Former Giro mountains king Koen Bouwman left without a team as Jayco AlUla confirm three exits
Cycling
Former Giro d'Italia mountains classification winner Koen Bouwman is among three riders leaving Team Jayco AlUla without a confirmed destination for 2027, with the Australian WorldTour outfit officially announcing the departures of Asbjorn Hellemose and Jasha Sutterlin alongside the Dutchman on Tuesday.
All three were absent from Jayco's 30-man roster announcement last week. Bouwman, 32, departs after two seasons in which his move away from Team Visma | Lease a Bike failed to deliver the greater opportunities he had sought.
Bouwman's Jayco spell ends without a victory
Bouwman joined Jayco ahead of 2025 after almost a decade with Visma and its predecessors, where he had established himself as a dependable climbing domestique while also enjoying considerable success in his own right.
At the 2022 Giro d'Italia, he won two mountain stages and the blue jersey as the race's best climber, having finished 12th overall the previous year. He also won the 2024 Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali. A Tour de France debut, something he had never experienced during his years with the Dutch team, was among the ambitions behind his move to Jayco.
Instead, knee problems disrupted his preparations for 2025 before repeated illness derailed much of his first season with Jayco. He abandoned both the Giro and Vuelta a Espana.
Bouwman completed both Grand Tours in 2026, finishing 26th at the Giro and 21st at the Vuelta, where he briefly wore the mountains jersey. He leaves Jayco without a victory or the Tour de France debut that had helped motivate his move.
Koen Bouwman racing during Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2025 for Team Jayco AlUla
Hellemose's emotional farewell as Sutterlin seeks another contract
Hellemose's exit had already been apparent at October's Il Lombardia, where the 27-year-old Dane was visibly emotional after crossing the finish line.
Having previously lost his WorldTour place following his spell with Lidl-Trek's predecessor, Hellemose had worked his way back through the continental ranks to earn a second opportunity with Jayco. After Lombardia, he acknowledged on Instagram that he would "most likely not continue as a WorldTour rider at all".
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Sutterlin has spent more than a decade in the professional peloton, representing Movistar, Team Sunweb/DSM and Bahrain Victorious before joining Jayco in 2025.
The 34-year-old German was already searching for a contract during September's Vuelta a Espana, where he recovered from a difficult opening week to feature in several breakaways. He has previously expressed his desire to continue racing for at least another two years.
Their departures form part of Jayco's wider overhaul for 2027, with Ben O'Connor and Mauro Schmid also leaving for Decathlon CMA CGM Team and Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team respectively. Sam Welsford and Mikkel Honore are among the arrivals in a 30-man squad averaging just 27 years of age, the team's youngest in more than a decade.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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