{"id":334663,"date":"2025-12-08T09:57:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T09:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/334663\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T09:57:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T09:57:08","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8-ranking-the-top-100-cycling-transfers-ahead-of-2026-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/334663\/","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8 Ranking the top 100 cycling transfers ahead of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Has Eddie Dunbar done enough to crack our top-twenty transfers? Photo courtesy of SWpix.<\/p>\n

The middle stretch of any transfer ranking is often where the real story of an upcoming season begins to take shape. The headline moves draw the attention, but it\u2019s these signings – the quietly shrewd pickups, the calculated risks, the riders searching for a better fit – that tend to reveal the direction teams are heading and the margins they hope to exploit.<\/p>\n

The group from 40 to 16 is full of those inflexion points. Some riders are chasing a reset after stalled momentum; others are stepping into bigger roles, or finally finding a structure that suits what they\u2019ve always hinted they could be. There are prospects being fast-tracked, veterans trying to squeeze more from the final years of their prime, and teams taking measured swings at upside they believe hasn\u2019t yet been unlocked.<\/p>\n

Taken together, these moves offer a clearer picture of how the 2026 peloton might actually race – which teams will be deeper, which riders might reshape a spring campaign or a Grand Tour, and where the competitive balance could subtly, or not so subtly, shift.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get into the next set of names. This was, without a doubt, the hardest section to rank because the margins between 20 and 14 were really tough.<\/p>\n

Part one: \ud83d\udea8 Ranking the top 100 cycling transfers ahead of 2026 – Nos 100-71<\/a>
Part two: \ud83d\udea8 Ranking the top 100 cycling transfers ahead of 2026 – Nos 70-41<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow me on: Twitter<\/a> \ud83d\udfe2 \u2014 Instagram<\/a> \ud83d\udd34 \u2014 Bluesky<\/a> \ud83d\udd35<\/p>\n

40 – Fred Wright \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7
From: Bahrain – Victorious
To: Pinarello – Q36.5 Pro Cycling<\/p>\n

After six years at Bahrain Victorious, it was time for Wright to make a move. His time on the team hadn\u2019t gone poorly, but at 26, he needed to break out of his comfort zone and try to reach the next level. There are no guarantees that a transfer will ensure sucess, but Wright looks like an excellent fit for Pinarello – Q36.5 Pro Cycling. He\u2019ll have a team that\u2019s more dialled towards attacking one-day races, and the aim must be to turn some of those top-tens – he had over a dozen in 2025 – into wins. He\u2019ll align alongside Tom Pidcock and several other British riders on the team, and no doubt have a Classics and Tour de France-based programme. I really thought Ineos Grenadiers would be up for this move. <\/p>\n

39 – Andrea Vendrame \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9
From: Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
To: Team Jayco AlUla<\/p>\n

Jayco have basically guaranteed either winning a Giro stage or coming close with the signature of Vendrame. He\u2019s racked up a top ten in each of the eight Giros he\u2019s raced and won two stages. He\u2019ll provide results from January through to October, and while I don\u2019t quite see him racing as a climbing domestique for Ben O\u2019Connor in the same way the team might do, I still think they\u2019ve brought in a high-quality rider who helps give them a different dimension in specific finishes and races.<\/p>\n

38 – Quinten Hermans \ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddea
From: Alpecin-Deceuninck
To: Pinarello – Q36.5 Pro Cycling<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old finished second in Liege back in 2022, and has won the odd race here and there, but he\u2019s been signed to reinforce the Classics core around Tom Pidcock at Pinarello – Q36.5 Pro Cycling. He had an excellent end to the 2025 season, with a string of top-tens, and when it comes to those punchy finishes, or even a race like Milan-San Remo, where Pidcock was isolated this year, he\u2019ll be able to provide cover and assistance.<\/p>\n

37 – Roger Adri\u00e0 \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8
From: Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
To: Movistar Team<\/p>\n

With the team taking on a greater emphasis at Grand Tours and the cobbled Classics, Roger Adri\u00e0 found himself on the fringes of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, but their loss is Movistar\u2019s gain. I think Adri\u00e0 is a great rider, and if you look at his results, he offers teams so much, either in breakaways or reduced group finishes, from the Ardennes to the late Italian one-day races. Should he win more with the talents at his disposal, absolutely, but at Movistar, a new approach and style of racing should benefit the 27-year-old. If you look at how he raced in Tirreno-Adriatico this year, he was on the front foot and in the mix for stage wins. Seems like a rider who, with the proper guidance, could be a winner in early-season races like the Tour Down Under and the Tour of Oman. <\/p>\n

36 – Lewis Askey \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7
From: Groupama – FDJ
To: NSN Cycling Team<\/p>\n