The 2026 season is coming closer and closer and lots of riders remain without a contract for the 2026 season. Some do, but are not publicly revealed by their teams. But amongst those who aren’t known by the public to have a sitting contract for the upcoming year are the likes of Biniam Girmay, Richard Carapaz, Chris Froome, Derek Gee and Michal Kwiatkowski.
In the World Tour there are different situations developing. The Intermarché – Wanty riders are included in the 79-rider list, and it is still not certain at this point in time which riders will make it into the Intermarché-Lotto merger, which will inevitably lead to a difficult situation for those who don’t find a contract. Riders like Taco van der Hoorn, Gerben Thijssen and Georg Zimmermann are included in that; so is Biniam Girmay but the Eritrean has reportedly signed with the new NSN Cycling Team and an announcement is expected for soon.
Then there is EF Education-EasyPost, reportedly having 29 riders under contract for 2026, but publicly they only have 22. The American team does not share the contract duration of all its riders for an unknown reason, and the list suggests that riders such as Richard Carapaz, Archie Ryan and Lukas Nerurkar remain without a contract – whilst this is not actually the case and the team has already gathered in Spain.
We’ve got other riders present here such as Michal Kwiatkowski who is rumoured to extend his contract with INEOS Grenadiers; Fernando Gaviria who should join Caja Rural – Seguros RGA; Torstein Traeen who should join Uno-X Mobility and Florian Sénéchal who is heading to Alpecin-Deceuninck. However simultaneously, there are high-quality riders such as Ben Swift, Esteban Chaves, Ruben Guerreiro, Jack Haig, Sam Welsford and Clément Venturini who are legitimately still looking to find a team towards the 2026 season, and face the possibility of retiring too.
Derek Gee’s future continues to be uncertain
At ProTeam level there is the very specific case of Derek Gee, who was put in a legal battle against Israel – Premier Tech due to the termination of his contract with the team. The team is no more, and its license has been bought out, which leaves Gee in further position of confusion. He looked set to sign with INEOS Grenadiers but the former owners of the Israeli team’s legal dispute is still in the way of the Canadian. IPT also has Chris Froome on the verge of retirement after many years without results and a recent crash which left him with extensive injuries.
Riders without an public contract for 2026OrderRiderTeamAgePCS Career Points1 KWIATKOWSKI MichałINEOS Grenadiers35115082 CARAPAZ RichardEF Education – EasyPost3283433 CHAVES EstebanEF Education – EasyPost3562054 GAVIRIA FernandoMovistar Team3160995 GIRMAY BiniamIntermarché – Wanty2549386 SWIFT BenINEOS Grenadiers3848717 PASQUALON AndreaBahrain – Victorious3743328 HAIG JackBahrain – Victorious3243059 SÉNÉCHAL FlorianArkéa – B&B Hotels32423710 CARTHY HughEF Education – EasyPost31371311 VENTURINI ClémentArkéa – B&B Hotels32324612 GUERREIRO RubenMovistar Team31311513 ROTA LorenzoIntermarché – Wanty30290414 THIJSSEN GerbenIntermarché – Wanty27241415 SMITH DionIntermarché – Wanty32241316 ZIMMERMANN GeorgIntermarché – Wanty28198317 HAMILTON LucasINEOS Grenadiers29194218 VAN DER HOORN TacoIntermarché – Wanty31184519 VERMOTE JulienTeam Visma | Lease a Bike36165020 ČERNÝ JosefSoudal Quick-Step32159521 WELSFORD SamRed Bull – BORA – hansgrohe29147222 HEPBURN MichaelTeam Jayco AlUla34145723 PEDRERO AntonioMovistar Team34128524 MARIT ArneIntermarché – Wanty26124925 TRÆEN TorsteinBahrain – Victorious30123326 GOGL MichaelAlpecin – Deceuninck32114927 CEPEDA Jefferson AlexanderEF Education – EasyPost27103428 COMBAUD RomainTeam Picnic PostNL34100429 BARRÉ LouisIntermarché – Wanty2599930 VAN HOECKE GijsIntermarché – Wanty3497931 SHAW JamesEF Education – EasyPost2991732 RUTSCH JonasIntermarché – Wanty2785933 EDMONDSON AlexTeam Picnic PostNL3185434 GOOSSENS KobeIntermarché – Wanty2980135 RYAN ArchieEF Education – EasyPost2477336 SCOTSON MilesArkéa – B&B Hotels3177237 RIVERA Brandon SmithINEOS Grenadiers2976338 GUERNALEC ThibaultArkéa – B&B Hotels2874839 FOLDAGER AndersTeam Jayco AlUla2472740 BUSATTO FrancescoIntermarché – Wanty2367441 BONNEU KamielIntermarché – Wanty2666742 VAN TRICHT StanAlpecin – Deceuninck2663443 BRAET VitoIntermarché – Wanty2560744 NERURKAR LukasEF Education – EasyPost2258545 VAN BOVEN LucaIntermarché – Wanty2550446 PLOWRIGHT JensenAlpecin – Deceuninck2548347 WALLS MatthewGroupama – FDJ2746048 MACIEJUK FilipRed Bull – BORA – hansgrohe2645849 COLLEONI KevinIntermarché – Wanty2645050 RIES MichelArkéa – B&B Hotels2741051 HEIDUK KimINEOS Grenadiers2538752 UHLIG HenriAlpecin – Deceuninck2437653 LE BERRE MathisArkéa – B&B Hotels2434954 ARTZ HuubIntermarché – Wanty2331555 RAFFERTY DarrenEF Education – EasyPost2231456 HOLLMANN JuriAlpecin – Deceuninck2626857 HUBY AntoineSoudal Quick-Step2426558 BOVEN LarsAlpecin – Deceuninck2424559 BERHE Welay HagosTeam Jayco AlUla2424160 VAN SINTMAARTENSDIJK RoelIntermarché – Wanty2422261 DE POOTER DriesIntermarché – Wanty2322162 STEWART CampbellTeam Jayco AlUla2721063 HELLEMOSE AsbjørnTeam Jayco AlUla2619964 DAVY ClémentGroupama – FDJ2719665 PAQUOT TomIntermarché – Wanty2619566 TU SergioBahrain – Victorious2818167 ROOTKIN-GRAY JackEF Education – EasyPost2315168 THIERRY PierreArkéa – B&B Hotels2214569 PALZER AntonRed Bull – BORA – hansgrohe3214570 VAN DER LEE Jardi ChristiaanEF Education – EasyPost2413171 EPIS GiosuèArkéa – B&B Hotels2312172 LEIJNSE EnzoTeam Picnic PostNL2411573 GUERNALEC VictorArkéa – B&B Hotels2511374 LE HUITOUZE EddyGroupama – FDJ2211175 FAURE PROST AlexyIntermarché – Wanty2110676 EDDY PatrickTeam Picnic PostNL2310477 LOZOUET LéandreArkéa – B&B Hotels219378 KUYPERS GerbenIntermarché – Wanty254779 TODOME YuhiEF Education – EasyPost2336ProTeam riders OrderRiderTeamAgePCS Career Points1 FROOME ChrisIsrael – Premier Tech40146592 SOSA Iván RamiroEquipo Kern Pharma2823523 ABERASTURI JonEuskaltel – Euskadi3623194 CONTI ValerioTeam Solution Tech – Vini Fantini3219495 GEE DerekIsrael – Premier Tech2819186 JANSEN Amund GrøndahlUno-X Mobility3115607 TAMINIAUX LionelLotto2914028 TIZZA MarcoWagner Bazin WB3312319 FABBRO MatteoTeam Solution Tech – Vini Fantini30101210 DE TIER FlorisWagner Bazin WB33100711 VAN ROOY KennethWagner Bazin WB3297812 CARBONI GiovanniUnibet Tietema Rockets3095413 RAJOVIĆ DušanTeam Solution Tech – Vini Fantini2890014 FORTIN FilippoTeam Solution Tech – Vini Fantini3683615 SCHWARZMANN MichaelIsrael – Premier Tech3478916 BEULLENS CedricLotto2872817 ERIKSSON LucasTudor Pro Cycling Team2968918 WEEMAES SashaWagner Bazin WB2757019 STOKBRO AndreasUnibet Tietema Rockets2856820 TSARENKO KyryloTeam Solution Tech – Vini Fantini2549621 VAN DE PAAR JarneLotto2547622 CURRIE LoganLotto2440923 JACKSON GeorgeBurgos Burpellet BH2540624 VIVIANI AttilioTeam Solution Tech – Vini Fantini2939725 REYNDERS JensWagner Bazin WB2739626 VAN POUCKE AaronTeam Flanders – Baloise2731327 BABOR DanielCaja Rural – Seguros RGA2628628 BOMBOI DavideUnibet Tietema Rockets2526629 BALMER AlexandreTeam Solution Tech – Vini Fantini2524630 ANGULO AntonioBurgos Burpellet BH3323331 DE CASSAN DavideTeam Polti VisitMalta2321632 FERNÁNDEZ Miguel ÁngelEquipo Kern Pharma2818833 MEENS JohanWagner Bazin WB2618334 DE VYLDER LindsayTeam Flanders – Baloise3017635 GONZÁLEZ Roberto CarlosTeam Solution Tech – Vini Fantini3113936 SCALCO MatteoVF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè2113437 GEENS JonasTeam Flanders – Baloise2612638 INKELAAR KevinUnibet Tietema Rockets2811839 LÓPEZ DE ABETXUKO AndoniEuskaltel – Euskadi2611140 VILLA GiacomoWagner Bazin WB239841 SAMUDIO CarlosTeam Solution Tech – Vini Fantini288142 PINAZZI MattiaVF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè247843 IACCHI AlessandroTeam Solution Tech – Vini Fantini266544 BONIFACE LucasTeam TotalEnergies255445 VANDEVELDE YentlTeam Flanders – Baloise255346 CLYNHENS ToonTeam Flanders – Baloise244347 MATTHYS LoukaWagner Bazin WB252748 AZPARREN EnekoitzQ36.5 Pro Cycling Team232349 HUYET BaptisteUnibet Tietema Rockets252050 DELGADO DavidBurgos Burpellet BH251751 MEO Felix JamesTeam Solution Tech – Vini Fantini281352 BONILLO IkerEuskaltel – Euskadi221153 GERITS VinceTeam Flanders – Baloise281054 KULSET MagnusUno-X Mobility25855 PHIPPEN LoganTeam Novo Nordisk33056 PERCRULE DoriandTeam Novo Nordisk26057 VAN PETEGEM AxandreWagner Bazin WB230