ANALYSIS: INEOS transfer window has already been concerning - Ganna and Bernal's shock exits could spell a UCI points disaster
Cycling
Netcompany INEOS's transfer window ahead of the 2027 season has raised eyebrows, with seven exits already confirmed and just one rider joining the team, they've endured a definitive exodus while two of their biggest name riders have also emerged as possible bombshell exits in recent days.
The British team, under the guidance of Geraint Thomas have endured a difficult 2026 season. They sit in eighth place in the latest UCI team rankings with 12,400 points and gained just one Grand Tour stage win - a Filippo Ganna time trial win at the Giro d'Italia.
With 35 wins this season, their tally represents an improvement on their last two seasons. However, without a diminishing presence in the Grand Tour general classification picutre, and new signings Kevin Vauquelin and Oscar Onley suffering illness and injury around the Tour, they will hope for a stronger showing in 2027.
With just 15 riders confirmed for 2027, including Benjamin Noval's arrival straight from the junior ranks. Their squad is yet to fully take shape ahead of next season. Last week it emerged that Filippo Ganna is a target of a transfer move from Lidl-Trek while Egan Bernal is now reportedly considering retirement at the age of 29.
With seven exits and two of their top stars potentially on their way out, an already concerning transfer window could turn into a disaster for the British team. As well as victories and prestige that come with top riders, the exits already confirmed and still a possibility leave a glaring hole in the team in one telling way - UCI Points.
INEOS Confirmed exits for 2027 - 1916 UCI points
| Rider | Age | 2027 destination | 2026 UCI points |
| Magnus Sheffield | 24 | Uno-X Mobility | 342 |
| Andrew “AJ” August | 20 | Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 620 |
| Artem Shmidt | 22 | NSN Cycling Team | 391 |
| Ben Turner | 27 | Soudal Quick-Step | 408 |
| Victor Langellotti | 31 | XDS Astana Team | 150 |
| Bob Jungels | 33 | Retiring | 0 |
| Ben Swift | 38 | Retiring | 5 |
First of all, seven riders have been officially announced as departing the team in this transfer window. With two retirements, one early departure and four riders leaving this winter, it leaves a rather sizeable hole of over a quarter of the team's roster leaving.
Bob Jungels and Ben Swift will retire. Both riders aren't renowned for their wins or UCI points haul in recent seasons, but with them goes two road captains with over three decades of WorldTour experience. Victor Langelotti's exit on August 1st also saw a rider who had been in form in previous seasons head to Astana.
A trio of young American riders will also leave in Magnus Sheffield, Artem Schmidt and Andrew August - with the latter a particular loss given his development in the 2026 season and UCI points haul of 620 this season. A core of emerging riders, their exits leave a growing hole in the team.
Ben Turner's transfer to Soudal Safety Jogger further compounds that as the versatile British rider departs. Although not a disaster, the seven riders leaving the team creates a gap of close to 2,000 UCI points needing to be bridged.
Noval is the sole arrival, and is not expected to immediately rise to the occasion and compete in major races with established WorldTour riders. Although the in-form junior rider in world cycling, it's a difficult ask for the 18-year-old to immediately perform at the highest level.
Andrew August
Potential Ganna and Bernal exits - 2,694 UCI Points
| Rider | Age | 2026 UCI points |
| Filippo Ganna | 30 | 1,517 |
| Egan Bernal | 29 | 1,177 |
What could turn a worrying transfer window into a disaster is two speculated moves that have emerged over the past week. Both stalwarts of the INEOS project over the past eight years, Filippo Ganna and Egan Bernal are reportedly real possibilities to leave the team this year.
Egan Bernal, 2019 Tour de France winner, is considering retirement at the age of 29. Suffering major injuries from crashes in recent seasons, Bernal has admirably re-found form and competed at the top level despite not re-discovering his best results.
The Colombian is reportedly considering stepping away from the sport. His current deal is up at the end of 2026 and despite reports of contract talks earlier this season, nothing has been officially announced.
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A major pillar of the team, Bernal turned domestique at the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia when required and holds a sizeable placing in the team's hierarchy. A sudden departure leaves not only a huge experience gap, but a shortfall of over 1,000 UCI points.
Filippo Ganna could be an even bigger loss for the team after reports emerged that Lidl-Trek are in talks to sign him this winter, one year before his current contract ends. With 41 wins, Ganna is one of the best time triallists of his generation and has been a valuable rider for the team in classics and Grand Tours.
He's taken in over 1,500 UCI points for the team this season alone. A rider of his calibre and capabilities as a domestique will be near impossible to find in a single rider should the team lose the rider to Lidl-Trek.
The reports of both riders potentially leaving the structure come as a cause of concern, should those moves happen, it will come as a hammer blow for the British squad.
Filippo Ganna
INEOS riders without confirmed deals for 2027
| Rider | Age | 2026 UCI points |
| Tobias Foss | 29 | 482 |
| Axel Laurance | 25 | 590 |
| Samuel Watson | 24 | 280 |
| Brandon Rivera | 30 | 147 |
| Connor Swift | 30 | 90 |
| Laurens De Plus | 31 | 35 |
| Óscar Rodríguez | 31 | 20 |
As well as their seven departures and two potential bombshell exits, INEOS have seven more riders on their books that do not have confirmed deals for the 2027 season. While that doesn't mean that all riders will leave the team, they are very much on the market while without a contract.
Axel Laurence and Samuel Watson are perhaps the most surprising of those names remaining. The young French and English riders have impressed with INEOS. Laurence won a stage of Itzulia Basque Country and rode the Vuelta a Espana while Watson has won six times in two seasons with the team - including two WorldTour prologues and the british national title.
Tobias Foss is another experienced rider without a contract for 2027 and boasts the time trial world title on his palmares. Elsewhere, versatile climber Larens de Plus, Oscar Rodriguez and Connor Swift have no contract with the team.
While some of the riders will potentially extend their INEOS contracts, a UCI points loss of 1,916 points could grow by a further 2,694 points, if potential moves are sealed, to well over 4,000 points. With just Noval filling the gap, as things stand, their transfer window could turn disastrous.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- I hope he takes Lombardia. It will be interesting to see him with Remco - guaranteed Primoz doesn't work for him.mij09-10-2026
- Maybe Net Company INEOS should be signing Roglic. Feels like they have been mostly irrelevant since G hung up the shoes. At least they would have someone who is there or there abouts on GC.MASnell09-10-2026
- Maybe Net Company INEOS should be signing Roglic. Feels like they have been mostly irrelevant since G hung up the shoes. At least they would have someone who is there or there abouts on GC.MASnell09-10-2026
- i guess there's journalism and then there's journalism. this website simply collects cycling stories and aggregates them in one portal for us fans to access. they aren't really investigative reporters, and their team likely isn't big enough to go into real depth... which is fine by me since i don't expect much more from them. that said, i agree with your view. it would be nice to see a bit more follow-up that pushes the people in charge to actually take a stance.Ketterechts08-10-2026
- UAE was really badly positioned at the last climb, and Ineos did a great job of making that happen at the bottom. That must have affected del Toro and the rest. His attack wasn't spectacular, and they hadn't ripped apart the bunch enough, letting a large group remain in back to reel him in. UAW lost the race on the road to the climb and the bottom third of it, I think.RidesHills08-10-2026
- He won in exactly the same way as others. By being the fastest to complete the stages.mobk08-10-2026
- Very surprised del toro couldn't beat everyone here against lesser competition. He's well on his way to being top 5 in the worldbruins3008-10-2026
- Being the best rider left in the race is pretty much the only way to win in any edition, surely? Seems reductive to say "they only won because the entire peloton wasn't as absolutely stacked as it could've been" - you can only beat who is in front of you.wrsty08-10-2026
- I’m sorry but generally the coverage on your site is first class but this incident highlights something I just don’t get with cycling journalism. This accident should never have been allowed to happen, it comes uncomfortably close to the Finlay Tarling tragedy and two other incidents took place within days of this. I checked all of the cycling websites and you all put out basically the same story. Pidcock gave journalists the perfect opening to blow this sky high, what has the UCI got to say? What is Adam Hansen doing? What do the organisers say? Nothing, you all trot out the same easy quotes taken from Pidcocks interview after the race but do nothing to follow it up. I see it time and time again, journalists taking the easy way out but being outraged when it happens again as it surely will. Riders can’t do this but journalists should be independent and should be able to raise these uncomfortable questions but cyclinguptodate and every other on line publication prefer to take the easy way out. That’s the real tragedy here.Paul53108-10-2026
- Happy to help :-)Mistermaumau08-10-2026
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