Alpecin-Premier Tech traditionally don't rank among the most active teams on the transfer market, often preferring to stick to their own development programme rather than spending a lot of money to bring leaders from outside. But Madis Mihkels might be an exception.
The Estonian sprinter emerges as a possible candidate to replace Kaden Groves (headed for Tudor Pro Cycling) as the Belgian team's second sprinter option. That role will be highly contested in 2027 with the expected arrival of former Giro d'Italia stage winner Casper van Uden.
At the age of 23, Mihkels has gradually established himself as one of the peloton's most reliable riders for both bunch sprints and the cobbled classics.
The former Estonian champion has three professional victories to his name, several top-10 sprint results across his three Grand Tour participations, a top-10 result from 2024 Paris-Roubaix, and even a European bronze medal from the same season.
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Mihkels was always recognized as a big talent, however his junior career was cut short by covid, allowing Mihkels to accumulate only 10 UCI starts in 2021 - a season finished with a bronze medal at junior World Championships.
Following this, he has been scouted by Intermarché - Wanty where he first enrolled as a stagiare in 2022, and later turned professional in 2023.
The young rider continued to steadily progress through the team's ranks, but when his contract run out at the end of 2024, he opted for a new adventure at EF Education-EasyPost.
Racing for the American outfit, Mihkels did not enjoy any further breakthrough with Classic Brugge-De Panne podium and national title the two most outstanding results. Without a strong sprint train at EF, Mihkels often had to manage on his own in stage finales. That shouldn't be the case anymore at strongly sprint-oriented Alpecin-Premier Tech where, according to WielerFlits, Mihkels agreed to a two-year contract.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
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