Some represent over a hundred riders, others just a few. But whether influencing teams’ transfer and talent development, or negotiating early exits, agents are a major power behind the scenes.
Cor Vos
They don’t wear team kits, line up for stage starts, or climb podiums, but they are among the most powerful and wealthy people in the sport. In a business where the difference between a two-year deal and a lifetime contract can hinge on a single phone call, cycling’s rider agents have quietly built empires and have their fingers in just about everything.
Figures from the UCI state that there are currently 103 registered agents, with 13 agencies each representing more than 30 riders. (Fancy becoming one? Sit and pass the UCI exam – next chance: June 2026 – and hey presto, you can represent cyclists from across the globe.)
Use of agents only became near-universal in cycling in the late 2000s – before then, it was seen as something that only the biggest superstars would need or even want, with riders otherwise content to negotiate their own contracts.
Some still do nowadays – Michael Woods did for many years – and other riders hand over contract talks to close family members. Remco Evenepoel is managed by his father, Patrick; Alberto Contador’s affairs were looked at by his brother Fran; Demi Vollering is represented by her fiancé Jan de Voogd; and Adam Yates by his wife Lisa.
But the self-representation that was once the norm is now the exception. As Jasper Philipsen and Juan Ayuso have realised in recent years, it pays to ditch the family member and employ an agent if you want to move teams early or secure a significant pay raise.
Their clients are the sport’s biggest names, and their signatures move millions. Prowling the backrooms of Monaco and the paddocks of Flanders, these brokers of speed and status are reshaping who gets paid and how much.
Escape Collective has spoken to those in the know and compiled a list of cycling’s most powerful agents – and by extension, some of the most influential men and women in the sport.
Alex Carera
Alex Carera (left) is Tadej Pogačar’s agent.
Co-founder of the A&J Sports agency with his brother, Johnny, the Italian is sometimes referred to as the richest man in cycling. Carera has been an agent since 1997, and the family company now represents more than 100 cyclists. Carera has brokered multimillion Euro deals for Chris Froome, Alessandro Pettachi, and Vincenzo Nibali in the past, and more recently secured Tadej Pogačar a reported €8.4 million annual contract until 2030 at UAE Team Emirates-XRG. With most agents taking 5% commission of a rider’s earnings, when additional sponsorship revenue is factored in, Carera pockets around €500,000 from Pogačar’s net salary every year. And that’s just one rider.
Carera can regularly be seen strolling around team buses and podium ceremonies, and even hosts an end-of-year celebration and padel tournament in northern Italy for his riders and invited guests, including journalists. He likes the attention and the glamour, and team managers can’t escape his power and influence. As with the transfers of Cian Uijtdebroeks (twice) and Maxim Van Gils in recent years, when riders want something, they employ Carera, and he delivers the goods.
Number of riders: 100+
Notable clients: Tadej Pogačar, Jasper Philipsen, Isaac Del Toro, Biniam Girmay, Antonio Tiberi, Guilio Ciccone
Tadej Pogačar eyeballing this author during Alex and Johnny Carera’s party last November. We probably shouldn’t share images of what was a private event, but look at how dapper young Tadej looks!
Giuseppe Acquadro
Wind the clock back five years ago and Acquadro was giving Carera a good run for his money as the sport’s most influential agent. He was – and can be argued still is – the go-to agent for the best Spanish and Latin American riders. He engineered big-money contracts at Ineos Grenadiers for Egan Bernal, Richard Carapaz, and Dani Martínez, and for many years was responsible for most of Movistar’s transfer recruitment.
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