WorldTour bike sponsors: What's changing for 2027?

The transfer market is not the only thing keeping WorldTour teams busy ahead of 2027. Several teams are changing bicycle suppliers, with two major deals already confirmed and further moves potentially on the horizon.

Soudal Quick-Step's departure from Specialized marks the end of one of cycling's most successful technical partnerships, while Bahrain Victorious is preparing to ride its third bike brand in three seasons.

Elsewhere, Cube has been linked with NSN Cycling Team, while Picnic PostNL faces questions over both its next bike supplier and its own future in the WorldTour.

After 18 seasons and more than 800 victories together, Soudal Quick-Step and Specialized are going their separate ways.

The Belgian squad, which becomes Soudal Safety Jogger in 2027, has signed a four-year agreement with Merida, bringing the Taiwanese manufacturer back into the WorldTour after a season away.

The agreement also covers the women's AG Insurance-Soudal team, while Continental, Sidi, Lazer and Prologo join the technical setup. Shimano remains a partner.

"We look forward to beginning these new partnerships and being able to show you exactly what we have been working so hard to deliver," said team CEO Jurgen Foré in October's announcement.

The departure ends an association that saw Specialized bikes ridden to victories by Tom Boonen, Mark Cavendish, Julian Alaphilippe and Remco Evenepoel, among others.

Bahrain Victorious will race on Factor bikes in 2027, ending its partnership with Bianchi after just one season.

Having ridden Merida until 2025, the team initially signed a multiyear deal with Bianchi before both parties announced an immediate separation at the end of October.

A day later, Factor was unveiled as the replacement.

"We have found a fantastic partner in Factor, a brand that shares our performance ethos and our ambition to be the best," said Bahrain managing director Milan Eržen.

For Factor, the agreement marks a return to the men's WorldTour following the conclusion of its partnership with Israel-Premier Tech in 2025.

Another potential change concerns NSN Cycling Team, which only began racing on Scott bikes this season.

Daniel Benson reported in August that Cube was linked with a move to the team, raising questions over Scott's recently announced multiyear agreement.

Cube supplied TotalEnergies in 2026, but the French ProTeam has confirmed a switch to Chinese manufacturer Pardus for next season. After months of uncertainty following the departure of title sponsor TotalEnergies, the team also appears to have secured its future, with a new three-year sponsorship agreement reportedly reached.

Neither NSN nor Cube has confirmed a deal for 2027.

Picnic PostNL is also facing a change of supplier, although under rather different circumstances.

Lapierre's future has been thrown into doubt following insolvency proceedings involving parent company Accell Group.

In October, Picnic PostNL told Domestique it still needed to "provide information relating to the finalisation of a partnership with a technical partner for the coming season, following the bankruptcy of the current partner's company."

The outstanding agreement was among the issues delaying the team's 2027 WorldTour registration documentation.

The Dutch team is also dealing with the fallout from an investigation by NOS Sport and In de Waaier into an alleged culture of fear within the organisation. Picnic PostNL has disputed the overall findings and commissioned its own independent investigation into the team's working environment.

With questions remaining over its WorldTour future, securing a replacement for Lapierre is just one of several issues facing the team ahead of 2027.