It’s Jessie Diggins’ final season in the “peloton.”
Cor Vos
Hello and happy Tuesday. Thank you for reading this week’s newsletter, and happy first Cross Country (Skiing) World Cup week! We’re inching closer to the 2026 (cycling) season which means team rosters are almost set in stone and new kits will start to trickle out as riders make their way to December training camps. The big question on my mind: with Lidl taking over majority ownership of Lidl-Trek, will the kit change after a few years of the same?
First things first: More early-team camp photos emerge
The Wheel Talk Discord is at it again. This time they’ve snagged IG story pics from VolkerWessels and also from EF Education-Oatly’s trip to get pizza in Girona. Shoutout to Steve and Matt for screenshotting those and to Peter, the most knowledgeable person on the Discord, admins included.
VolkerWessels from top left to right: Lonekke Uneken, Laura Molenaar*, Vera Tielemans, Tirza Wisse, Eline Jansen, Anne Knijnenburg, Sophie von Bersworth, Scarlett Souren, Malou Eisen, Amber van der Hulst and Esmee Peperkamp. Bottom: Florien Bolks, Anneke Dykstra, Maud Rijnbeek, Maaike Boogard, Bodine Vollering, Sabrina Stultiens, and Meis Poland*
*Peter said he was unsure about these two, and after scanning social media and the VolkerWessels FirstCycling page I am nearly sure that he’s right, but we will see when the team officially announces the roster. There are 18 people in this photo but officially the Dutch ProTeam has only announced 11 riders for next season (all Dutch), with five new riders coming in (Bolks, Peperkamp, Tieleman, Van der Hulst, and Von Berswordt). Most of the others pictured but not listed officially would be re-signed from the 2025 season, not new additions.
The EF Education-Oatly photo, taken by Kristen Faulker, is a lot harder to pick apart but the Discord did their best. From left clockwise: Magdeleine Vallieres, Alexandra Volstad, Babette van der Wolf?, ?, Auke De Buysser?, ?, Kim Cadzow, Alexis Ryan, Alice Towers, Mirre Knaven, ?, Nina Berton, Cédrine Kerbaol, Noemi Rüegg
There but harder to tell: Stina Kagevi, Minke Solbjørk Anderson.
Can you do any better? Who doesn’t love a good challenge?
Transfers update
SD Worx-Protime announced a few updates to their 2026 team. As of now, Barbara Guarischi is the latest to extend her contract with the team. The lead-out expert will continue through the 2027 season with SD Worx-Protime, great news for Lorena Wiebes for when she does occasionally need a little help in the finale. They’ve also announced the addition of Valentina Cavallar from Arkéa-B&B Hotels through 2028, a fantastic signing.
Valentina Cavallar on the attack during the second stage of Itzulia last year.
Cavallar has had a few breakthrough performances the past two seasons, including second overall at the Tour Féminin des Pyrénées last year and third overall this year, a win at the Alpes Gresivaudan Classic (1.1), and eighth overall at the Vuelta a Burgos. She finished seventh in the Alpe d’Huez stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift last year, which definitely would have turned some heads.
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