CYCLING MARKET | Ayuso and Vauquelin 'done deals' for Lidl and INEOS; Is there any validity on Bernal's potential move to Visma?

Not a lot has happened over the past week in the cycling market, however a few transfers are actively being worked on and being consolidated. In Juan Ayuso and Kévin Vauquelin two top World Tour teams are virtually certain, whilst in the opposite side of the spectrum, it is widely dismissed that Egan Bernal will be moving to Team Visma | Lease a Bike as has been said by a prominent Italian journalist.

On the field of confirmed signings we've had a few confirmations this week of riders that had been linked to their teams for a long time already. However before the main figures, there were also some small moves on the market with some potential such as Movistar's surprise win in capturing Pavel Novák on a three-year deal. The Czech 20-year old finished third at the under-23 Giro where he also won a summit finish, and was highly regarded as one of the most attractive talents for World Tour teams.

Team Jayco AlUla also pulled the surprising signing of Belgian classics rider Amaury Capiot who has the potential to become somewhat of a leader, whilst Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team have added more and more firepower to their 2026 lineup. The Swiss team is without a doubt the one improving its level the most this winter, turning it from a 'one-man show' with Tom Pidcock to a team that easily matches or even outruns several World Tour teams.

The team has signed French youngster Emmanuel Houcou but more notably Visma's Tom Gloag. This comes as a meaningful transfer taking into consideration the Briton is a developing rider who has recently just finished the Tour of Slovakia in third place and was second to Remco Evenepoel at the Tour of Britain's queen stage. This makes it 9 confirmed transfers already for Q36.5, who continue to bolster their firepower.

Team Visma | Lease a Bike have however matched their loss of Gloag with Davide Piganzoli, joining from the Italian ProTeam Polti VisitMalta, mimicking a similar move of compatriot Filippo Fiorelli. The 23-year old is expected to have a domestique role, but he can become a future leader within the team, having for example joined Tadej Pogacar and Tom Pidcock at last year's Giro dell'Emilia.

The big move that was confirmed was that of Matthew Riccitello to Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, which had been heavily rumoured during the Vuelta a España where the American rider had a breakthrough ride to finish fifth in the overall classification, winning the youth classification in the process.

Israel - Premier Tech are going through a difficult period and signing new riders is certain to be a big challenge, whilst their re-entry into World Tour level is unlikely to be matched with an increase in their roster depth. Riccitello is one of the several new leaders the French team has already signed, joining the likes of Olav Kooij, Tobias Lund Andresen and Tiesj Benoot.

This week it has been rumoured by Corriere della Serra's Beppe Conti, one of the most prominent journalists in Italy, that Egan Bernal would likely be joining Team Visma | Lease a Bike and that the two would be headlining the team's plans for next year's Giro d'Italia. A rumour to be taken with a grain of salt at first, taking into consideration in the past other reports have not been accurate.

However several highly-regarded sources, including Daniel Benson, have reported the opposite to be the case, with Bernal staying with INEOS Grenadiers until at least 2026 which is the current duration of his contract.

The other two big riders involved in the discussion this week are two that are virtually confirmed in their future teams, potentially with only the announcements left to be issued. Both Benson and Ciro Scognamiglio have reported that Juan Ayuso will join Lidl-Trek and Kévin Vauquelin will join INEOS Grenadiers.

Both transfers have been rumoured now for several weeks, or months even in the Frenchman's case, and it is possible that these are to be announced already in the upcoming days. Both teams will gain new leaders and provide extra leverage against the current Grand Tour dominators in UAE Team Emiraters - XRG and Team Visma | Lease a Bike.