SPECIAL | 2026 begins today - When will all World Tour teams reveal their goals for next season?

The 2026 season unofficially begins today, Friday the 5th of December. Why? Because for the first time this winter, a World Tour opens up to the media to openly discuss their objectives for the upcoming season. From today onwards, many teams begin to heavily assemble in Spain to prepare. These are the days when you should expect to hear the words of stars such as Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel.

The quiet Spanish town of the Costa Blanca is the location for the start of a media frenzy that will last the entire months of December and January. The good weather, cheap flights, calm roads and excellent infrastructure offers up an ideal set of conditions for most World Tour teams to train on, and host their pre-season camps which include riders, management and all staff.

It is a key part of the year, and it is all about building the bases - fitness and logistical-wise - for what is to come in 2026. All of the main figures in the peloton take part in these, and it is an indispensable part of the season for all main teams, even though there is still over a month to the official start of the season in Australian for the Tour Down Under - and most will only begin their seasons in February or even March.

In Altea, Jayco AlUla will host their media day this Friday. Expect to hear from riders such as Michael Matthews, Ben O'Connor, Luke Plapp and new signings such as Pascal Ackermann to give out their thoughts for the upcoming year. This Friday 5th of December, Alpecin-Deceuninck is hosting a press conference in Antwerp, Belgium - where the management will be represented, not necessarily all riders. Over in Mallorca, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe will talk to the media on the 10th of December. Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic, Florian Lipowitz... All of the main men from the German team will be sharing their thoughts and being asked key questions about Grand Tour selection.

Back in the Costa Blanca, the action will resume on the 11th of December. CyclingUpToDate will be on the ground for the team presentation of Movistar which will take place in the provincial capital of Valencia; followed by Lidl-Trek's media day on the 12th of December and UAE Team Emirates - XRG's which is set to take place in Benidorm on Saturday the 13th. In these days, big figures such as Enric Mas, Mads Pedersen, Juan Ayuso, Jonathan Milan, Tadej Pogacar, João Almeida, Isaac del Toro and many more will open up about what they are planning for the 2026 season and where they might potentially start their 2026 season.

Back in Altea, Bahrain - Victorious will be hosting their event on the 15th of December, where the likes of Antonio Tiberi, Lenny Martínez, Santiago Buitrago, Matej Mohoric and many more will share their thoughts. XDS Astana Team will be the last team to host their event in December, which will happen on the 18th of December. It is well known that many other teams will be training in the area, but fans will have to wait until January - in what is the second training camp for most teams - to know what to expect of their leaders.

In January, Groupama - FDJ on the 9th of January and Lotto-Intermarché on the 12th of January will host team presentation events in Paris and Temse respectively. In Spain, Tudor Pro Cycling Team will be talking to the media on the 7th of January in Moraira; then the action moves over to Calpe where on the 8th Soudal - Quick-Step and then right the day after, Team Picnic PostNL of Oscar Onley will be opening up to the media.

The action then moves over to La Nucia, where on the 14th of January we will finally hear the likes of Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert and Simon Yates talk to the media. On the 16th, it will be time for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale to do the same, including the likes of Paul Seixas and young American upcomer Matthew Riccitello.

NSN Cycling Team will be hosting theirs in mid-December, albeit with the date not defined yet. CyclingUpToDate understands the team presentation will happen on the 9th of December however. Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team (month undefined), Cofidis and Uno-X Mobility will be hosting theirs in January, with exact dates yet to be defined. EF Education-EasyPost will not host a media day. INEOS Grenadiers has not disclosed information on their media activities.