The 10 best cycling transfers of 2026: Evenepoel leads, but who else delivered?

Evenepoel left because Soudal Quick-Step could not build him a team capable of challenging for the Tour de France. He had finished third in 2024 with a squad largely assembled around the classics, and closing the gap to the support Pogačar enjoyed at UAE Team Emirates-XRG was always going to be difficult. Red Bull needed a Grand Tour leader as Primož Roglič moved past 35, and had the budget to build a team around one.

Tim Heemskerk joined as his trainer in May. After Liège-Bastogne-Liège, rider and team committed to a training block focused entirely on July, and Evenepoel did not race again before the Tour started.

He finished second in Paris, 6:26 behind Pogačar, and won two stages. He then claimed a fourth consecutive world time trial title in Montréal, before adding the European road title in Šenčur, edging Giulio Ciccone in a photo finish and completing his collection of major championship jerseys. Victories at the Amstel Gold Race, a record fourth Clásica San Sebastián and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec added to an outstanding debut season.

Evenepoel tops the list because no other transfer delivered quite the same combination of championship titles and Grand Tour success. Belgian coach Serge Pauwels, however, believes his Tour performance was even more significant than the titles.

“He was very close to Pogačar’s level there. He beat him uphill a few times and that must give him a lot of hope for the future,” Pauwels said.

“Remco can conclude from that not only that he can go toe to toe with the best Pogačar, but also that when Pogačar isn’t there, he can always go for overall victory in a Grand Tour.”

Decathlon did not retain him. Godon had won the French title, the Brabantse Pijl and the Coppa Bernocchi for them, yet was still being left out of Grand Tours and Monuments as the team built around Paul Seixas. Netcompany-Ineos had Filippo Ganna and a squad of climbers, but lacked a reliable finisher. They signed Godon to a three-year deal in August 2025.

Seven wins followed, five at WorldTour level: stage 7 of Paris-Nice, stages 1 and 3 of the Volta a Catalunya, the prologue and stage 3 at the Tour de Romandie, followed by the Gran Premio del Lazio in September and the Gran Piemonte in October. Only four riders in the peloton took more WorldTour victories across the year, and Godon finished as his team's highest-ranked rider.

The middle of his season was far less successful, with six abandons in seven race days at one point and four months between his victories in Romandie and Lazio. He nevertheless managed top-ten finishes at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Tour de France.

At Visma, Kooij faced increasing competition for opportunities, particularly with the emergence of Matthew Brennan. Decathlon, meanwhile, were building an ambitious project around Paul Seixas but also wanted a sprinter capable of delivering victories at the highest level. They signed Kooij and strengthened their lead-out with the arrivals of Cees Bol and Daan Hoole.

The move paid off immediately. Kooij claimed seven victories in his first season, including stages at the Boucles de la Mayenne, the Baloise Belgium Tour and the Tour of Britain, as well as wins at the Grand Prix d'Isbergues and Münsterland Giro.

His biggest success came at the Tour de France, where he won stage 5 in Pau on his debut in the race. The Dutchman went on to finish on the podium in five stages, underlining his consistency against the world's leading sprinters. He also took third overall at the Renewi Tour.

Kooij gave Decathlon a winning option on terrain where the team had previously lacked firepower. His first season showed that the squad could pursue its general classification ambitions without sacrificing results in the sprints.

Visma recruited Piganzoli as a promising rider with plenty of room to develop. He had finished third at the 2023 Tour de l'Avenir behind Isaac del Toro and Giulio Pellizzari, won the Tour of Antalya in 2024, and placed 13th and 14th in two editions of the Giro d'Italia. His results pointed to a talented climber with the potential to become a serious GC contender.

Grischa Niermann highlighted that potential at the time: “Davide is a rider in whom we see a lot of potential. We want to grow with him to the next level as a GC rider.”

Of all the riders on this list, Piganzoli arguably exceeded expectations the most. He claimed five victories in his first WorldTour season, starting at La Route d'Occitanie in June, where he launched a solo attack with 36 kilometres remaining on the queen stage to Loudenvielle and went on to secure the overall title.

In September, he won the time trial at the Tour de Luxembourg and sealed the general classification two days later. In October, he added the Giro dell'Emilia, attacking on the descent from San Luca with 4.8 kilometres remaining and holding a nine-second advantage over Tom Pidcock, with Oscar Onley third.

Polti VisitMalta had given him three seasons and a Giro top fifteen. Visma offered him a three-year contract through 2028 and a role behind Jonas Vingegaard and Matteo Jorgenson. By October, he was winning Italian classics on his own terms.

Stuyven spent more than a decade at Trek and won Milan-San Remo there in 2021. In his later years, opportunities became increasingly limited behind Mads Pedersen and Jonathan Milan, two riders targeting many of the same finishes. At 34, he had fewer chances to ride for his own results. Soudal Quick-Step, meanwhile, needed classics strength and an experienced lead-out rider.

He took a podium at Paris-Roubaix and finished second at Paris-Tours behind Per Strand Hagenes, while becoming one of the most effective lead-out riders in the peloton for a team that won stages at all three Grand Tours. He also made significant progress in the world rankings.

Stuyven's fifth place reflects both his individual results and his contribution to Soudal Quick-Step's wider success. His Paris-Roubaix podium showed he could still compete at the highest level in the classics, while his work in support of teammates underlined the value of his experience. 

For Soudal Quick-Step, the Belgian proved to be a valuable addition in more ways than one.

Jayco signed Pascal Ackermann, leaving Groenewegen's position uncertain. Unibet Rose Rockets needed a proven winner who could help them secure invitations to bigger races, a crucial objective for an ambitious ProTeam.

Groenewegen made an immediate impact, winning the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana in January before enjoying a remarkable week in March. He won the Bredene Koksijde Classic, followed by the GP Jean-Pierre Monseré two days later, and completed his hat-trick at the Tour of Bruges, securing the first WorldTour victory in the team's history.

He also played a prominent role in Unibet Rose Rockets' Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia, recording three top ten stage finishes, including third place on stage 3. Later in the season, he finished second to Tim Merlier at the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen and again at the Eneco Tour.

Four victories, including a WorldTour success, represent an impressive return for a 33-year-old sprinter stepping down a division. His performances at the Giro added another dimension to a successful first season, helping Unibet Rose Rockets make their mark on cycling's biggest stage.

After seven seasons with Groupama-FDJ, Küng joined Tudor Pro Cycling as one of the team's most experienced signings. The Swiss squad was looking to strengthen its ambitions at the highest level, with Küng bringing proven time trial ability, classics experience and a strong reputation in the peloton.

His first season almost came to an abrupt end when he fractured his femur in a crash at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February. After several months of recovery, he returned to racing in June and quickly rediscovered his form.

In August, Küng claimed his first victory in Tudor colours, winning the final time trial at the Tour de Pologne. A month later, he delivered an even bigger result, taking victory in the 32.1km time trial at the Vuelta a España, his second stage win at the Spanish Grand Tour.

Two WorldTour victories represented an impressive comeback from a serious injury and provided Tudor with significant results in their first season together. For Küng, the move brought renewed success after a difficult start, while Tudor gained a rider capable of delivering on some of cycling's biggest stages.

Decathlon let him go in the same clear-out that saw Godon, Armirail, Benoît Cosnefroy and Sam Bennett depart. Groupama-FDJ United needed to strengthen their squad, and Tronchon arrived with room to develop.

He won stage 10 of the Vuelta a España in Elche de la Sierra on 1 September, succeeding in a reduced bunch sprint. It was his only victory of 2026 and the team's only Grand Tour stage win of the year, in a season where Clément Berthet's top-ten finish overall and Guillaume Martin's late-career form were among the other highlights.

For Groupama-FDJ United, Tronchon's Vuelta stage victory was a rare highlight in a difficult season. At just 24, the Frenchman also has plenty of room to develop, having previously won Tro-Bro Léon in 2025 and a Vuelta a Burgos stage as a stagiaire in 2022, when he outsprinted Pavel Sivakov.

After eight seasons with Decathlon, Cosnefroy made the move to UAE Team Emirates-XRG following a difficult 2025 campaign in which injuries had severely restricted his racing programme. The Frenchman arrived with a strong reputation in hilly one-day races, having previously won the Bretagne Classic, Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Brabantse Pijl.

The change of team helped him rediscover his winning form. Cosnefroy claimed five victories in 2026, starting with the Grand Prix du Morbihan in May. He followed that with a stage win at the Tour de Hongrie, before taking a stage and the overall classification at the Boucles de la Mayenne.

He also showed his strength in the Ardennes, finishing third at both Brabantse Pijl and the Amstel Gold Race, followed by fourth at La Flèche Wallonne. Later in the season, he added the Coppa Sabatini in Italy, his fifth victory of the year, and further podium finishes at the Trofeo Matteotti and Giro del Veneto.

For a rider whose previous season had been heavily disrupted, five victories and a return to the podium in major classics represented a significant turnaround. Cosnefroy gave UAE another proven option for hilly races and demonstrated that he could still deliver his own results in one of the strongest squads in the peloton.

Visma lost several experienced riders ahead of the 2026 season, including Tiesj Benoot and Dylan van Baarle, and needed to reinforce their squad with dependable riders capable of supporting their leaders across a demanding calendar. Armirail arrived from Decathlon with extensive Grand Tour experience and a reputation as one of the peloton's strongest rouleurs.

The Frenchman had already won three national time trial titles and worn the pink jersey at the 2023 Giro d'Italia, but his value to Visma extended beyond his individual ambitions. His ability to set a high pace for long periods made him a useful addition to a team regularly expected to control races.

Armirail completed both the Tour de France and Vuelta a España in his first season with Visma, combining his supporting duties with several strong individual performances. He finished eighth in the Tour's individual time trial and seventh against the clock at the Vuelta, before taking silver at the European Time Trial Championships in October.

Although he ended the season without an individual victory, Armirail provided Visma with experience, versatility and strength against the clock. In a squad built around Grand Tour ambitions, those qualities made him a valuable addition, even if his contribution was less immediately visible than that of the team's race winners.