans to finish the 2025 season with gravel racing, and intends to compete in the Gravel World Championships in Nice at the end of the year.

Source : L’Équipe

21/06/2024

UAE Team Emirates had announced their team for the 2024 Tour de France at the beginning of the season, the 8 men that will be at the start in Florence have now been officially confirmed.

The main leader will of course be the Slovenian ogre Tadej Pogacar, who will aim for the double Giro-Tour de France, a performance that has not been made since 1998. Pogacar can be considered ad the biggest favourite to be in yellow in Nice, even more following the crash of Vingegaard in Itzulia.

In order to help the winner of the Giro, UAE Team Emirates brought some of the best climbers in the world, riders who could be leaders in almost every other team. Indeed, the recent winner of Tour de Suisse Adam Yates will be in Florence, along with Juan Ayuso and Joao Almeida, three men who could personnaly aim for a top 5.

On the flat portions, there will be a lot of work for Nils Politt and for the recent Belgian ITT champion Tim Wellens, while Marc Soler and Pavel Sivakov will lead the peloton during the climbs.

This team is maybe one of the strongest ever aligned on the Tour de France, with 4 riders who have the capacity of at least finishing in the top 5 in Nice.

Full team: Tadej Pogacar (SLO); Adam Yates (UK); Juan Ayuso (SPA); Joao Almeida (POR); Marc Soler (SPA); Pavel Sivakov (FRA); Nils Politt (GER); Tim Wellens (BEL)

It has just been reported that Anna Van der Breggen – who retired three years ago, at the end of the 2021 season, and has since been working as a Sports Director at SD Worx-Protime – will come out of retirement, and make a return to road racing in 2025.

During her road career, the 34-year-old won many prestigious races, including the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Strade Bianche. She has also won the Giro Donne four times, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège twice. Additionally, in road racing, she is a two-time World Champion, and an Olympic gold medallist. She even has a record number of titles at La Flèche Wallonne, having won it seven times. Even post-retirement, the success didn’t stop – she recently came second in the Traka 100km gravel race, behind another SDWorx-Protime rider, Marie Schreiber.

Now, following a report from the Dutch broadcaster NOS, stating that she's set to make a comeback to road racing next year, Team SDWorx-Protime has made an official announcement, confirming that Van der Breggen has signed on for another two years.

Source: SDWorx-Protime Press Release

20/06/2024

Katie Archibald has unfortunately had to announce that she will not be able to compete in the Olympic Games this summer, after she fell in her garden earlier this week, and picked up a number of injuries – including a double leg break, a dislocated ankle, and ligament damage.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist was planning to compete in three different track cycling disciplines – omnium, madison and team pursuit – however due to her injuries, she has received medical advice that she should focus on recovery, instead of attempting to compete at this year’s Games. This incident therefore comes as a big blow for Team GB, as Archibald would’ve been a strong medal contender in each of the aforementioned disciplines.

Fortunately, however, whilst she will not be able to participate in the Olympics this year, it does seem as though Archibald will be able to make a full recovery from this incident. She underwent surgery on Wednesday, and expects to be discharged from hospital on Thursday, to continue her recovery at home.

The rest of the Olympic cycling team will be confirmed on Monday (24/06/2024) in Birmingham.

Source: Sky Sports

20/06/2024

After much speculation as to who would be chosen for their Tour de France 2024 team, Team Visma-Lease a Bike has finally revealed their plans.

They will be bringing Jonas Vingegaard, the defending two-time Tour de France champion, to lead the team – ending the speculation as to whether or not he would be ready, following his unfortunate crash in Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year. Vingegaard states that he is motivated to ride the Tour, and despite the interruption to his preparation, will try his best to get a good result in the General Classification.

Wout Van Aert will also form part of the team. He too has spent the past few months recovering from injuries – following a crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen – but he was able to recover in time to race the Tour of Norway, and train at altitude with the team. Van Aert was supposed to ride the Giro d’Italia, but wasn’t fully recovered by that point, and so he has now shifted his focus to the Tour. Here, he plans to help Jonas in his General Classification ambitions.

These ‘star riders’ will be accompanied by a full A-team of exceptional riders. Sepp Kuss, the winner of last year’s Vuelta a España, will be there to help Jonas in the mountains, alongside Wilco Kelderman. Matteo Jorgenson has also shown good climbing abilities this year, winning Paris-Nice and coming second in the Criterium du Dauphiné – as well as securing a win in Dwars Door Vlaanderen, which indicates he may be able to search for a stage win. Tiesj Benoot and Jan Tratnik will also be there, as well as Christophe Laporte.

Full team:

Jonas Vingegaard (DEN); Wout Van Aert (BEL); Sepp Kuss (USA); Matteo Jorgenson (USA); Wilco Kelderman (NED); Tiesj Benoot (BEL); Christophe Laporte (FRA); Jan Tratnik (SLO).

The team has also revealed their special jersey, the ‘Renaissance’ jersey. Straying from their usual black-and-yellow bee getup, the team has decided to incorporate shades of dark blue and gold, for a more extravagant, Renaissance era inspired look. Their bikes have also received a makeover – now navy-blue with the signature cervélo in yellow.

Source: Visma-Lease a Bike Press Release

20/06/2024

Team Jayco-AlUla have just announced their roster for the 2024 Tour de France, which will be built around their three stars, and previous Tour de France stage winners: Michael Matthews, Simon Yates, and Dylan Groenewegen. They aim to target stage wins with Matthews and Groenewegen, and an overall podium finish in the general classification with Yates – after he just missed out on third place last year.

Chris Harper will be there to help Yates in the mountain stages, and Elmar Reinders and Luka Mezgec will form part of Groenewegen’s sprint train. Luke Durbridge and Chris Juul-Jensen were also selected, to support Matthews on the stages that suit him.

Full team:

Luke Durbridge (AUS); Dylan Groenewegen (NED); Chris Harper (AUS); Chris Juul-Jensen (DEN); Michael Matthews (AUS); Luka Mezgec (SLO); Elmar Reinders (NED), and Simon Yates (GBR).

Source: Team Jayco-AlUla Press Release

20/06/2024

The official Tour de France X (formerly Twitter) page has just announced the location of the Grand Départ for the 2026 edition of the race: Barcelona.

The Grand Départ locations for the next two editions in 2024 and 2025 have already been announced as Florence and Lille, but it hasn’t been obvious as to which city would follow. It is believed that many cities were interested in hosting the 2026 Grand Départ – including Rotterdam, The Hague, and some cities in the UK – however now we have confirmation that it is Barcelona that has prevailed.

The last time the Tour passed through Barcelona was in 2009 – where the stage was won by Thor Hushovd – but the city has not yet had the opportunity to host the Grand Départ, until now.

The exact route and stage profiles for the 2026 race haven't been revealed, but this announcement confirmed that the opening stages are set to take place from the 4^th-6^th July 2026, in and around Barcelona.

Source: Tour de France X (formerly Twitter) Announcement

18/06/2024

The first team announcement for the 2024 Tour de France has arrived! This year, it is the Vikings of Uno-X Mobility who are the first to announce their riders. Thor Hushovd's team will aim for stages wins, with a very compete collective. They should be active everyday with a lot of presence in the breakaways but also in massive sprints with Alexander Kristoff and Soren Waerenskjold. In the mountains, Tobias Johannessen will be helped by the very young Johannes Kulset, who will be one of the youngest on the roads et 20 years of age.

Full team:

Magnus Cort (DEN); Alexander Kristoff (NOR); Soren Waerenskjold (NOR); Tobias Johannessen (NOR); Jonas Abrahamsen (NOR); Johannes Kulset (NOR); Rasmus Tiller (NOR), Odd Christian Eiking (NOR).

The team also has three reservees with the Norwegians Markus Hoelgaard, Anders Skaarseth and Andreas Leknessund.

Source: UNO-X Mobility website

17/06/2024

It has just been announced that the Ford RideLondon Classique will not be able to take place next year, due to the UCI moving its position on the UCI Women’s WorldTour calendar to a date when London is unable to host the event.

Today the UCI released the 2025 UCI Women’s WorldTour calendar, which shows the Ford RideLondon Classique as scheduled to take place a week later than usual (on 30 May-1 June). Usually, the event takes place on the 23-25 May – with road closures and other organisational elements approved years in advance. This change therefore means that the race cannot go ahead, as due to the nature of London, changing the date of this pre-planned event to the new dates at such short notice, is not possible.

Hugh Brasher, Event Director of Ford RideLondon, stated that they were informed of this change on 26 March 2024, but had not been consulted, nor warned, prior to this. Additionally, he added that they had previously been advised by the UCI that there would be no changes to the calendar until 2026. Despite this, the UCI has refused to reverse the decision, nor allow two Women’s WorldTour events to take place on the same weekend (the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas is now scheduled to take place on the usual Ford RideLondon Classique dates). Therefore, the race is now unable to take place.

The Ford RideLondon event will still take place on the usual date, however this will be without the Women’s WorldTour event alongside it.

As described by Brasher, this is a “sad day for professional women’s cycling”. Unless the situation is resolved, this now means that the UK only has one Women’s WorldTour cycling event – the Tour of Britain Women – which luckily only just managed to start up again this year.

Source: Ford RideLondon Press Release

14/06/2024

Next year, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will start for the first time in Western France, with a Grand Départ from Vannes, in Brittany, with a first stage arriving in Plumelec. The peloton will then have to ride between Brest and Quimper before leaving the region on the third stage.

In further great news for the race, there will be an additional stage, with the race starting on Saturday 26th July and finishing on the next Sunday. It is a great addition for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, which has been one of the most prestigious races in the calendar since its return in 2022.

This year, the riders will start from Rotterdam in the Netherlands and will finish the race at the top of L'Alpe d'Huez, where Demi Vollering will try to keep her title for SD Worx-Protime.

Source: GCN

13/06/2024

According to L’Equipe, the team Astana-Qazaqstan could be sold to a Chinese businessman at the end of 2025. A deal could be signed for 5 years, until 2030 and the team’s budget could increase significantly, making Alexander Vinokourov’s team the third richest in the peloton.

Astana arrived in the professional peloton in 2006 and has since been one of the most brilliant teams in the world, winning 8 Grands Tours in total with iconic riders such as Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru. In the past few years, Astana’s performances have decreased and the team now risk relegation to the Pro Team level in 2026. If the rumours turned out to be true, the new investors could have to begin this new project at the second tier of World cycling.

Even if nothing is signed yet, this story could be interesting to follow in the next weeks and it could bring some adversity to the biggest teams in the world, with China arriving in the cycling world.

Source: L'Equipe

10/06/2024

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is reportedly set to join Visma Lease-a-Bike in 2025, to race on the road. She is currently the only female professional cyclist signed to INEOS Grenadiers, and has been with them since 2023, as part of their Mountain Bike team.

The Frenchwoman is known for her multidisciplinary talent, having had a successful career on the road, in cyclocross and in mountain biking – the latter of which having been her priority in recent years. However, she recently announced her wish to make a return to road racing, just over a decade since she won the World Championships Road Race. She has stated her intention to retire from mountain biking at the end of 2024 to focus on the road - following the Olympic Games, where she will attempt to become an Olympic medallist in mountain biking for the first time, in her home country.

However, to pursue a road career, it appears she will have to depart from INEOS Grenadiers – who are yet to start a full women’s road racing team – and the team of Visma Lease-a-Bike seems perfectly poised to welcome her. The Dutch team is already home to a few multidisciplinary riders – such as Fem van Empel and Ferrand-Prévot’s former teammate Marianne Vos – and invests in supporting their careers on the road. Additionally, Ferrand-Prévot has expressed her desire to take part in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and Visma Lease-a-Bike are currently looking for a rider suited to being their leader in that type of race. It therefore seems to be a perfect match.

Whilst the deal has not yet been announced, Wielerflits reports that Ferrand-Prévot will sign a three-year contract with Visma Lease-a-Bike, ending in 2027, and more information will surely follow.

Sources: GCN, Wielerflits

10/06/2024

Lidl-Trek’s team manager, Luca Guercilena, has confirmed that Elisa Longo Borghini will leave the team once her contract expires at the end of 2024.

Longo Borghini has ridden for the team for six years – since 2019 – and during this time, has won many prestigious races, and shown herself to be one of the best riders in the women’s peloton. She has won the general classification at stage races – such as the UAE Tour and Women’s Tour – stages in the Giro d’Italia, and many top-level one-day races – such as Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix.

Guercilena praised her talents and the great results that she was able to achieve with the team, and also stated that the team had wanted to retain her, but he ultimately wished her “all the best for the coming seasons".

No official announcement has yet been made regarding her next destination, but GCN has reported rumours that suggest that Longo Borghini is set to move to UAE Team ADQ for 2025.

Source: CyclingNews, GCN

03/06/2024