Cycling Market - INEOS on the brink of disaster; Visma and UAE sign new riders; Seixas and Roglic's future decided soon
Cycling
Netcompany INEOS might lose Filippo Ganna in the midst of his contract; Paul Seixas has reportedly received an offer to renew with Decathlon; UAE Team Emirates - XRG and Team Visma | Lease a Bike have confirmed new riders into the 2027 season. Over the past week, a lot has happened in cycling's transfer market.
Since the previous instance of the Cycling Market, there have been some high-level moves, and a lot of emphasis on the women's peloton. This Saturday, Urska Zigart has officially renewed her contract with AG Insurance - Soudal Team all the way until 2029, further securing her future in the women's World Tour.
Uno-X Mobility have renewed their contracts with former Norwegian national champion Markus Hoelgaard and William Blume Levy; whilst NSN Cycling Team have extended with Corbin Strong, George Bennett and Dion Smith - the team's New Zealand block.
Notably, Óscar Sevilla has also renewed his contract with Team Medellín - EPM, meaning he will continue in the pro peloton at age 50.
Most recent contract extensions:
| Published | Rider | Team | Until |
| 2026-10-03 | ŽIGART Urška | AG Insurance - Soudal Team | 2029 |
| 2026-10-03 | VAN GOETHEM Femke | Citymesh - Customm Pro Cycling Team | 2027 |
| 2026-10-01 | ANDERSEN Susanne | Uno-X Mobility | 2028 |
| 2026-10-01 | WRESZIN Caroline | St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 | 2027 |
| 2026-10-01 | STRONG Corbin | NSN Cycling Team | 2029 |
| 2026-10-01 | BENNETT George | NSN Cycling Team | 2027 |
| 2026-10-01 | SMITH Dion | NSN Cycling Team | 2028 |
| 2026-09-30 | BLUME LEVY William | Uno-X Mobility | 2027 |
| 2026-09-30 | FERNÁNDEZ Sinuhé | Burgos Burpellet BH | 2027 |
| 2026-09-30 | VAN GILS Lucas | Lotto - Groupe Wanty | 2028 |
| 2026-09-30 | CUYLITS Mauro | Lotto - Groupe Wanty | 2027 |
| 2026-09-30 | HOELGAARD Markus | Uno-X Mobility | 2028 |
| 2026-09-29 | ABGRALL Noémie | Ma Petite Entreprise | 2028 |
| 2026-09-29 | BEEKHUIS Teuntje | Uno-X Mobility | 2027 |
| 2026-09-29 | EDSETH Marte Berg | Uno-X Mobility | 2028 |
| 2026-09-29 | VAN DER TUUK Danny | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 2027 |
| 2026-09-29 | DROUET Jules | Bourg-en-Bresse Ain Cyclisme | 2027 |
| 2026-09-29 | SEVILLA Óscar | Team Medellín - EPM | 2027 |
| 2026-09-29 | NICOLAU Joel | Caja Rural - Seguros RGA | 2027 |
| 2026-09-29 | HUYSMANS Nolan | Team Flanders - Baloise | 2027 |
| 2026-09-29 | RESELL Erik Nordsæter | Uno-X Mobility | 2028 |
Urska Zigart has renewed with AG Insurance - Soudal Team all the way until 2029
UAE and Visma sign Gautherat and Donovan
Lidl-Trek have been the major player in the market this past week, and that might continue being the case in future weeks. In the men's team, the German squad have confirmed the addition of Jordi Meeus.
The Belgian sprinter, former winner on the Champs-Élysées, is departing Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and joining the likes of Jonathan Milan and Mads Pedersen who currently lead the team's sprint ranks.
In the women's team, there has been the confirmation of Katarzyna Niewiadoma's signing. Second at the Tour de France Femmes and at the recent World Championships behind Demi Vollering, the Mont Ventoux winner will become the team's new leader.
UAE Team Emirates - XRG have confirmed the long-rumoured move of Decathlon CMA CGM Team's Pierre Gautherat, a three-year deal which sees the Frenchman follow in the footsteps of his former teammate Benoît Cosnefroy.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike in the meantime have also announced the signing of Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team's Mark Donovan. The 27-year old's move is perhaps one of the most surprising of the winter.
XDS Astana Team have signed Tommaso Dati whilst Groupama - FDJ have hired Giovanni Lonardi, both Italian sprinters will be making their World Tour debut.
Katarzyna Niewiadoma's move to Lidl-Trek may be the highest-profile transfer of this winter in the women's peloton
Filippo Ganna to leave INEOS?
There has been a bombshell rumour that has made the light of day this Saturday morning: Filippo Ganna may break his contract with Netcompany INEOS and join Lidl-Trek. This has been reported by Gazzetta dello Sport.
The two-time time trial world champion and eight-time Giro d'Italia stage winner has been part of the British team since 2019 and has not only become the team's spearhead time trialist, but also classics leader.
Ganna continues to be one of the world's best and most versatile riders, having finished second at Milano-Sanremo twice, won in the cobbled classics, developed his sprinting abilities - whilst also currently holding cycling's Hour Record, set back in 2022.
The big teams continue to make meaningful moves in the market and Team Visma | Lease a Bike continue to hunt for their top talents in the development ranks. According to DirectVeló, Steff van Kerckhove was set to race for the team's under-23 structure next year, but Visma has swooped in to hire him.
The 18-year old Belgian is one of the most prominent junior riders currently and has won several of the most prestigious races in the category this year so far.
Primoz Roglic of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe is leaving the team at the end of the season but his future is still unclear. One of the highest-level figures without a clear path as we enter October, but one team appears to be ahead of the competition.
Wielerflits have reported that Roglic may be very close to signing with Tudor Pro Cycling Team, hence departing the World Tour after 10 years. This weekend's European Championships, in which he is one of the favourites, could change things however.
Read also
Paul Seixas close to renewing with Decathlon
Lastly Paul Seixas' future is also to be decided on soon. The Frenchman is currently signed to Decathlon CMA CGM Team all the way until the end of 2027, but most top teams have manifested their interest over potentially signing the young super-talent who just turned 20.
Seixas has, according to Daniel Benson, received a new proposal from Decathlon. Several teams, most notably Team Visma | Lease a Bike, are still hot on the climber's heels but there are strong arguments for Decathlon's potential success in the rider that is their present and potentially the team's future as well.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 4visitors 4
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- they have no expertise with classics, they have no leaders in classics. the classics is dominated by the few Fuori Classe riders where other riders are left with scraps. the Hiring , the salaries dont make sense at all. Same problem as Man Utd. over paid players, egos, very little performanceabstractengineer13-11-2026
- Contract year means you gotta win, at least collect UCI points, helping be damnedabstractengineer13-11-2026
- Arensman is their best rider and he is paid very less in comparisonabstractengineer13-11-2026
- I'm not trying to argue with you but if you didn't see Del Toro struggling in the Tour I'll pay for some glasses for you lol. He struggled so much that Tadej missed winning stage 15, Tadej also dropped the pace along some stages to help Del Toro hold onto the podium. Now he may have been sick, that is a possibility, but he definitely struggled. You have a nice weekend as well brother.awp13-11-2026
- Im not copmaring him to jonas palmares...but current level of power and again like you even pointed out 19sec difference and on other ocassions del toro dropping him. Its evidently their close and based on both their different trajectory its self explanatory...where we are next year.And Del Toro didnt struggle if getting a podium in his first TDF at 22 year old is struggling you sure dont know how to be objective haha. But have a good weekend this is so dumb to discuss as its not even a discussin in reality as facts speak for themselves of what were actually speaking of - and self explanatory.miguel13-11-2026
- fingers crossed. my son has a poster of wout and mathieu battling each other at the beach at ostend up in his room. would be great to see them again there!Ketterechts13-11-2026
- This Giro is very strange in it's circular route. If you were to have stage starting in Trieste and ending atop Monte Zoncolan (end stage 20) you'd get a stage only 145 km long
Rafionain-Glas13-11-2026 - When Thomas gets the bullet from INEOS he can get a job as a comedian.
Senna196013-11-2026 - Right on. The more the merrier.Occam13-11-2026
- Remember, Del Toro struggled in this Tour. He is great, no doubt about that, but comparing him to a four time gt winner is absurd at this point. He has the potential. We'll have to see how he develops.awp13-11-2026
Loading
7 Comments