Wout Poels will be a rocket in 2026 🚀 Photo courtesy of SWpix.
Hi Subscribers,
We have a new batch of rider transfer analysis this morning, and I’ll provide in-depth analysis on the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes routes that will be announced later today.
We also have an exclusive with Matt White in the works.
Have a great day.
Daniel 🫶
Read more: Cycling Transfers: Contract and team updates for 102 unlisted WorldTour riders
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Wout Poels 🇳🇱
From: XDS Astana
To Unibet Rose Rockets
Contract length: One year
Rewind a year, and I was always surprised that Bahrain Victorious let Wout Poels walk out the door. Granted, he was advancing towards the twilight of his career, but after signing a number of neo-pros and younger riders, keeping Poels almost seemed essential – especially since he was still competitive.
When he joined XDS Astana at the start of 2025, it felt like a partnership of convenience. Poels needed a team, and Vino’s squad required anyone with two legs who could earn UCI points. In the spring of this year, it seemed as though this might be Poels’ final term in the pro peloton, but when I spoke to his agents later in the year, they didn’t seem so sure, which gave me the impression the 38-year-old was still eager to race. Of course, there were hurdles – his age, the fact that the WorldTour teams often prioritise younger or less expensive riders, and the fact that many teams are folding or merging. The market is rough, and not many general managers are looking for a rider close to 40.
It’s unclear at the moment whether XDS Astana wanted to keep Poels for another year, but by last Friday, we began to hear that the Rockets were an option. Decathlon were apparently also in the mix, which made sense given that Poels shares rider representation with Olav Kooij and a handful of riders who have also made the journey to the French team for next year. When we asked the Rockets about the chances of signing Poels on Friday, they neither confirmed nor denied, but it was clear that talks had taken place. He could have already signed at that point, but that’s a moot point now because the Dutchman has signed for 2026.
With Unibet Rose Rockets stepping up to the plate next year with a fuller race calendar and a potential Tour spot, the arrival of Poels makes a huge amount of sense. Even though the team have improved for next season, the squad is lacking when it comes to experienced stage racers, and with 25 Grand Tours in the bank, Poels certainly ticks that box. Okay, he’s no longer the rider who won Liege-Bastogne-Liege a decade ago, but that’s not what the Rockets have signed him for.
Instead, they’ve picked up a veteran rider who can chaperon the younger riders on the team and be a voice of calm experience on the bus when their backs are against the wall. The team’s youngest rider, Matyáš Kopecký, was six when Poels made his pro debut with Vacansoleil back in 2009, and the team will no doubt lean on that knowledge when it comes to establishing the next phase of their development. For Poels, he has one more year in the pro ranks, a respectable race programme, and the chance to have a bit of fun and maybe even pick off a few more targets before likely hanging up his wheels at the end of the season.
I genuinely like this transfer. Poels isn’t the best rider on the market, and his arrival is a short-term answer to an important question, but it’s a good fit for everyone concerned.
Transfer grade: A-
Embret Svestad-Bårdseng 🇳🇴
From: Arkéa – B&B Hotels
To: Ineos Grenadiers
Contract length: Three years
If you’d asked me which riders Ineos Grenadiers needed to target at the start of the season, I could have probably drawn up a list of 20-30 names before landing on Embret Svestad-Bårdseng. If you’d asked me to draw up a list of five Norwegians they needed to target, then he might have made the cut, but the point is, he wasn’t an obvious target. So when we broke the news that Ineos had signed him to a lengthy contract back in the summer, it certainly came as a surprise.