Bradley Wiggins' son among four riders handed Jayco AlUla World Tour promotion - Australian team look to the future with exciting call-ups
Cycling
Team Jayco AlUla have announced the promotion of four young riders from their development team, handing them their first WorldTour contracts as the Australian team look to the future.
Ben Wiggins, Wil Holmes, Jed Smithson and Adam Raffety all join from the GreenEDGE Cycling development team, Hagens Berman Jayco, with all four bringing strong potential to the team.
Wiggins follows in his Olympics and Tour de France winning father's footsteps as he officially moves up to the top table. He has raced with Jayco AlUla on several occasions in recent seasons and joins off the back of an impressive top ten finish at the Tour of Britain.
Rafferty is another expected promotion after his 2025 Giro Next Gen stage win and top ten. The Irish rider is the under-23 time trial national champion and has represented his nation at several major championships at junior and under-23 level. His older brother, Darren, rides with EF Education-EasyPost.
Team Jayco AlUla
"A work in progress for a couple of years"
Australian Holmes also joins after joining the setup in 2024. Also a national champion at under-23 level in the time trial, the 20-year-old is an exciting edition for the future. British rider Smithson is another to feature for the WorldTour team before his call-up and is one to watch for the future.
“It’s really exciting for us to have four up and coming guys moving into the WorldTour having come through our development team," Head of Performance, Gene Bates, said.
"This has been a work in progress for a couple of years now, particularly with Ben, Adam and Wil. It is inspiring for us to see them make this transition after years of hard work."
The team are confident that the quartet can make the jump to WorldTour and continue their development: Their development doesn’t stop here, it is still a very big step up into the WorldTour but we are confident that they are on a good trajectory and will continue to develop well within our organisation and with a race programme that will suit their capabilities.
"They’re all different riders with different strength and weaknesses but we are confident that they will fit in well into the group, they have learnt a lot and progressed well in the devo team and we are sure that they will add great value to the team during the next two years.”
Jayco AlUla call up four development riders
| Rider | Nation | Age |
| Ben Wiggins | United Kingdom | 21 |
| Adam Rafferty | Ireland | 20 |
| Wil Holmes | Australia | 20 |
| Jed Smithson | United Kingdom | 20 |
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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- The article makes it sound like a great thing and something to be applauded. The reality is is gives the Americans another 6 years to fleece European cycling fans or force them to hunt around Europe with VPN’s for free feeds. Not something to be celebrated in my book. Before someone points out that coverage of this depth costs money, yes, I agree but not £30+ per month a fee I will wager will gradually increase now this deal has been cemented.Paul53119-10-2026
- Great. Thrilled. (Satire) Oh, how I miss the days of GCN. Still wear my GCN hoodie with pride.anonymouscyclist19-10-2026
- You could also look at it another way. How many riders have had better or more consistent results since the Tour?Jumpyjohn19-10-2026
- Whilst I love Tadej (and Remco, who deserves to be mentioned here, too), @JumpyJohn makes a valid point, and he isn’t wrong @MajorPayne. It is a fact that today’s official broadcasters of cycling struggle to keep our attention once the likes of Tadej (or Remco) attacks at ~80km or so. In the 142nd issue of Rouleur, Ned Boulting reflects on the often stressful paradox of commentating on a race that is effectively over before the broadcast window even hits its stride. In this edition, he centres on Remco’s 1hr solo at the Challenge Mallorca this year, and captures the panic and dread shared by the commentators when a dominant rider kills off the racing tension early. I recommend you read it, it’s a fascinating insight into the world of commentary, and the true viewing figures of today’s cycling. I must add here, I love Tadej and Remco, but I would be lying if my heart rate wasn’t higher when watching the World Championships this year. And I’m sure Rob Hatch would say something akin regarding his commentary!anonymouscyclist19-10-2026
- The shattered women’s marathon record was clean and highly surprising and then a few months later the athlete was very positive in another test for something not taken by mistake when recording far less impressive results. Sounds to me like the problem is still the age old one, detection is often way behind. Just like with crime, it’s not because you can’t catch the criminals that you aren’t aware of the crime.Jumpyjohn19-10-2026
- Listen, you have a point but on the other hand in cycling, once some of the riders go solo and build a minute’s gap, there’s hardly any action left to watch. Cycling is definitely not for today’s generations of accelerated viewing. Other people find skydiving or chess exciting but you can’t force everyone to feel the same.Jumpyjohn19-10-2026
- That’s a funny one. Yeah obviously he’s more aero than some but most of the aero effect at elite level is the bike. Now you have me starting to feel sorry for the guy behind him when he pulls a groupetto.Jumpyjohn19-10-2026
- Knew a World Tour promotion was coming for Ben this season. Thrilled for him, and can't wait to see what he can do at this level. Another one to watch at the TTs.anonymouscyclist19-10-2026
- It honestly breaks my heart to see this. I had a feeling this might happen over the last few years, but I kept praying it wouldn't, and that Joey would find his niche, especially back racing alongside his brother. After growing up racing alongside PH-MAS, the Pidcock brothers have always felt like one of our own, as we’ve watched them grow from Club level all the way up to PC and WT. I wish Joey nothing but the best of luck in whatever he does next, but selfishly… I do wish for him to move into the role of Q36.5 team staff.anonymouscyclist19-10-2026
- Predictable, sure! But boring??? OMG! Was Mike Tyson predictable and boring in his prime? Air Jordan? Schumacher or Senna? OMG!!!MajorPayne19-10-2026
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