It’s true that 2026 is the year of the horse, and for some, their current ride is coming to an end. Some of the sport’s biggest names are coming to the end of their contracts, and are looking to either find a new home or get a pay rise from their teams.
With Grand Tour winners, real sporting pioneers and true greats of the sport deciding their futures, we’ve assessed the best ten and what they should do next. As a wise man once said, no risk no glory huh?
Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez)
Leading the way is undoubtably Demi Vollering. The biggest name in women’s cycling, the Dutch superstar is at the forefront of the development and progress of the sport right now.
She joined FDJ United-Suez from SD Worx-Protime in 2025 on a two-year deal and brought an abundance of success to the French outfit both on and off the bike, with lucrative sponsorships following her, including rumours of a hefty Red Bull partnership on the way.
This season she has been dominant, winning Omloop Nieuwsblad, Ronde van Vlaanderen and Liège-Bastogne-Liège this spring, with her teammates taking on that victorious form when she couldn’t contest the win at Strade Bianche and when she wasn’t there at Paris-Roubaix. Wherever Vollering goes, a win is likely to follow and the future with FDJ United-Suez looks bright indeed.
There’s no shying away from the season’s biggest goal of a Tour de France Femmes victory. So far, there’s been no repeat winner of the maillot jaune in the race’s short history. That could change this season.
Whatever happens, Vollering isn’t going anywhere.
- Where should she go? Stay at FDJ United-Suez.
Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Primož Roglič is in the final year of his contract with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe having signed from Visma-Lease a Bike in 2024. The 36-year-old is one of the most accomplished riders of his generation, winning the Vuelta a España four times since 2019.
When previously asked about his future, he admitted that retirement is drawing ‘closer’ and that he’s looking at his future ‘differently’. Another factor to this is the changing Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe hierarchy with young riders like Florian Lipowitz and Giulio Pellizzari rapidly developing and the big money signing of Remco Evenepoel. Where does that leave Roglič?
It would make perfect sense for him to retire at the top as opposed to fizzling out. If he can win one more Vuelta title to take his career total to five then he will stand alone as the man with most victories in the race, one clear of Roberto Heras. Retiring here seems the perfect curtain closer for a great rider, especially with it currently unlikely for either Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard or Paul Seixas to be challenging him in Spain.
Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto)
It might be time for Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney to spread her wings and leave the Canyon-SRAM after almost a decade. The 31-year-old won the Tour de France Femmes in incredible fashion back in 2024 and returned to the podium with a third place the following season.
She might not have notched a win yet this year, but she’s been up there and in the mix with second places at Omloop Nieuwsblad, Strade Bianche and Amstel Gold Race.
It’s being reported that Lidl-Trek are interested in her signature and she would be moving to one of the peloton’s richest teams, who boast a team of talented riders to work with including Niamh Fisher-Black, Isabella Holmgren and Shirin van Anrooij.
- Where should she go? Move to Lidl-Trek.
Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Jai Hindley would be a great addition to any squad. The Australian, who won the Giro in 2022, still has the talent to compete at Grand Tours – as evidenced by his fourth place at the Vuelta last season and current form at this year’s Giro, but is struggling with the same issue facing Roglič with Red Bull’s oversigning of GC leaders.
There are several teams interested in taking Hindley off their hands, including Netcompany Ineos, but there is a Simon Yates-shaped hole at Visma-Lease a Bike and Hindley fits that profile perfectly. He’d get opportunities at the Grand Tours Vingegaard skips, and would be a massive asset for the Dane at the Tour de France.
- Where should he go? Move to Visma-Lease a Bike.
Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
Jonathan Narváez’s stock has only been on the up recently. Despite UAE losing their team leader early in the Giro, Narváez has thrived, picking up three wins within 11 stages. Don’t count him out for adding more to this total either.
Narváez has been a big asset for Pogačar and surely has an offer on the table to stay with the team, however reports indicate that a return to Netcompany Ineos is pretty much nailed on. Seeing how prolific he’s been this month, it makes sense for him to go to a team looking for any kind of victory that wouldn’t necessarily shackle all their riders to domestique duties. That could well be Geraint Thomas’s Netcompany Ineos.
- Where should he go? Return to Netcompany Ineos.
Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM)
Another man that has impressed in Italy has been Felix Gall. The Austrian climber has been best of the rest behind Jonas Vingegaard in the mountains, riding to convincing. second places on both Blockhaus and Corno alle Scale.
He has been picking up plenty of high finishes in Grand Tours in the last couple of years, with a fifth place at the Tour in 2025 alongside an eighth place at the Vuelta, and still looks to be getting better and better.
It would make perfect sense for him to remain with Decathlon CMA CGM, he’s getting leadership opportunities and could also prove to be a key support man for Paul Seixas. With the team’s budget going up and up, if they want him, he should stay.
- Where should he go? Stay with Decathlon CMA CGM.
Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime)
There’s no separating Anna van der Breggen from SD Worx-Protime. She spent five years with them in the peloton, retired to become a DS with them for four years, and returned to ride for them in 2025. This is very much her home and will likely continue for as long as she wants.
Her results speak for themselves. An Olympic gold medal, rainbow jerseys, multiple Giro titles, Queen of the Ardennes. She is a legend of the sport. While she isn’t dominant like she was in the 2010s, she still has incredible legs, having recently ridden to second overall at the Vuelta, however women’s cycling is developing so fast and, as we saw in Spain, the next generation is bursting through.
She may have just passed on the baton as a Grand Tour leader, but her experience and knowledge working with younger riders will be invaluable as SD Worx-Protime look to rebuild their stage race roster.
- Where should she go? Stay to work with the future at SD Worx-Protime.
Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost)
El Jaguar de Tulcan Richard Carapaz joined EF Education-EasyPost from Ineos in 2023, and although Ciro Scognamiglio did state in January that he has extended his contract until 2028, so far nothing has been confirmed publicly.
Carapaz is an evergreen climber. When fit he can still challenge for GCs, as evidenced by his near miss at last year’s Giro – though let’s not mention the tactical choice, and if the GC goes out of the equation he’s more than capable of taking big stage wins and mountains classifications. Money might be an issue, but the Ecuadorian shouldn’t be as expensive as when EF first signed him, and the team is actively searching for a ‘strategic partner’ for naming rights.
The only question is which other teams want him, and how far could a bidding war go? Could Movistar or XDS Astana swoop in to steal him away? They’d certainly both benefit from his talents.
- Where should he go? Stay at EF Education-EasyPost (one more extension).
Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek)
Elisa Balsamo’s five-year stint at Lidl-Trek has proved fruitful, with multiple Trofeo Alfredo Binda titles, stages at the Giro and Vuelta, Scheldeprijs and more. Anyone looking for a top-level, versatile sprinter will be chomping at the bit to sign the Italian. The only problem she faces is Lorena Wiebes, but she shares that with every rider not named Lorena Wiebes, and for Lidl-Trek, there aren’t many riders who come as close as Balsamo does. With a growing leadout train that includes Clara Copponi and Emma Noorsgaard Bjerg, Balsamo is in a good spot, it may just be a case of either trying to avoid Wiebes to stack wins or somehow finding that next gear to challenge her. One is easier than the other.
- Where should she go? Stay at Lidl-Trek. If it ain’t broke…
Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla)
Mauro Schmid is having an excellent season so far. Second at the Tour Down Under, winner of the Coppi e Bartali, sixth at the Amstel Gold Race and second at La Flèche Wallonne. He thrives on hilly parcours and could stack points throughout the season for a team in need, which is why – as reported by Daniel Benson on his Substack – a move to Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling looks to be on the cards for Schmid next year. With invites to all three Grand Tours and only one Tom Pidcock, the addition of Schmid might be the perfect way to get promotion to the WorldTour.
- Where should they go? Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling.