After some calm months of racing, the transfer market is about to swing wide open as the season reaches its halfway marker. Hundreds of riders on the men’s and women’s WorldTour require a new contract for 2027, with some choosing to extend and some hopping ship elsewhere.
Some of the biggest names on this year’s market for the men include Richard Carapaz, Jai Hindley, Primož Roglič, Arnaud de Lie and Ben O’Connor. As for the women, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, Elisa Balsamo, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Chloé Dygert seem to be the most likely stars to make a move. However, mid-contract moves have become more prevalent in recent years, so we could see some riders make a surprise exit as the season unravels.
This is our first transfer update of the year, but rumours are now starting to emerge, with many riders in talks during the Classics and Grand Tours. Confirmations won’t be expected until the summer, but extensions are already coming through thick and fast. Here are some of the biggest leads we have so far.
Rumoured: Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney in talks with Lidl-Trek
Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney is one of the top names up for grabs in this year’s transfer window, meaning the end of a nine-year stint at Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto. The Pole is a former Tour de France Femmes winner who has proven her skills in both the Classics and Grand Tours.
However, Daniel Benson has written on his Substack that Niewiadoma-Phinney could be on the move for 2027, with Lidl-Trek ‘on the verge’ of signing her to a three-year deal. The team have been keen to sign a big-name leader having lost Elisa Longo Borghini two years ago. Since the Italian’s departure, the GC goals have been left to Niamh Fisher-Black, so Niewiadoma-Phinney would be a valuable asset for the team in their pursuit of topping the UCI standings once again.
Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto have expressed that they are ‘confident but not 100% sure’ about keeping Niewiadoma-Phinney for 2027, and these rumours come in the same month as scandal struck the team’s Polish sponsor Zondacrypto around a $97 million black hole and alleged Russian intervention. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has also taken the scandal to propose cryptocurrency reform in the country, which could affect its funds to support professional sport.
Rumoured: Jai Hindley targeted by Visma-Lease a Bike
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s roster is quickly filling up in the GC department. Remco Evenepoel’s arrival squeezed out some leadership opportunities, while last year’s white jersey winner Florian Lipowitz and Vuelta veteran Primož Roglič scoop up many of the remaining spots. That’s before we discuss Giulio Pellizzari, who is also said to have penned an extension with the team to 2030.
With this overcrowding at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, 2022 Giro d’Italia champion Jai Hindley has reason to leave the team at the end of the season when his contract comes to an end.
According to Daniel Benson, Hindley has emerged as a key target for Visma-Lease a Bike as they look to fill the spots left behind by Cian Uijtdebroeks and Simon Yates, both of whom left the team on mid-contract moves or early retirement. Hindley fits into that Yates mould quite comfortably, offering a chance for individual leadership and elite domestique duties on behalf of Jonas Vingegaard.
In discussion with Benson, Plugge said that the team was looking at hiring ‘five or six’ riders for 2027: ‘If a major opportunity comes along, as it did with Simon at the time, we’ll take it. We’re always open to that – GC rider, a climber, someone who can win races. That is obviously the most important thing – winning races. There are a few guys on the market, but not that many. Almost every team is already full.’
Rumoured: Paula Blasi linked to four teams
Hot off a breakthrough spring in which she claimed the Vuelta Femenina and Amstel Gold Race, Paula Blasi is said to be a key target in this year’s transfer window. The Catalan rider has been a force of nature during her one-year stint at the WorldTour level, but it looks as though her time with UAE Team ADQ is reaching a crossroads.
According to Gazetta dello Sport, Blasi has been offered a three-year extension at UAE Team ADQ, but this result is ‘unlikely’ – perhaps a sign of UAE Team ADQ’s current overflow of GC contenders, including Elisa Longo Borghini, Dominika Wlodarczyk and Pauliena Rooijakkers.
Instead, Blasi – who is claimed to have a €100k buy-out clause, with her contract currently running through 2027 – has been approached by FDJ United-Suez, Uno X, Lidl-Trek and Movistar. Out of these four, Movistar would make the most sense, given their lack of big climbers outside of Marlen Reusser, as well as the obvious Spanish connection. The team has also been keen to sign up young riders, Cat Ferguson being the clearest example. Lidl-Trek might offer the most lucrative deal, however, with the team boasting one of the biggest budgets on the Women’s WorldTour, and we know that they’re interested in signing a new GC leader. Niewiadoma-Phinney and Blasi would certainly fill that hole in the roster.
Rumoured: Arnaud de Lie to Tudor Pro Cycling
Former Belgian champion and WorldTour-winning sprinter Arnaud de Lie is expected to leave Lotto-Intermarché after four years with the team since he turned pro in 2022. This comes after a messy merger with Intermarché last year and a stagnation in results over the past 12 months.
De Lie has been one of the fastest riders to secure a new deal for 2027. According to Het Laatste Nieuws, he has agreed to a three-year deal at Tudor Pro Cycling next year. He would join Fabian Cancellara’s team as yet another sprinter to add to their artillery alongside Arvid de Kleijn, Luca Mozzatto, Matteo Trentin and another rumoured addition in Tom Crabbe. That said, De Lie would spearhead the team’s strong Classics contingent, which enjoyed a strong spring this year.
According to these reports, De Lie also received interest from Groupama-FDJ United, Alpecin-Premier Tech Soudal Quick-Step and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. However, the Belgian newspaper believes wage discussions became a sticking point at those teams and Tudor were reportedly the only team willing to foot the bill for De Lie, who demanded a higher salary than the one he’s currently on at Lotto-Intermarché.
Whatever happens, De Lie’s exit will be worrying for Lotto-Intermarché. The Belgian team lost a heap of sprinters during the merger with Intermarché-Wanty last year, with Biniam Girmay and Gerben Thijssen headed elsewhere during that last-minute drama. With De Lie soon to be gone, the team will have a real power vacuum in both the sprints and Classics.
Rumoured: Lennert Van Eetvelt has a ‘concrete’ agreement with NSN
In the same Het Laatste Nieuws article that disclosed De Lie’s potential deal, several other key details were shared, including that Valentin Madouas is expected to leave Groupama-FDJ United and Jordi Meeus could be on the move too.
Writer Bram Vandecapelle is confident that Lotto-Intermarché will lose another key figure in Lennert Van Eetvelt, the winner of the UAE Tour in 2024, who is said to be in conversations with several teams, including Soudal Quick-Step, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, XDS Astana and NSN Cycling. However HLN seems to have retracted its confidence in Quick-Step, with NSN now reported to be in pole position.
The deal was becoming ‘increasingly concrete’ on the eve of the Giro d’Italia, in which Van Eetvelt has already shown great signs of strength. The article suggests that the Belgian is keen to get a deal signed off by the end of the month, perhaps with his Giro performance used as a bargaining chip.
Rumoured: Chloé Dygert to leave WorldTour to focus on LA Olympics
Daniel Benson has reported on his Substack that two-time world champion Chloé Dygert will be making a move away from the WorldTour this winter. This comes after a pair of frustrating seasons for the American, in which she suffered several injuries and setbacks, most recently with a DNF at Paris-Roubaix.
Her rumoured destination is Virginia’s Blue Ridge-TWENTY28, an American continental team that seeks ‘to achieve long-term success for Team USA at the World Championships and Olympic Games’. The squad are one of the USA’s longest-running teams on the North American scene, having celebrated their 20th birthday this year. During that time, they have helped to foster 16 Olympic and Paralympic medalists and 17 World Championship titles.
Dygert rode for the team before her WorldTour move, back when they were called Sho-Air TWENTY20. Even on the continental level, Dygert took the team’s jersey to the top step of the road podium with her first time-trial world title in 2019 before doubling down on her responsibilities in the American team pursuit squad for the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games.
This 2027 move suggests that Dygert will be parking her WorldTour ambitions to one side until the 2028 Olympics, which take place in LA. She’ll likely be fielded alongside the reigning Olympic champion lineup in the team pursuit on the track, but she’ll remain eligible for the road races too.
Rumoured: Mauro Schmid to Pinarello-Q36.5
After two busy years of signings, including Vuelta podium finisher Tom Pidcock, Pinarello-Q36.5 are still on the hunt for big WorldTour names.
Again from Daniel Benson’s Substack, Mauro Schmid is rumoured to be heading to Pinarello-Q36.5 on a big-money deal. His salary is reported to be €2 million per year, which would be a huge increase on his current paycheque at Jayco-AlUla, who were reportedly suffering financial woes last year. This contract is reported to be on a ‘long term basis’ as the team eyes WorldTour promotion at the end of the next cycle in 2028.
This comes after a fantastic opening to the 2026 season for the two-time Swiss champion, in which he finished runner-up at the Tour Down Under before winning the Coppi e Bartali and climbing to a podium finish at Flèche Wallonne. These results have placed Schmid within the top ten of the UCI’s rankings for 2026. This consistency will be vital for Pinarello-Q36.5, who are desperately searching for point scorers to achieve their promotion goal.
Rumoured: Ben Turner to Quick-Step
Ben Turner made a big splash last summer, having claimed sprint victories at the Tour de Pologne and Vuelta a España. Over the past few years, he’s been a cornerstone of Netcompany Ineos’s Classics and Grand Tour squads, but it finally looks as though the 26-year-old is stepping out of the shadows of the British team.
Het Laatste Nieuws believes that Ben Turner will leave Netcompany Ineos at the end of the season, with Soudal Quick-Step the favoured destination. The Belgian newspaper believes this is part of team CEO Jurgen Foré’s plans to ‘rejuvenate the roster’, as they make some bold decisions with their lineup going forward. While Turner comes in, Ethan Hayter, Mikel Landa, Casper Pedersen, Mauri Vansevenant, Maximilian Schachmann and Martin Svrček are all in danger of not receiving a contract extension for 2027.
Regardless, Turner will provide another key asset for Quick-Step as they aim to restructure their Classics squad. This has been a key objective for the team since the departure of Remco Evenepoel last year, culminating in the team’s first cobbled Monument podium in five years at Paris-Roubaix.
Rumoured: Pavel Sivakov offered a multi-million deal by Decathlon
There’s been a lot of talk swirling around UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Decathlon CMA CGM this spring. Most poignantly, this reached fever pitch with rumours surrounding a potential move for 19-year-old Paul Seixas, who made a breakthrough during the spring at Itzulia Basque Country and the Ardennes Classics. These rumours have been squashed, with even Emanuel Macron making a statement on the matter, saying he could intervene to support an extension for the teenager at his current French squad.
However, French newspaper L’Équipe reported in March that UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Pavel Sivakov could be on his way over to Decathlon CMA CGM. The deal is rumoured to be in the millions and would be on a three-year basis from 2027. This is the first big indicator of Decathlon’s intent to solidify its mountain team to support Seixas’s ambitions.
UAE have tried to distance themsleves from this rumour, but it would make perfect sense for Decathlon’s Seixas project, especially with a financial injection or Swiss loophole rumoured to bring more cash.
Alongside Sivakov, tenth-place finisher at last year’s Tour de France Jordan Jegat is also said to be in accelerated talks with Decathlon CMA CGM.
Rumour round-up
There’s a host of riders currently tied into a web of transfer rumours across the peloton. Some teams have been particularly active at this point of the year, with Tudor Pro Cycling, Soudal Quick-Step and Lotto-Intermarché among the most active.
The sprinting market could also be set for some big transfer shake-ups. Czech rider Pavel Bittner has been rumoured in talks away from Picnic-PostNL, potentially to Tudor Pro Cycling, according to Het Laatste Nieuws. Australian sprinter Kaden Groves’s contract is also up for grabs, with links hinted to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe or Movistar if he fails to receive an extension with Alpecin-Premier Tech. NSN’s Ethan Vernon could also be on the move, while Jordi Meeus is reportedly tied between a move to Soudal Quick-Step or an extension at Red Bull.
In spite of all the big departures at Lotto-Intermarché, the team is rumoured to be targeting a set of French riders to tie in with the Intermarché supermarket chain’s home country. The names of Valentin Madouas, Emilien Jeannière and Alex Baudin are already being linked with the team, while Belgian puncheur Mauri Vansevenant and Classics rider Stan Dewulf are also rumoured to be joining.
Meanwhile, Ineos’s new Danish backer Netcompany could finance some big moves in the winter. At the moment, Jhonathan Narváez, stage winner at this year’s Giro d’Italia and former Ineos rider, is the first big name to be linked to the rebranded team.
Extension round-up
There’s less mystery when it comes to contract extensions at this time of year. Usually riders sign new deals well before the big rumours start to circulate as they are often bargained off strong Classics campaigns or a stage race results in the first half of the calendar.
Christophe Laporte was rumoured to be on the move for 2027. Before the spring, the Frenchman wasn’t expecting an extension at Visma-Lease a Bike following a poor 2025 season, with previous reports from Wielerflits linking him to Groupama-FDJ United, Cofidis and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. After a strong Classics campaign, however, Laporte has recently penned a new deal at Visma.
With less external interest, Tibor del Grosso has reportedly received an extension at Alpecin-Premier Tech after a solid spring. Likewise, Antonio Tiberi has signed a longer deal at Bahrain Victorious on the back of a strong start to 2026, with Matteo Trentin and Iván Romeo following suit at Tudor and Movistar.
Two characters from the Giro have also decided to stay with their current teams. Afonso Eulálio, the current pink jersey wearer, will stick with Bahrain Victorious for a further two years, while GC favourite Giulio Pellizzari has opted for a long-term extension to 2030 with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
Curious where the money for these big contracts comes from? Brush up on our breakdown of all the WorldTour team sponsors.