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Teams & Riders The Great Big Cycling Transfers, Extensions, and Rumours Thread

Page 407 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Movistar is offering a 3 year contract and total freedom for stage hunting at GTs
This is about as Unzué a move as it gets. It could only have got better if Castrillo was 30+ and had rode for Movistar without success five years ago.

He's combining his old skill for letting guys he has had in his development sphere go elsewhere only to then pay over the odds to bring them back, as seen with the likes of Óscar Rodríguez, Sérgio Samitier and almost happened with António Pedrero, with a new skill of losing riders he has in his grasp by managing to alienate family members, like with Igor Arrieta.
 
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Earlier this year SD Worx said that they aiming to get another rider who can climb fast uphill.
Given the fact they lost Shackley, NFB and Vollering this year and only replaced it if AvB, and we don't know if she can reach the lvl she had when she was riding, I wonder if SD Worx can manage this goal. Otherwise it would look very slim for GC ambitions next year when looking at their current roster for 2025. Of couse they have Kopecky, but she can ride everything. Also Reusser is still questionable if she stays.

When looking at the field of the riders who fall in this category and have no contract for next year, there are not many left.

Sarah Gigante: probably one of the best and possible options left

Marta Cavalli: Given her injury record not sure if she can get back to her lvl prior to the crash at the Tour 2022. Probably not the best option

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig: Unlikely as there is the rumour she is going to Canyon

Elisa Longo Borghini: Very unlikely. Too expensive and will probably join UAE

Wild guess but also probably not the best options: Silke Smulders, Urška Žigart
 
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There's quite a few people who are good climbers out there who are out of contract, but quite a lot of them, like Magnaldi or Chabbey, are kind of unlikely too. Mikayla Harvey is a reclamation project at best now, and I assume they're after somebody at least semi-proven so precluding a lot of the Avenir types, although somebody like Eline Jansen would fit with their profile, and she is on VolkerWessels who they've raided before. While buying some people out of contract from smaller teams does seem like a viable route, they also seem like an odd team to go to for many of the prime climbing candidates for that, like a Marion Bunel or a Julie Bego. Thalita de Jong might work since she can be deployed however they see fit, but I'm not sure she fits the profile of what they're looking for and she seems happier riding in the smaller teams than she did back when she was fighting for space at the old Rabobank team with Vos, van der Breggen and Ferrand-Prévot.

Monica Trinca Colonel and Nadia Gontova are a couple of riders I had earmarked as earning a better spot, MTC is in her first year of cycling and has been impressive, while Gontova has earned a shot at Europe if she's willing to relocate for it. I did suspect that Movistar might have been her most logical landing spot, with her having a lot of her results in Latin America and them already having a Canadian climber on the books in Olivia Baril, but I'm not sure how much roster space they would have for her.
 
Earlier this year SD Worx said that they aiming to get another rider who can climb fast uphill.
Given the fact they lost Shackley, NFB and Vollering this year and only replaced it if AvB, and we don't know if she can reach the lvl she had when she was riding, I wonder if SD Worx can manage this goal. Otherwise it would look very slim for GC ambitions next year when looking at their current roster for 2025. Of couse they have Kopecky, but she can ride everything. Also Reusser is still questionable if she stays.

When looking at the field of the riders who fall in this category and have no contract for next year, there are not many left.

Sarah Gigante: probably one of the best and possible options left

Marta Cavalli: Given her injury record not sure if she can get back to her lvl prior to the crash at the Tour 2022. Probably not the best option

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig: Unlikely as there is the rumour she is going to Canyon

Elisa Longo Borghini: Very unlikely. Too expensive and will probably join UAE

Wild guess but also probably not the best options: Silke Smulders, Urška Žigart

Žigart has been signed by AGI-QS according to Patrick Lefevere, and Gigante is expected to stay there, but until it's actually confirmed, we won't know for sure.

Cavalli is going to DSM according to Daniel Benson, but that hasn't been announced yet either.
FDJ manager Stephen Delcourt has said he isn't sure she's going to continue at all, but at least pretty much confirming it won't be at his team.

At this point, I have no idea what will happen with Reusser. There was a rumoured offer from Movistar earlier in the year. but now she could just as well choose to retire

I still think SDW should sign Lotte Claes, and then Arkéa can replace her with Ségolène Thomas from Komugi - Grand Est.
 
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There's quite a few people who are good climbers out there who are out of contract, but quite a lot of them, like Magnaldi or Chabbey, are kind of unlikely too. Mikayla Harvey is a reclamation project at best now, and I assume they're after somebody at least semi-proven so precluding a lot of the Avenir types, although somebody like Eline Jansen would fit with their profile, and she is on VolkerWessels who they've raided before. While buying some people out of contract from smaller teams does seem like a viable route, they also seem like an odd team to go to for many of the prime climbing candidates for that, like a Marion Bunel or a Julie Bego. Thalita de Jong might work since she can be deployed however they see fit, but I'm not sure she fits the profile of what they're looking for and she seems happier riding in the smaller teams than she did back when she was fighting for space at the old Rabobank team with Vos, van der Breggen and Ferrand-Prévot.

Monica Trinca Colonel and Nadia Gontova are a couple of riders I had earmarked as earning a better spot, MTC is in her first year of cycling and has been impressive, while Gontova has earned a shot at Europe if she's willing to relocate for it. I did suspect that Movistar might have been her most logical landing spot, with her having a lot of her results in Latin America and them already having a Canadian climber on the books in Olivia Baril, but I'm not sure how much roster space they would have for her.

Gontova was signed by Winspace the other day.
 
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I suggest SD Worx is not the flavor of the month in the women's peleton. They see what has happened with Vollering and see the culture of the team and decide its not for them.

Gigante has renewed with AG Insurance. Zigart is supposed to go to AG Insurance but this is not 100% confirmed. I believe Smulders will stay at Liv jayco.
 

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Is a few guys from Czech, SLovakia or Poland, HUngary who can a handle in PCT teams,
like Dina Marton ( who rode for Eolo kometa), Martin Voltr ( young guy from ATT ), Budzinski Marcin or Piotr Pekala.

but I haven't heard any rumors about them
 
I suggest SD Worx is not the flavor of the month in the women's peleton. They see what has happened with Vollering and see the culture of the team and decide its not for them.

Gigante has renewed with AG Insurance. Zigart is supposed to go to AG Insurance but this is not 100% confirmed. I believe Smulders will stay at Liv jayco.
Benson says Smulders has renewed with Jayco
 
Mathieu Kockelmann to Lotto (devo) as well. Fell off a cliff at Kern-Haus, like pretty much every Auto Eder alumnus, but the talent is there.
you`re right. Dont know what happened to those guys, as they were pretty successfull as juniors. I also think of Schrettl, Barta, Pajur.
Marivoet, Herzog and Hajek seem to have found some kind of success, though.
 
Jonas Rutsch to Wanty INtermarche
Excited about this one. A good piece for Wanty's Classic contigent and a rider whose skillset fits with the team mindset and needs. I think he can take a small leap forward in this structure.

The downside is the fact that he is probably Teunissen replacement, which is not so great since Mike ceiling is obviously higher.

Team looks close to being full for next season with Barré and Van Boven unofficially confirmed and a couple of extensions probably already not announced.

By the way, Felt Felbermayr is folding at the end of the season which is bad news, especially considering they were supposed to join PCT for next season. A shame for Pernsteiner, Zoidl, Heidemann, Kukrle and cia. Not so good to lose a historic team and one of the strongest Conti Teams.
 
So 4th confirmed rider to leave EF.

0 confirmed incoming riders or even contract extensions since the beginning of the year IIRC.
First-time-james-franco-hanging-meme.jpg
 
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Are they so broke they're signing pay-to-ride riders now?

Fun fact: he has two top-10s in pro races in his career, one in the Dutch TT NC and one in the Polish one.

Short answer, absolutely yes.

But I hope his millionaire daddy at least brings in more than just paying for his own son to ride at the team

Mathieu Kockelmann to Lotto (devo) as well. Fell off a cliff at Kern-Haus, like pretty much every Auto Eder alumnus, but the talent is there.

Came as surprise to me when I read it on Wielerflits, but makes sense. Was in a Belgian team already as a first year junior, and he needs a different environment.

Regarding Lotto, also heard the name of Reuben Thompson, who... well... also fell of a cliff the last 2 years. No real confirmation yet about this one tho.
 
What's strange is, both only extended their contract for one year.
Given how young both of them are and the potential I would sign them for more then one year.

With Niedermaier, you could have though it had something to do with the 2026 Winter Olympics and her not being completely sure what her future will look like afterwards, but that obviously isn't the case for Bauernfeind.

There are of course multiple other explanations. Maybe the riders and/or team want to keep their options open. Perhaps the team isn't sure of the size of their budget after next season. Maybe the riders have become big fans/haters of Magnus Bäckstedt and want to wait and see how things are going to go from now on before they commit themselves for longer.