The Tour de France was usually the place where the most important deals were made for riders with expiring contracts. Nowadays, interested teams act much earlier. In this post, WielerFlits and Cyclingflash summarize the transfers that have been swirling around for some time and that we pick up at the Tour de France 2025.
We start with UAE Emirates. At the beginning of the year, it was already clear that UAE Emirates XRG extended the expiring contract of Tim Wellens until at least the end of 2027. Filippo Baroncini also signed a new multi-year contract. On the other hand, Alessandro Covi is leaving to take on a new challenge at Jayco AlUla. Scandinavians Vegard Stake Laengen and Julius Johansen are currently on the sidelines. Furthermore, João Almeida, after a strong season, reportedly terminated and then renewed his contract with the Middle Eastern team.
The same goes for newly crowned Polish champion Rafal Majka. That decision is entirely up to him whether he wants to continue for another year or not. Young talents Adriá Pericas (19, Spain) and Matthias Schwarzbacher (19, Slovakia) are slated for promotion from the development squad to the WorldTeam. Additionally, rumors are swirling around Jonas Koch (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Kevin Vermaerke (Picnic PostNL), which are related to a possible extended stay of Stake Laengen, Johansen, and/or Majka.
It is currently rather quiet at Richard Plugge’s team. It is now an open secret that Timo Kielich and Davide Piganzoli are coming from Alpecin-Deceuninck and Polti-VisitMalta, respectively. The signing of Italian prospect Piettro Mattio from the development team has already been announced. WielerFlits also reported that the team has strengthened its roster with Bruno Armirail. Wilco Kelderman and Steven Kruijswijk had already extended their contracts earlier, by two and one year, respectively.
Many big names are leaving: Olav Kooij and Tiesj Benoot have signed financially upgraded contracts at Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. Dylan van Baarle and Attila Valter are also departing. The Hungarian was waiting on the sidelines but did not wait it out and signed with Bahrain Victorious. Daniel McLay, Tosh Van der Sande, and Julien Vermote are still waiting in that same holding pattern. They might extend their contracts later.
Tim Rex from the development team is also in the queue. Depending on other potential signings, he could make the step to the WorldTeam. Tom Gloag is definitely leaving; he is negotiating with INEOS Grenadiers and Q36.5 Pro Cycling but according to British journalist Daniel Benson, he is likely to choose the Swiss team.
At Soudal-Quick-Step, the main question is what will happen with Remco Evenepoel. It appears to be only a matter of time before the Belgian actually transfers to Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. His chief lieutenant in this Tour is Ilan Van Wilder, who wanted to stay with the Belgian team. If REv really leaves, Van Wilder will get more chances as team leader. There’s also Mikel Landa and Valentin Paret-Peintre for the climbing duties—and Steff Cras (TotalEnergies) will be joining.
It is especially notable that the new team manager Jurgen Foré is rebuilding a spring classics core. Jasper Stuyven has been brought in as the new team leader and mentor for Paul Magnier, who is expected to assume leadership in the classics over time. Yves Lampaert remains loyal to the squad despite interest from other WorldTeams and ProTeams. Young Dutchman Pepijn Reinderink has also extended his contract.
Additionally, HLN revealed a long list of Belgian signings last month. Besides Cras, Cériel Desal (Wagner Bazin WB), Edward Planckaert, and Fabio Van den Bossche (both Alpecin-Deceuninck) are expected to join. The same applies to sprinter Alberto Dainese, who is moving from Tudor Pro Cycling. The Italian is taking over the spot from Luke Lamperti, who, in turn, is transferring to EF Education-EasyPost.
Alpecin-Deceuninck continues to be one of the top teams in this Tour de France, just as they have been in recent years. Especially during the spring classics, the team of brothers Christoph and Philip Roodhooft has impressed. Much of this success is due to stars Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen, who are tied to long-term contracts. This leaves no opportunity for other teams to snatch them up, so the competition has turned its attention to their strong supporting riders.
With With Kaden Groves and young top talents like Emiel Verstrynge, Tibor Del Grosso, and soon Senna Remijn also under contract, it’s hard to talk about an exodus. However, it is striking that other teams are attempting to dismantle the mid-level core of this Belgian WorldTeam. Strong riders such as Quinten Hermans, Xandro Meurisse (both Q36.5 Pro Cycling), Robbe Ghys (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Timo Kielich (Visma | Lease a Bike), Edward Planckaert, Fabio Van den Bossche (both Soudal-Quick-Step), and Gianni Vermeersch (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) might all have found employment elsewhere.
On the other hand, so far only young talents like Lennert Belmans, Aaron Dockx, and Dutchman Remijn from their own development team have been added. The high turnover within the team is likely due not only to the factor of success but also to the search for a second title sponsor. Moreover, Alpecin-Deceuninck maintains strict financial discipline and is not engaging in a bidding war that has evidently taken place recently, driven by teams like Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.
Senna Remijn - photo: Cor Vos
It was quiet at Intermarché-Wanty and Lotto, but on Thursday it became clear why. Both teams are discussing a merger. Lotto had been urgently seeking a second title sponsor, but multiple talks fell through. Recently, the two teams met at the highest administrative level to discuss this merger. What that means for contracts at both teams and under what license they will race is currently unknown.
It is clear that not much happened at Intermarché-Wanty. Tour debutant Roel van Sintmaartensdijk has extended his contract by two years. They also want to keep Francesco Busatto, but he is attracting interest from other teams—Alpecin-Deceuninck is reportedly in pole position according to HLN. All other riders with expiring contracts are currently on hold at the Walloon team, but for how long remains uncertain.
There were hardly any transfer rumors around Lotto either. With Jarno Widar, they secured an absolute top talent for stage racing. The talented climber Milan Donie (nephew of former cult hero Wim Van Huffel) and classics talents Matys Grisel and Mathieu Kockelmann had already been locked in for next season. The common factor among these four is that they all come from Lotto's development squad. It is currently unclear whether those agreements will remain valid.
Lotto's development team has produced many talents over the years, including Alec Segaert and Brent Van Moer. Both hardmen are leaving the team. Segaert is moving to Bahrain Victorious (bringing along almost half of Lotto's current performance staff), while Van Moer is joining the ambitious Q36.5 Pro Cycling. Arjen Livyns is reportedly also considering a possible transfer, according to Radio Peloton. This definitely won't be the last we hear about this potential merger.
Another team so quiet you could hear a pin drop is Picnic PostNL. The Dutch WorldTeam is in danger of relegation but seems to be standing tall at the Tour. Romain Bardet recently left, and it’s still uncertain whether the team will fill his spot again. There have been superficial talks with Benoît Cosnefroy, but no imminent agreement is in sight. Otherwise, it's fairly quiet in terms of new names at the Dutch team.
At least one rider is leaving: Tobias Lund Andresen is on his way to Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. There’s also notable interest in Kevin Vermaerke, primarily from UAE Emirates XRG. Dutch riders Gijs Leemreize and Tour debutant Tim Naberman seem set to stay with Iwan Spekenbrink’s team. So far, only 26-year-old Irishman Dillon Corkery is mentioned as a newcomer to Picnic PostNL.
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale is very active on the transfer market. Besides Kooij, Benoot, and Lund Andresen, they are strengthening with Cees Bol (XDS Astana) and Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek). The name of Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) is also circulating in French media. French champion Dorian Godon is moving to INEOS Grenadiers, and Armirail is joining Visma | Lease a Bike. Clément Berthet is heading to Groupama-FDJ, where he will reunite with Simone Velasco (XDS Astana) next year.
INEOS Grenadiers can soon count on new sponsor TotalEnergies. That makes Godon's move logical. Moreover, the British team is in pole position to sign Tour revelation Kévin Vauquelin and also sprinter Sam Welsford from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. The German team is in an impasse due to the possible arrival of Remco Evenepoel. He reportedly wants to bring Mattia Cattaneo along, while Josef Černý’s name is also being mentioned at Radio Peloton. And Gianni Vermeersch is joining from Alpecin-Deceuninck.
Jonas Koch might receive interest from UAE Emirates, while Movistar is chasing signatures from Roger Adria (and Juan Pedro López and Raul García). The deal with Evenepoel fell through last year because he wanted to bring Gianni Moscon along. Moscon is expected to remain. Whether that also applies to breakthrough rider Florian Lipowitz is currently unclear. Primož Roglič’s contract is also expiring. There were rumors he would sign for two more years, but given his somewhat vague statements this Tour and the possible Evenepoel deal, we're not so sure yet.
Another strong block is Lidl-Trek. Apart from the lifetime contract extension with Mads Pedersen, it remains somewhat quiet on the American front. Matthias Vacek has also extended his expiring contract. Young Swede Jakob Søderqvist is coming up from the development team, and Matthias Norsgaard transfers from Movistar. Tim Declercq has heard that he probably won’t get a new contract. Hoole is leaving for Decathlon AG2R, and Alex Kirsch will ride for Cofidis next year.
Matej Mohoric - photo: Cor Vos
Matej Mohorič is staying put: he renewed his expiring contract with Bahrain Victorious. Spring revelation Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ) capitalized on his classics form with a move to Israel-Premier Tech. At the ProTeam level, Tudor Pro Cycling made a major move by signing Askey’s teammate Stefan Küng. But it’s mainly Q36.5 Pro Cycling that is active, as they seem ready to make a move for Gloag from Visma | Lease a Bike.
Alongside Hermans, Meurisse, and Van Moer, Eddie Dunbar and Chris Harper (both Jayco AlUla) are heading to the Swiss ProTeam. And then there’s the coup of Unibet Tietema Rockets, which is acquiring Dylan Groenewegen and Elmar Reinders from the Aussies. While earlier in this piece some teams seemed to be experiencing a (small) exodus, Jayco AlUla outshines them. As many as fifteen (!) of the seventeen riders with expiring contracts are reportedly leaving there.
Undoubtedly to be continued…
