OFFICIAL: Eight years after Remco Evenepoel, fellow junior Worlds medallist finally earns WorldTour move with Jayco AlUla
Cycling
Alessandro Fancellu will step up to the WorldTour with Team Jayco AlUla in 2027 after signing a two-year contract, earning his opportunity following a season that brought stage victories at Il Giro d’Abruzzo and the Czech Tour.
The 26-year-old Italian shared the junior World Championship podium with Remco Evenepoel in Innsbruck in 2018, taking bronze behind the Belgian’s solo victory. While Evenepoel joined the WorldTour the following season, Fancellu has worked his way through the lower divisions and now arrives from MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort with ambitions of making his Grand Tour debut.
“The first step will be to prove that I can be part of the WorldTour, and my most important goal would be to participate in one of the three Grand Tours,” Fancellu said in the team’s announcement. “I want to show that I am up to the task of being selected for a Grand Tour and then perform as well as possible.”
Consistent results earn the step up
Fancellu finished third overall at Il Giro d’Abruzzo and second at the Czech Tour this season, alongside top-10 overall finishes at the Tours of Turkey, Slovenia, Hungary and Hainan. Those performances followed overall victory at the Tour of Japan in 2025.
Jayco’s head of performance Gene Bates sees room for the Italian to progress further while adding depth to the team’s climbing group. “This year he has had a tremendous season, he has been very consistent, always getting high results and in some very challenging races,” Bates said. “He will really strengthen our climbing group with his ability as he has demonstrated this year.”
Fancellu, whose contract covers 2027 and 2028, is keen to carry those results into a more demanding programme. “I want to prove that I deserve this step up and validate the good results I achieved in lower-level races. I am also confident that joining such a major team will greatly help me grow as a professional rider.”
Read also
Grand Tour ambition
The Italian has built his recent results around shorter stage races, but wants to discover how his climbing holds up over three weeks. “I’m a rider that can hold his own on undulating terrain, including short but steep climbs. So far, I’ve proven competitive in one-week stage races, and I’m eager to test myself in longer events, like three-week races.”
Fancellu joins Sam Welsford, Olympic team pursuit champion Oliver Bleddyn and development rider Will Holmes among Jayco’s confirmed additions for 2027. The squad is also preparing for Mauro Schmid’s move to Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team and the retirements of Luke Durbridge and Luka Mezgec.
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.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Rather than me describing the technology at length on here, If you google. Line-scan cameras. They are also sometimes called Slit-Scan cameras. Either search will fill you in. You can read all about how they. work. Enjoy! Just to be clear the cyclist is saying he wants to see exactly where the digital finish line is in relation to the actual physical finish. At this point we only have the word of the authority that the digital line corresponds to the exact starting edge of the physical finish line. That seems like a reasonable request to me.Prorodsandstuff11-10-2026
- 100% @Jumpyjohn, good point well raised.anonymouscyclist11-10-2026
- The media keep stirring the soup.. or spitting in it
leedorney11-10-2026 - Yes, he has won many races... second class races. He isn't the real deal... Seixas is the real deal. Capish?PogiSloFans11-10-2026
- What are you talking about? I'm not the one you guys are spitting on. I'm a Slovenian Pogi fan, that's all... the guy you're talking about is a Croation Ustasha. Capish?PogiSloFans11-10-2026
- It would be epic if Seixas came to UAE. 3/4 of the commentators on this site would stop watching cycling... ha ha ha ha ha ha...PogiSloFans11-10-2026
- UAE's problem is Seixas wants to beat Tadej.Renz11-10-2026
- You are blinded by your infatuation with Pogi. IdT has done crazy good stuff. One of the strongest ever first three years in the peloton. poor showing in his last couple of races btu I don't think he is quite washed up yetmobk11-10-2026
- Absolutely not. The guy has finished so many races 2nd to Pogi so absolutely not a shocker that when Pogi isn't there he wins a fewmobk11-10-2026
- GOATmij11-10-2026
Loading
Write a comment