Which Riders Are Emerging as 2026 Grand Tour Favourites After Recent Transfers?

With the cycling world currently enjoying its off season, there is very little action for cycling columns to comment on. However, there is still plenty going on in the background to keep experts and fans alike interested. As usual, riders are swapping seats and making transfers to other teams. Transfers occur for a variety of reasons, including the will to maximise individual potential, to be a leader in a team, or simply for a change of scenery.

However, for most top riders, the main driver for a change of team colours is to fight for wins. And no win is bigger than a triumph at one of the Grand Tour events. The Grand Tour is made up of three major European cycling events including Giro d’Italia (9th-31st May), Tour de France (4th-26th July) and Vuelta a España (22nd Aug-13th Sept).

Not all cyclists will take part in each of the Grand Tour races but cycling odds and betting lines are often influenced by which elite riders are expected to participate. The likes of Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, and Florian Lipowitz will feature at the top of any markets for the three events to look out for between May and mid-September. But away from the elite, which riders will look to fight for ultimate glory in new colours?

Following months of speculation, the transfer saga involving Evenepoel was brought to a conclusion when the Belgian signed for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, bringing down the curtain on a seven-year stay with Soudal Quick-Step. The Olympic champion will join the likes of Jai Hindley, Florian Lipowitz, and Primož Roglič in a move that can hopefully put Evenepoel right on the wheels of Pogačar and Vingegaard to give the Belgian a chance to add to his sole Grand Tour win at Vuelta a España in 2022, where Evenepoel picked up two stage wins.

The expectations for 2026 for Lidl-Trek are higher and to help them in their quest to achieve team and individual honours, the German registered team have added Spaniard Juan Ayuso to their rider roster. The 23-year-old from Barcelona entered the record books at Vuelta a España 2022 when he became the youngest rider to finish on the podium, finishing 4.57 minutes behind winner Evenepoel. After leaving UAE Team Emirates-XRG, citing a lack of alignment in development plans, Ayuso will be hoping to take the next step in new surroundings, potentially starting with a big push for Tour de France glory.

The final mention is for a well-known rider but not because of a transfer. Vingegaard is considered one of the best cyclists in the world alongside Tadej Pogačar and if the Dane decides to ride at Giro d’Italia, the two-time Tour de France winner can complete the triple crown set by adding the Giro to his triumphs in France in 2022 and 2023 and his Vuelta success earlier this year. If Vingegaard competes at and triumphs at the Giro in May, he will join Vincenzo Nibali in an elite club of riders that have completed the Grand Tour Triple and won stages at each of them.

The cycling world is hotly anticipating the confirmation of riders’ plans for 2026 to see who will be riding at which Grand Tour event. But regardless of which names turn up at each three, the unpredictable nature of cycling, which often borders on the dangerous, mixed with intricate strategic approaches means that any leading rider is in with a chance. And for riders who have switched allegiances, they will be hoping their new colours will give them the ultimate boost.