There are 13 British and Irish riders without a confirmed contract yet for the 2026 season. We cast our eyes over a list that includes strong domestiques with years of experience in the professional peloton, leadout train extraordinaries, national champions and young stars.
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British
Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers)
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Ben Swift was racing in the professional peloton when the jersey for the Vuelta a España general classification leader was gold. Take that in for a second. The 37-year-old has enjoyed a lengthy career mostly as a rider for Ineos Grenadiers on the road – save for the one year periods with Katusha in 2009 and UAE Team Emirates in 2018. All this experience has solidified him in a leader role with the squad, particularly with their influx of young riders.
Swift re-signed for two years in 2023, with no rumours on whether retirement or more time in the peloton is on the cards.
Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost)
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Preston doesn’t have much going for it. But it does have the bus station, Freddie Flintoff and Hugh Carthy. The Lancastrian scored a podium at the 2020 Vuelta a España after taming the Angliru as well consecutive top 10 finishes at the Giro d’Italia in 2021 and 2022.
Unfortunately Carthy hasn’t been able to replicate these dizzying heights, last winning in 2021. This season he was forced into three consecutive stage race abandons in the Volta Catalunya, Itzulia Basque Country and Tour of the Alps.
James Shaw (EF Education-EasyPost)
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EF Education-EasyPost is the squad housing most of the riders on this list. James Shaw penned his signature in 2022 and burst into life at the 2023 Tour de France where he was fifth over the line on the Tourmalet stage. This year he raced to third overall at the Région Pays de la Loire Tour.
Lukas Nerurkar (EF Education-EasyPost)
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21-year-old Lukas Nerurkar is approaching the end of his two-year contract with EF Education-EasyPost, and in that time he has raced to second on a stage of the Coppi e Bartali, third on a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné and is currently riding his debut Grand Tour of the Vuelta a España.
When your dad and godfather are both Olympians, it’s easy to see how a love of sport can come about.
Jack Rootkin-Gray (EF Education-EasyPost)
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Jack Rootkin-Tootin’ Gray is another young rider at just 22 years of age. He joined the WorldTour last season from British Continental squad Saint Piran with the short-term aim of embracing the new scenery and the long term goal of being competitive in the Classics.
Daniel McLay (Visma-Lease a Bike)
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Daniel McLay signed a one-year deal for Visma-Lease a Bike to work as a leadout man for Olav Kooij after Mike Teunissen moved to XDS Astana. Kooij won the opening stage of the Tour of Pologne with McLay helping. He will be leaving the team at the end of the season, though, and is on the hunt for pastures new.
Thomas Gloag (Visma-Lease a Bike)
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Visma-Lease a Bike signed Thomas Gloag initially as a stagiaire before he settled in as a more permanent fixture from 2023. His first race this year was the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, where he almost won the mountainous Stage 4, before he made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia. But he was then hit by a car driver while recovering from fatigue and endured a shattered kneecap that ruled him out for the remainder of the season.
His 2024 season unfortunately followed a similar vein. Gloag had only clocked 10 racing days by the time he fractured his elbow in a training crash towards the end of August. Upon yet another return following an injury setback, he rode to eighth overall at the Tour Down Under this season.
James Knox (Soudal-QuickStep)
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After his second place at the U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2017 for Team Wiggins, James Knox stepped up to the WorldTour with Soudal-QuickStep for the following season and hasn’t looked back. He raced to 11th overall at his debut Vuelta a España in 2019 then seventh overall at Tirreno-Adriatico in 2020, but his stay with the squad is less about personal results and more about working for the Wolfpack and its team leaders. If things are relatively quiet for domestiques, it’s likely they’re doing a very good job.
Matt Walls (Groupama-FDJ)
Groupama-FDJ
Olympic omnium champion Matt Walls moved from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe to Groupama-FDJ at the beginning of 2024 after placing more emphasis on the road over track in recent years. Like a few others in this list, he has been affected by injuries including a hip fracture that hampered his 2023. He sprinted to third on the opening stage of the Tour Down Under this season.
Irish
Sam Bennett (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale)
With stage wins across all Grand Tours and a couple of smaller Classics in Brugge-De Panne and Eschborn–Frankfurt, Ireland’s Sam Bennett is the most prolific name on this list in terms of results. He signed for Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale in 2024 on a two-year contract and went on to dominate the 4 Jours de Dunkerque (which was actually six stages), winning four days and the overall.
This season he has claimed a couple of victories at the Région Pays de la Loire Tour and Tour de la Provence but 2.1 races appears to be his ceiling now.
Ryan Mullen (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
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Ryan Mullen is certainly consistent. All his wins in the past seven years come from his National Championships, with four time-trial titles and a road race crown in that time. He is a key engine in a leadout train for anyone looking, helping deliver Bennett to sprint finishes before his teammate’s departure.
Archie Ryan (EF Education-EasyPost)
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After moving from the Visma-Lease a Bike Development Team, Archie Ryan joined EF Education-EasyPost in 2024 and has been a strong stage racer ever since with a second place finish at both Coppi e Bartali and Tour of Austria plus top 10 finishes at the Tour de l’Ain and Lidl Deutschland Tour.
He was flying at the Vuelta on debut by being part of the breakaway on Stage 9 and notching an immensely strong fourth place on Stage 10’s summit finish before his early abandonment through injury. He’s one to watch for the future.
Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost)
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Irish Road Race Champion Darren Rafferty also stepped up to the WorldTour in 2024 and quickly finished second on the opening time-trial stage of O Gran Camino then sixth overall at Trofeo Laigueglia. With two Grand Tours under his belt, he’s making steady progress and helped Richard Carapaz to a podium finish at the Giro.
Note: Owain Doull is technically out of a contract, but Daniel Benson and Wielerflits have reported his move to join Visma-Lease a Bike next season.
