Derek Gee and Oscar Onley, the final pieces of the 2026 transfer puzzle

The 2026 market has already delivered its share of drama, led by the blockbuster transfers of Remco Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso. Most WorldTour rosters are already set, but where Gee and Onley land could still shift the balance for a few teams heading into 2026.

Derek Gee’s situation is among the more unusual of this transfer cycle. The 28-year old Canadian delivered a standout Giro d’Italia this year, finishing fourth overall behind Simon Yates, Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz. In doing so, he confirmed the promise he had already shown in 2024, when he placed ninth at the Tour de France and stepped onto the podium at the Critérium du Dauphiné in the build-up to July.

Gee's momentum was soon overshadowed by events away from the road. In the months following the Giro, Israel-Premier Tech came under sustained scrutiny amid protests and wider controversy connected to Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Against that backdrop, Gee unilaterally terminated his contract, citing an irreparable breakdown in his relationship with team management and serious concerns related to safety and personal beliefs, while the squad maintained his deal remained valid through 2028.

Despite the legal uncertainty, Gee’s performances ensured that interest from teams remained strong. As reported by Daniel Benson, the Canadian was linked to a possible move to INEOS Grenadiers, a team still searching for a new Grand Tour era after a relatively barren run through much of the 2020s. In that sense, the link to INEOS felt less like idle gossip and more like a logical fit.

But by Friday evening, the picture appeared to shift. Daniel Benson reported that Gee is set to join Lidl-Trek, provided he can first extricate himself from his Israel-Premier Tech contract, now racing under the NSN Cycling Team name.

It is expected that the deal will be confirmed soon, and from there it will be fascinating to see where Gee fits inside Lidl-Trek’s growing constellation of leaders. As outlined at the team presentation on Friday, Juan Ayuso and Mads Pedersen are set to headline the Tour de France, while Jonathan Milan is pencilled in for the Giro, with Giulio Ciccone targeting stage wins, while Mattias Skjelmose will combine the Ardennes Classics with a supporting role at the Tour and a leadership slot at the Vuelta.

The key question is what Lidl-Trek ultimately want from Gee. Is he being brought in primarily as Ayuso’s high level support in July, or will he be steered towards his own general classification ambitions, at the Giro or the Vuelta? A split programme is also plausible, but the answer will shape not only Gee’s 2026, it will also reveal how Lidl-Trek intend to balance their new depth across three Grand Tours.

He stayed in the podium fight until the closing stages, yet his Tour run was really just the sharpest proof of a season defined by consistency among the peloton’s top stage racers. Fourth at the Tour Down Under and the Tour of Britain, fifth in the UAE Tour, and third at the Tour de Suisse underlined it.

It is therefore no surprise that his rise has attracted attention from elsewhere. Earlier this week, Cycling Weekly reported that as many as fifteen teams have made inquiries about his availability. It later emerged via Velo that INEOS Grenadiers and Team Picnic PostNL are closing in on an agreement for Onley’s transfer and a deal is expected to be announced in the coming days.

The report cannot be separated from this week’s news around the Dutch team’s licence application, and the fact that the UCI has only granted a one year licence, stating: “The UCI Licence Commission has decided to limit the duration of the licence to one year and to set conditions related to the financial criterion that must be met to permit its extension to the 2027 and 2028 seasons.”

It is also easy to see why the move makes sense for INEOS, beyond the simple fact that Onley is a rare commodity. What they need now is a rider who can anchor a clear project, give structure to their Tour ambitions, and provide a face the team can build around across multiple seasons.

Onley offers exactly that kind of clarity, as we wrote about earlier this week. He is young enough to develop, already proven at the highest level, and realistic in terms of availability compared to the truly untouchable names at the very top. He would not instantly turn INEOS into Tour favourites, but he would restore focus, and in July that kind of direction has value in itself.

So if the next few days bring the confirmations many now expect, the 2026 transfer puzzle will finally look complete, and the last meaningful contours of next season’s hierarchy will come into focus.