With all the kits now revealed, rider schedules announced and transfer market effectively frozen, the WorldTour season kicks off in less than a week’s time in Australia at the Tour Down Under.
Now that things are starting to look certain, let’s try to gaze into our crystal ball and see what to expect from every men’s WorldTour team. We’ll try and read between the lines of rider ambitions, transfer market assumptions and past results to pin down who we think the best teams will be on WorldTour next year.
Each of the 18 teams will receive a school exam-like grade based on their team roster for 2026. Plus, we will also put our necks on the line and make a bold prediction for every team, whether that be Tour de France glory or a stage victory at Paris-Nice.
Be warned, this one is certainly a long read. So grab yourself a ketone drink before we get stuck in.
Alpecin-Premier Tech
After winning the race for Premier Tech’s chequebook, Alpecin-Premier Tech keep hold of their two stars despite the name change.
Yes, Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen look primed to anchor this team once more, often complementing each other across the calendar. Once he gets off the muddy fields of Belgium, Van der Poel will likely switch to the road by the time the Classics come around. His schedule hasn’t been revealed yet, but we can expect him to tackle Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix once more. History dictates that Van der Poel will gain a fourth victory in a row, that’s if Pogačar hasn’t figured out the Roubaix cheat codes by then. Looking later on into the calendar, it’s hard to envision another yellow jersey stint at the Tour de France, but a Vuelta cameo has been rumoured.
Philipsen’s season looks similarly predictable. With the support of a Van der Poel-backed leadout train, the Belgian will pick up a waft of sprint victories throughout the calendar before targeting a green jersey at the Tour de France. He’s not left a Tour without a stage victory since 2021. There are at least six opportunities at the Tour de France in July, so expect history to repeat itself. Philipsen hasn’t fully revealed his calendar either, but he could drop into the Giro d’Italia as it starts with a sprint stage. This would give the ‘Vlam van Ham’ the rare accolade of wearing the leader’s jersey at three Grand Tours back to back.
Besides the two frontmen, the team looks willing to give Tibor Del Grosso more leadership opportunities. He’s been thriving in cyclocross, and he had a couple of flashes of brilliance on the road in 2025. Give him more of a bone and he could become an important figure in the Classics. Likewise, new recruit Florian Sénéchal seemed to have dried up at Arkéa-B&B Hotels, but with a new lease of life, he will be an important cog in Alpecin’s Classics core and sprint train.
The team still lacks GC potential, but that’s hardly limited their results over the past five years. Buckle up for another year of sprint victories and one-day wins.
Prediction: Mathieu van der Poel wins Paris-Roubaix again
Squad grade: B
Bahrain Victorious
Bahrain Victorious/Charly Lopez
After their worst season in the team’s near decade-long history, Bahrain Victorious have made some changes for 2026. They’ve swapped out Merida bikes for Bianchi and they’ve darkened their jersey to a navy colour. Cosmetics beside, the team look quite content to be mid-table again in 2026.
A quiet transfer cycle has seen the team pick up just a couple of WorldTour names. That said, the team’s existing arsenal is no stranger to picking up the odd WorldTour win or two.
In the Classics though, the team will have to rely on Matej Mohorič for top tens after the departure of Fred Wright in the autumn. The Slovenian had a disappointing season in 2025, but he’s slimmed down his schedule for 2026 to focus on Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders. At Strade Bianche, Attila Valter will be on hand after moving across from Visma. The Dutch team gave the Hungarian a bit of a career boost, so it’ll be interesting to see how he hits the ground at Bahrain.
As for the team’s GC ambitions, hope seems to be pinned on Antonio Tiberi for the Tour de France. The Italian hasn’t raced the Tour before, but he’s shown signs of being a consistent candidate for a top ten finish at a Grand Tour. That’s really what Bahrain Victorious need. Almost every year since their inception, they’ve ever left with a stage victory or a top ten overall. Tiberi, in my mind, could scrape into tenth or ninth, which would be an adequate outcome for the squad.
The Giro d’Italia, historically the team’s best Grand Tour, will be fronted by two-time stage winner Santiago Buitrago and the retiring Damiano Caruso. This pair sound excting on paper and a top ten is well within their reach.
Prediction: Santiago Buitrago wins a Grand Tour stage
Squad grade: B
Decathlon-CMA CGM
Decathlon-CMA CGM/Pauline Ballet
Decathlon welcomed shipping firm CMA CGM as co-sponsor and, in turn, signed everyone under the sun, from sprinters to climbers. The end result is a much more well-rounded squad, and a more international one at that.
For me, the team’s sprinting division now looks among the best in the WorldTour. Olav Kooij leads their new sprinting ambitions, flanked by a superstar leadout of Cees Bol, Tiesj Benoot and Daan Hoole. Not only that, the team has brought in Mark Renshaw, previously at XDS-Astana, and former pro Heinrich Haussler to bolster expertise in the team car. Together, this train looks formidable, and Kooij has a good chance of rivalling the likes of Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and Jonathan Milan. He’ll get an early chance to show this off at the UAE Tour, but I sense a Tour de France stage coming Kooij’s way later in the year.
Understandably, there’s a lot of hype surrounding Paul Seixas as well. The 19-year-old will start the season in Portugal before tackling a host of one-day races, including Strade Bianche and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. While his expertise on the gravel remains unknown, the former could certainly work to his strengths if we look back on his impressive performances in the twilight of the 2025 calendar. It’s still to be decided whether Seixas will make his Grand Tour debut this summer. Some have speculated a Tour de France start, but I think the pressure might be too great for him to make his Grand Tour plunge on home turf. Instead, there could be an opening at the Vuelta or Giro, although I reckon Decathlon would like to keep him in good health ahead of the Italian Classics late in the calendar, but the lack of a GC leader at the Tour de France leaves the door open in case he decides otherwise.
That said, the team still have a fair few options for GC results. Matthew Riccitello, who turns 24 this spring, is already down to ride the Vuelta a España, where he finished in fifth place overall last autumn. Otherwise, Felix Gall, who finished in fifth at last year’s Tour de France, has the Giro d’Italia on his diary. A pair of top ten results are well within reach for the pair, especially the experienced Gall, who seems to have found his feet as a GC rider.
On the whole, I’m very optimistic.
Prediction: Felix Gall finishes inside the top five of the Giro d’Italia and Paul Seixas debuts at the Tour de France
Squad grade: A
EF Education-EasyPost
Gruber Images
Dressed in their now iconic pink, EF Education-EasyPost enjoyed one of their best seasons to date in 2025. They bagged a WorldTour Classic at Dwaars door Vlaanderen, made the podium of a Monument at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, won three Grand Tour stages, finished on the podium at the Giro and wore the Tour de France’s yellow jersey. All in all, this felt like the possible ceiling for a team that lacks the same firepower or budget as Visma-Lease a Bike, UAE Team Emirates XRG or Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
The team’s stand-out Ben Healy performed above and beyond in 2025, proving to be one of the best riders in the WorldTour outside the superstar names of Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar. It’ll be a tough ask to replicate last season, but he’s betting on familiarity by copying his Classics and Tour de France focus once more.
The Classics could bring some success, perhaps with another podium finish at Liège-Bastogne-Liège if it becomes an attritional battle between Pogačar and Evenepoel. Strade Bianche, on the other hand, feels like an open door for exploration, given the testing nature of that race, although its course length isn’t as long as the profiles Healy has historically succeeded on. Given Richard Carapaz is giving the one-day races a miss this year too, Healy is likely to be on his Jack Jones at the head of affairs there.
The Tour de France has some Healy-friendly stages, but he’s not as likely to be offered a big leash in the breakaway after his yellow jersey stint and top ten overall at the 2025 race. Judging from precedent, it’s also rare for a rider to replicate such a unique Tour the year after those lofty successes – just think about Warren Barguil, Julian Alaphilippe or Thomas Voeckler. In fairness, Healy isn’t cursed with a French-sized burden to deal with.
Elsewhere, hopes will be pinned on Carapaz for a big result at the Giro d’Italia, especially after his ferocious final week at the 2025 edition. In the expected company of Vingegaard, first place seems a bridge too far, but Carapaz’s aggressive style could jolt the strategy of João Almeida, who climbs at a far more tempered rhythm. The only downside to this podium fight, however, is a hefty 40km of time-trialling, which could see the former Olympic champion lose two minutes to his main rivals.
Outside of the Healy and Carapaz duo, the squad will probably pick up a couple of decent victories along the way in 2026. Neilson Powless is a reliable figure in the early phase of the season, while the team’s younger prodigies like Georg Steinhauser and Madis Mihkels could step up to the plate.
Prediction: Healy podiums Strade Bianche
Squad grade: B
Groupama-FDJ United
Groupama-FDJ United
It’s hard to feel excited about Groupama-FDJ United in 2026. Last year, they brought home just two WorldTour victories and only one top ten finish in the GC at a WorldTour stage race. Needless to say, this left Groupama-FDJ United towards the bottom of the UCI standings at the end of the season.
Ahead of 2026, only a few transfers were made. Instead, they lost a key Classics asset in Stefan Küng. That leaves the team with only one real talisman for the upcoming year: Romain Grégoire.
Rather cruelly, the team are putting Grégoire through the shredder for the first part of the 2026 calendar. He’s down to take part in the minor Italian Classics, every Monument bar Paris-Roubaix, and the Ardennes triple. Fatigue could be an issue here, especially in this day and age of slimmed-down programmes, but Grégoire has shown signs of developing into one of the world’s best puncheurs. If I were his team bosses though, I’d scrap the Flemish Classics from his schedule and focus purely on those punchy Ardennes profiles. There, he could become a customary figure on the podium like Maxim Van Gils a few years ago.
In the GC department, there’s little optimism. David Gaudu enjoyed a strong start to the 2025 Vuelta, but his form seemed to have toppled completely come the first mountain tests. This highlights a real inconsistency the Frenchman has had at Grand Tours since his top five finish at the 2022 Tour de France. Perhaps returning to France will help him find some form as he makes his Tour return this July. For now, I’m sceptical of forecasting a top ten for Gaudu, or his teammate Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, whose move to Groupama seems to have fallen flat on its face.
Otherwise, the only positive premonitions I can make for this team are in the sprints with Paul Penhoët. He’ll probably bag some more WorldTour top ten finishes and several wins on home soil in the domestic division. However, this won’t be enough to keep spirits high at this often volatile squad.
Prediction: Romain Grégoire podiums La Flèche Wallonne
Squad grade: D
Ineos Grenadiers
Ineos Grenadiers
Ineos Grenadiers have been pro cycling’s punching bag for two or three years now. Given the team’s decline since the end of its winning spree of the 2010s and early 2020s, the former juggernauts have been finding it hard to carve out a clear identity within the pro peloton. Luckily for them, a successful transfer window and a, let’s say, unique shade of bib shorts have kept them in the forefront of our minds coming into 2026.
In the Grand Tours, things seemed to have picked up for Ineos over the winter after Oscar Onley was signed with the intent to lead the team’s Tour de France squad. After his fourth place finish last year, expectations will be sky high for the Scot to reach the poidum, which seems overly ambitious given the strength of the Tour’s startlist in 2026. A more probable outcome is a top ten finish there, with Kévin Vauquelin on hand for extra support.
Hopefully Onley’s signing will allow Carlos Rodríguez a chance to stretch his legs elsewhere after a few disappointing punts at the French race. He could perform well at the Giro or Vuelta, but so could Thymen Arensman, who may relish the large amount of time-trialling on offer at those two Grand Tours.
That neatly takes me into my overarching theme for Ineos in 2026: GC consistency. Thymen Arensman, Oscar Onley, Carlos Rodríguez and Kévin Vauquelin all have it in them to finish within the top five of week-long stage races. If they get spread out across 2026, this could be Ineos’s greatest strength.
Prediction: Podium finishes at Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico
Squad grade: A-
Jayco-AlUla
MAAP
Jayco-AlUla start the 2026 season with a bit of a roster shake-up. Dylan Groenewegen, Eddie Dunbar and Chris Harper, all recent Grand Tour stage winners, have headed elsewhere, leaving this squad to lick their wounds in a scattergun shopping spree of breakaway riders and usual domestiques.
Nevertheless, Ben O’Connor leads the charge in the mountains after what he described as a ‘frustrating’ year in 2025. The Australian has therefore ditched the Tour de France and chosen to return to the Giro, perhaps in an attempt to emulate his strong result in 2024. Perhaps I’m being harsh here, but I don’t see any scenario where O’Connor returns to that fourth place spot. Instead, I reckon he’ll dangle in the lower ranks of top ten, or maybe win a stage after being dropped in the overall fight. Disappointing that might be, but it’s realistic.
Otherwise, the team have nominated Luke Plapp and Michael Matthews as the best hopefuls for Tour glory, whether that be stages or the GC. In fairness, Matthews won a stage at both the Giro and Tour just a few years ago, but only a real optimist would predict the same fortune at the 2026 Tour de France. Otherwise, Luke Plapp has almost no chance of reaching the top ten overall. Instead, he’s stated that he’ll act as a ‘stage hunter’, perhaps using Ben Healy’s 2025 Tour de France as a crib sheet.
Naively, this team is pinning its GC hopes in Plapp at the Vuelta. Alright, there’s 42km against the clock, but Plapp has almost no record in GC at Grand Tours or stage races. In fact, his record across the board is incredibly patchy. In that case, I can only hope Paul Double gets drafted in to make his Vuelta debut.
To my eyes, I see Jayco as real mid-table fodder in 2026. They lack a GC winner, a genuine sprint contender or a Classics champion. What they’re left with is an EF-like roster of wildcards. Some of those, I’m thinking Dries De Bondt, Andrea Vendrame and Alessandro Covi, have more of a chance of winning a WorldTour race than the likes of O’Connor or Plapp.
Prediction: Andrea Vendrame wins a Giro stage
Squad grade: C+
Lidl-Trek
Lidl-Trek/Ross Bell
After claiming a clean sweep of points jerseys at Grand Tours in 2025, Lidl-Trek have shifted their focus to the Grand Tours, mainly courtesy of cycling’s favourite bad boy Juan Ayuso.
The Spaniard’s schedule is still to be unveiled to the public, but the Tour de France is expected to be the big goal. While a podium sounds like a stretch for Ayuso, who has never finished the Tour before, he could be a feature in the mid to lower ranks of top ten. While I say that, I hold some reservations. Ayuso has proven unreliable when it comes to Grand Tours. Maybe it’s just bad luck, or a curse within UAE Team Emirates, but I’m nowhere near brave enough to declare him a podium contender or a fixture for the white jersey. Instead, I think he’ll find success elsewhere, likely at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes or Itzulia Basque Country.
The last-minute signing of Derek Gee-West provides some optimism at the Giro d’Italia, on the other hand. The back-loaded route plays to Gee-West’s strengths, plus a lengthy time-trial should see him size up a top five come the race’s finale in Rome. Given the improved team strength at Lidl-Trek compared to his previous home Israel-Premier Tech, some extra mountain support should only be an advantage to the Canadian.
Now the team has the manpower to score a couple of Grand Tour top tens – dare I say, more likely from Gee-West than Ayuso – the more reliable results stem from the team’s two top scorers from 2025: Mads Pedersen and Jonathan Milan. The latter will return to the Giro, which is littered with sprint finishes in the opening two weeks. There’s even the chance to pull the maglia rosa on Stage 1, so he may use that as an opportunity to rewrite the woes of Lille at last year’s Tour de France.
Mads Pedersen will likely podium a few more Monuments, but he needs to go all-in when it comes to Milan-San Remo. He improved his climbing last year in the build-up to La Classicissima, so he needs to copy and paste that same form this March to finally join the Monument club. As for the Grand Tours, I doubt the Dane will be able to add a maillot vert to his palmarès once he lines up for the Tour de France in Jonathan Milan’s absence.
While Classics podiums and sprint victories seem guaranteed, I think the main storyline will be centred on how Lidl-Trek appease its new flock of leaders in the coming years once ambitions start to evolve.
Prediction: Jonathan Milan wins the maglia ciclamino
Squad grade: A
Lotto-Intermarché
Lotto-Intermarché
A new name for 2026, Lotto and Intermarché join forces in what can only be described as the least anticipated merger ever seen on the WorldTour stage. In all honesty, I have no idea how this team will fuse in 2026. Albeit, it’s certainly more Lotto than Intermarché looking at the roster, and factoring in some of the key exits like Gerben Thijssen, Louis Barré and Biniam Girmay.
Grand Tours have never been Lotto’s forte, but a stage win is a reasonable target. Lennart Van Eetvelt and Arnaud De Lie seem the most obvious candidates for this, with both scheduled to start the Tour de France. Van Eetvelt may even be at the Giro if our early-season rumours are to be believed, which could prove an exciting prospect for the young Belgian.
As for De Lie though, a Classics win seems more likely than a Grand Tour stage. In the absence of the usual Classics superteams in that spring block, the Belgian could find his way onto the podium at races like Omloop Het Nieuwsblad or Gent-Wevelgem, although a Monument win seems a long way down the pipeline for the 23-year-old.
That aside, the team have kept hold of many of its reliable figures on the domestic scene. While riders like Milan Menten are hardly going to win a WorldTour race anytime soon, he’s certainly a figure you should consider for the packed Belgian one-day calendar and minor stage races. Likewise, some of Intermarché’s reliable scorers have also made the transition, with Lorenzo Rota and Georg Zimmerman standing out amongst a fairly weak roster.
Parking negativity to one side, keep your eyes on Jarno Widar. The Belgian has been electric in the under-23 ranks, akin to Juan Ayuso (dare I say), and he’s set for a big WorldTour debut at Itzulia Basque Country in the spring. He’s only 20, but nothing surprises me these days.
Prediction: Widar finishes top ten at Itzulia Basque Country
Squad grade: D
Movistar
Movistar Team/Gobik
Movistar had a below-average 2025 season for their recent standards. They may have picked up some impressive solo wins courtesy of Iván Romeo at the Dauphiné and Javier Romo at the Tour Down Under, but the squad failed to pick up a Grand Tour stage or a top five finish at a Grand Tour. That said, they remained in the mid-table ranks at several big WorldTour stage races. In that regard, they felt very middle-of-the-road in 2025.
That could soon change given the arrival of Cian Uijtdebroeks, the young Belgian phenomenon, who finished inside the top ten at the Vuelta a España at 20 years old. Now in the white of Movistar, he will line up as the team’s leader for the Tour de France, as well as the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Paris-Nice. After two years blighted by injury, it’s hard to tell where his form is, so I’m hesitant to declare a certain top ten. If anything, I feel a finish in the teens is far more likely. However, it will be interesting to see if he jumps back on track to where he was in 2023 and 2024, when he was consistently in the top ten of WorldTour stage races. Now aged 22, he should start to pick up some traction results-wise.
With the Belgian’s arrival, Enric Mas has been selected for the Giro d’Italia in 2026. The Mallorcan rider has always been a bit of a yo-yo in terms of form, with a distinct late-season peak for the Vuelta and Italian Classics. In that case, I’m unsure on how Mas’s debut Giro will go, but if it’s down to results alone, he should be able to fight for a top ten overall. That said, the large amount of time-trialling and a lack of killer mountain stages outside the final week could be to his detriment. This is no Vuelta, after all.
Otherwise, I see another season in the middling ranks of the UCI standings. Since they have no real chance in the cobbled Classics, I think it’s best for Movistar to stage hunt in WorldTour races using the expertise of Iván Romeo, Pablo Castrillo and Einer Rubio. Raúl García Pierna showed some great signs last year at Arkéa, but Spanish signings have often become complacent since pulling on Movistar colours. Believe me, there are plenty of case studies for that even within their current roster.
Prediction: Enric Mas finishes top five in the Vuelta a España
Squad grade: C+
NSN Cycling Team
NSN Cycling Team/Chris Auld
Well, this team stuck by their word and completely rebranded ahead of 2026. Now known as NSN Cycling Team, an acronym for ‘never say never’, the Swiss-registered squad have managed to patch some of the wounds left by a murky 2025 season.
After a conveyor belt of high-profile exits, the roster now boasts Biniam Girmay. The Eritrean may have been underwhelming in 2025, but he has bounced back from poor seasons before. While it’s unknown what his racing schedule will look like this year, we can assume another Tour de France is on the cards. Fair enough, a green jersey is going to be hard to replicate, but a couple of top five finishes seem well within his reach.
Girmay is not the only sprinter, however. Ethan Vernon looks in a good place to continue picking up minor sprint victories, with a Vuelta stage victory maybe within reach come September. Corbin Strong, on the other hand, is far more versatile and should be considered for hilly and cobbled Classics. If his previous performances are anything to go by, a top ten in Milan-San Remo seems very achievable in 2026, as should a stage at a race like the Tour de Romandie.
The sprinting contingent definitely outshines this team’s GC potential however. There are no clear candidates for a top ten at a Grand Tour. Matthew Riccitello and Derek Gee-West have gone out the door, and Alexey Lutsenko looks well off his previous pace at Astana. With that, this team should channel their inner Alpecin-Premier Tech and double down in the sprints and Classics.
Prediction: Corbin Strong wins his first WorldTour race
Squad grade: D
Picnic-PostNL
A.S.O./Billy Ceusters
This team is entering palliative care, in my opinion. It’s got a pitiful roster, a rare chance of victory and a real chance of relegation in three seasons’ time. I don’t see any avenues for big results here. I mean, only two of Picnic riders managed to finish inside the top 200 of the UCI rankings.
In a GC regard, the team has suffered some big losses over the past 12 months as Romain Bardet and Oscar Onley have left. This leaves poor old Max Poole to search out top tens, something he struggled to do in 2025. To make matters worse, he was diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus in August, so there’s no real idea on how the Brit will bounce back. Elsewhere though, there’s nobody else that looks like a genuine candidate for a top ten finish in a UCI stage race.
In the Classics, the team has very little manpower. Frank van den Broek has the skills to morph into a Classics contender, but I’m not convinced he wants to go down that road, given he has only appeared at one Monument since turning professional. The squad has to hope for the best with its youngsters, or hope for a revitalisation of its elder statesmen. However, it’s been a decade since John Degenkolb last podiumed a Monument, so they can’t exactly bank on him to roll back the clock.
The team’s sprinters are probably the best wing of the Picnic roster. Casper van Uden took a stage victory at the Giro last May, so he’s at least jumped that first career hurdle. His teammate Pavel Bittner did the same two years ago. He is just 23 years old, and has been showing subtle signs of progress over the past year, scoring six top three finishes in WorldTour sprints during 2025.
A couple of podium finishes aren’t enough though. This team looks destined to struggle in 2026. It may even take a miracle for them to reach 2027 in one piece.
Prediction: Picnic-PostNL score the fewest amount of UCI points in 2026
Squad grade: E
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe made the defining signing of the transfer window, scooping up Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel. What this has left them with, on the other hand, is a team packed with several Grand Tour leaders. In fact, Evenepoel joins a quartet of Red Bull riders who found themselves in the top ten of a Grand Tour last year.
The team have divvied up their numerous leaders, offering Evenepoel and Lipowitz joint leadership duties at the Tour de France. The less said about that here, the better. As for the Giro, Hindley and Pellizzari will pair up as leaders at the Grande Partenza in Bulgaria, leaving Primož Roglič to search out a record-breaking fifth Vuelta a España victory.
Out of the three Grand Tours, Roglič’s Vuelta bid seems the most hopeful for an overall title. Yes, the Slovenian is supported by a weakened field of competitors lacking a star name like Vingegaard or Pogačar, but he’ll no doubt be up to speed once his Spanish autopilot kicks in. Remember, he’s only lost two Vueltas in his career (and one of those was to his teammate).
Outside of the Grand Tours, Evenepoel will lead the team into a busy block of Spanish racing before switching his focus to the Ardennes come April. Sadly, early talk of a Tour of Flanders debut seems to have been squashed in recent weeks.
That takes us into the Classics, where the team seems to have a real deficiency when it comes to leaders. In fairness, that’s mostly in reference to the cobbled Classics, which are bolstered by a clique of young riders like Laurence Pithie and the Van Dijke twins. As for the Ardennes, the team is in OK stead thanks to Evenepoel. The Belgian has played second fiddle to Pogačar for the past two seasons, so it’s logical to assume that he’ll podium at a Monument at some point in 2026.
Prediction: Remco Evenepoel podiums Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but falls short of a podium at the Tour de France
Squad grade: A
Soudal-QuickStep
Soudal-QuickStep/Wout Beel
In their post-Remco era, the team has returned to its old ways in prioritising the Classics and sprints.
When it comes to those bunch finishes, the team are in good hands with Tim Merlier, who looks primed for another year bagging upwards of ten pro victories. The Belgian will head to the Tour, so he should pick up a stage or two, but I don’t expect him to break his habit of dodging the points classification. Paul Magnier and Alberto Dainese offer two good alternatives for podium finishes at the Giro and Vuelta, so the Wolfpack should be back to business in 2026.
Where I see this team thriving though is in the Classics. Yes, it’s been a while since QuickStep reached the top ten of a cobbled Monument – three years in fact – but the recent reinforcements could seriously regenerate this team’s fortunes on the pavé. Dylan van Baarle jumps on board after a mixed few seasons at Visma. He may be past his peak, but QuickStep has been known for giving a riders a second wind later in their career. Similarly, Jasper Stuyven provides a really strong card to play in one-day races, especially since he’s now unleashed from former teammate Mads Pedersen. Plus, with both Visma-Lease a Bike and Alpecin-Premier Tech depleted in their Classics department, this should open the door to a QuickStep renaissance come spring.
While a big emphasis has been placed on those more Benelux disciplines, I’m unconvinced of this team’s GC potential. Ilan Van Wilder and Stef Cras could deliver a fifteenth place at the Tour de France, but that’s not what this team is looking for moving forward.
Prediction: Jasper Stuyven wins Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Squad grade: B+
UAE Team Emirates XRG
UAE Team Emirates XRG
I’ll be blunt with this one. UAE Team Emirates XRG’s race schedule is quite terrifying, to be honest. At least one prong from the leader trident – Isaac del Toro, Tadej Pogačar or João Almeida – will be on the start line every UCI WorldTour stage race in 2026, bar the Tour Down Under and the Renewi Tour. If they stay upright and in good health, they should podium every single one of those races.
They may not win them all. I’m not so confident Almeida will pick up a Grand Tour this year, but podiums at both the Giro and Tour are very realistic. Similarly, Del Toro is still something of an unknown quantity as a sole leader at a week-long race, although at this point I’m trying to find reasons to doubt myself.
I’ve been avoiding it, but it seems obvious to me that Tadej Pogačar will continue his tirade in 2026. He’s heading to the Classics once again, with Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Flanders nailed on for a first or second place finish. He’s diversified his pre-Tour programme with the Tour de Suisse and Romandie, but that shouldn’t stop him from claiming another yellow jersey in Paris.
Whether it’s Grand Tours, Classics or stage races, UAE Team Emirates will surely dominate once more. Sprinting may be their achilles heal, but I doubt that’s going to linger in our minds when we reflect on another record-breaking season this time next year.
Prediction: A record-breaking UCI points haul
Squad grade: A+
Uno X Mobility
Uno X-Mobility
Uno X punched well above their weight last year. They secured their first WorldTour win, Grand Tour stage and top-level Classic. It’s going to be hard to follow this up, but who am I to question the power of momentum?
While they’re still getting to grips with WorldTour life, the team will be at ease when it comes to the Classics. The core of hardy Scandinavian rouleurs should thrive on the cobbles, with Søren Wærenskjold the clear stand-out. The Ardennes may be a little trickier, but Tobias Halland Johannessen has picked up some decent results on the punchier Classics in recent years.
The Grand Tours are where it gets interesting. Halland Johannessen has the green light for the Tour de France, as does Magnus Cort. Torstein Traen’s Vuelta top ten shouldn’t be ignored either. A Giro or Vuelta start would suit him well and give the team some hope outside of the Tour. Part of me worries that the squad isn’t strong enough to fill two Grand Tour rosters, a bit like Arkéa-B&B Hotels before. However, I think this team will impress enough in the Classics and Tour de France for us to forget about an underwhelming Vuelta.
That said, I could be judging this team too lightly. They still feel streets behind the rest of the WorldTour in terms of quality, and they’re not underdogs anymore. Perhaps a crafty transfer window could see them become genuine contenders for Monuments instead of a novelty act.
Prediction: Jonas Abrahamsen wins a stage of Paris-Nice
Squad grade: D-
Visma-Lease a Bike
Visma-Lease a Bike
It’s been a fascinating couple of weeks for Visma-Lease a Bike. First, the team closed the transfer window with its weakest field of intakes since 2020. To follow that up, Wout van Aert snapped his ankle in a cyclocross race, then they were hit with the news of Simon Yates’s retirement just one week into the new year.
Despite all these hurdles over the past few weeks, Visma-Lease a Bike are confident in their Grand Tour ambitions. Jonas Vingegaard is expected to ride the Giro d’Italia in May, a race he should enter as the out-and-out favourite. Although the team’s mountain support looks more deflated than it has since Vingegaard took over the reins in 2022, the Dane should win the maglia rosa with relative ease.
His Tour de France, on the other hand, looks like a bigger challenge. Without Yates, Visma’s mountain train appears a few pegs below that of UAE Team Emirates. Add into the equation a bullish Matteo Jorgenson, who has been clear in his objective to claim a Grand Tour stage in 2026. A prestigious stage victory for the American could help to lift spirits, but I sense a rocky three weeks in France for Visma.
While two Grand Tour podiums look within Visma’s grasp, the Vuelta is still unaccounted for. They could play it as stage hunters, which would quite frankly be a breath of fresh air, but with all the casualties in the transfer window, there’s no obvious leader for the race. Perhaps this could be the chance to test out Matteo Jorgenson as a leader, or a reprisal of Sepp Kuss’s miracle race from three years ago.
As for the Classics, the team are again struck by some key departures. Tiesj Benoot and Dylan van Baarle have both parted ways with the Dutch squad, and it’s uncertain as to whether Van Aert will recover in time for the cobbles. This leaves Matthew Brennan to step up as team leader, but he may need to balance the team’s sprint goals given the departure of Olav Kooij.
This is Visma-Lease a Bike at the end of the day, so they’re almost certain of some high-profile victories throughout the year. However, 2026 is going to be nowhere near the same level as 2025.
Prediction: Jonas Vingegaard wins the Giro d’Italia
Squad grade: A-
XDS-Astana
XDS Astana/SprintCycling
2025 was a real turning point for XDS-Astana. Not only did they fend off what felt like an inevitable relegation, they sailed into the top five in the year-end UCI rankings. The brakes haven’t been pulled either. Most of the squad have stayed on board for 2026, and the team even dropped a pre-season rap, which is surely an indicator of some newfound confidence.
Even though UCI points are no longer the imperative goal, the squad aren’t willing to break their formula. If anything, it looks like it’s getting copied if we look at the riders’ schedules alone. For instance, Lorenzo Fortunato was a kingpin of the lower top ten at WorldTour stage races last year. He’s being put to work in that department again in 2026, which includes another Giro cameo.
In the Classics, this team overperformed in 2025. Having kept hold of Mike Teunissen, Alberto Bettiol and Davide Ballerini over the winter, more top tens at Gent-Wevelgem and E3 Saxo Classic should come their way. Don’t expect podium finishes, but consistent results seem to be the key to Astana’s success these days.
Outside of the WorldTour, XDS-Astana will be all over minor Italian races like a rash. Expect Simone Velasco, Clément Champoussin and our team of the year nominee Cristian Scaroni to light up races like Trofeo Laigueglia and the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes. Even though Cees Bol left for Decathlon during the transfer window, Ballerini and Gleb Syritsa are sure to hold the fort when it comes to those flatter one-day races too.
While this doesn’t scream WorldTour glory, it’s UCI points galore.
Prediction: Lorenzo Fortunato wins a Giro stage
Squad grade: C
