Felix Engelhardt bagged his first national championship less than a week before the Tour de France Grand Depart commenced in Barcelona, Spain, and while this signaled the German would be coming into the race in fine fettle, it also meant his Jayco-AlUla mechanics needed to work around the clock to build him a very special bike. We spotted Felix's bike in the team paddocks while compiling our mega gallery of all the TT and road bike tech from the Tour de France Grand Depart.

It’s become increasingly fashionable for national, continental, and world champions to have a custom paint job – not only does it add a bonus layer of pageantry to the quotidian themes comprising the WorldTour peloton, but it also honours their achievements. For Felix Engelhardt, his Bundesflagge-themed Giant Propel Advanced SL nearly didn't make it to Barcelona.

Following his victory in Bad Liebenstein, where he beat Lennart Jasch and Nico Denz to the line, a quick turnaround was needed to ensure the German had something special for the Tour de France. Jayco-AlUla sent a raw Giant Propel Advanced SL to Unlimited Colors, based in Venhorst, the Netherlands, and let the creatives loose to create a truly unique yet sophisticated livery to celebrate Engelhardt’s win while still retaining the team-specific logo placements. The result? A tricolour German flag design applied to mimic fire, complete with a Propel flame glyph on the top tube.

At 5 feet 11 inches, Engelhardt rides the all-new Giant Propel Advanced SL in size medium, which made headlines in March for its subtly tweaked tube profiles and exceptionally low total system weight of 6.8kg. Giant’s in-house component brand Cadex supplies the rolling sock – pictured here are Ultra 50 hookless wheels wrapped in 30mm Aero Cotton tyres. The wheels are not only an impressively aero option but are also very light and come tricked out with a R3-C40 Aero hub and carbon spoke configuration.

Unsurprisingly, the Giant is built around a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset, complete with a 55/40T, 11-34T chainset, and power meter, and 165mm crankarms. The bike also benefits from a 3D-printed Cadex saddle and integrated Giant Contact SLR Aero handlebar configuration.

An interesting observation is the stack of 2.5cm spacers under the stem, a move that prioritises comfort over a three-week Grand Tour – and something I listed in my 2026 Tour de France tech trend predictions.

Other notable bits and bobs include a 3D-printed race number holder, Fouriers chain catcher, Elite Leggero Carbon bottle cages, Shimano Dura-Ace pedals, and a fabric transponder strip on the fork.

Giant Propel Advanced SL specs

• Frame: Propel Advanced SL
• Cockpit: Giant Contact SLR Aero
• Seatpost: Giant Vector integrated
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, 54/40T, 11-34T
• Wheelset: Cadex Ultra 50, 50mm
• Tyres: Cadex Aero Cotton, 30mm
• Saddle: Cadex Amp 3D

Jayco AlUla will line up at the 2026 Tour de France with a team hunting for stage victories across all 21 days.

The Australian squad, the fourth to announce their lineup for the Tour, will feature Michael Matthews, Ben O'Connor and Luke Plapp, all Grand Tour stage winners.

O'Connor won on the Col de la Loze at last year's Tour, and will be looking to bounced back from a Giro d'Italia which looked promising, but ended in 16th overall. Plapp won a stage of the Giro last year from a breakaway, which he will be seeking to do again. Matthews, meanwhile, is back racing for the first time after he broke both of his wrists in a training crash.

They will be joined by Kell O'Brien, Felix Englehardt, Pascal Ackermann, Luke Durbridge and Mauro Schmid. Ackermann is there for bunch sprints, with five Grand Tour stage wins before, while Mauro Schmid will also be looking for success on the lumpier days, after a season which has seen him take four victories.

"If you’d told me three months ago that I would be lining up for the Tour de France, I don’t think I would have believed you," Matthews, a four-time stage winner and former green jersey victor, said. "I’ve worked really hard to get back in time for the Tour, together with the team and I’m really looking forward being back.

"After missing last year with my illness and then with my crash earlier this year, it’s given me even more motivation and hunger. The Tour is the biggest race of the year and even though this will be my 9th time racing it, making the squad is always a big deal."

"We have a very strong, well-rounded team for this Tour de France," sports director Mat Hayman said. "We have Pascal there for the sprints and then a lot of rouleurs looking for stage opportunities, whether that's in the medium or high mountains.

"It’s pretty exciting to have a couple of riders who are starting their first Tour de France with Kell and Felix, it's a massive step for them in their careers. Then on the other side you have Luke Durbridge who will be returning for his 12th Tour, a real stalwart of the team and someone we can always rely on.

"There’s a strong Australian theme with Ben returning off a stage win last year. Michael Matthews has fought back from injury to be ready to take on the Tour, which has been really impressive. Then we have Plapp, who's won a stage in the Giro and would love to add one in the Tour de France.

"Rounding out the team we have Mauro Schmid, it’s yet to be seen whether he will be back in his Swiss champions colours or maybe he’s flying under the radar this year!"

The team will be taking to the roads of France in a special switch-out kit, with more 'electric' green highlights added to the purple jerseys. The kit was debuted at Paris Fashion Week.

"No leader's jersey clash to avoid, no UCI mandate, just a desire to drop something unexpected on cycling's biggest stage," MAAP said.

Michael Matthews is out of "all upcoming races" after breaking both of his wrists in a training crash on Thursday.

The Australian's plight was revealed by his team, Jayco AlUla, and means a long spell on the sidelines. He was set to race Paris-Nice, which begins on Sunday, before heading to Milan-San Remo.

"Unfortunately Michael Matthews suffered a crash whilst out training today, Thursday 5th March, and was transferred to hospital," a Jayco AlUla spokesperson said.

"Team medical staff have confirmed that CT scan results show fractures to both of his wrists, subsequently ruling him out of all upcoming races.

"Matthews is in direct contact with team medical staff and will have extensive support to aid a swift recovery."

The 35-year-old started the season well, winning the Gran Premio de Castellón in Spain, the 44th win of his 16-year career. However, his programme for the spring will now be completely shifted, with up to a couple of months off the bike the usual timeframe for recovery.

Last year Matthews was forced to take a break from racing due to signs of a pulmonary embolism.

"The health problems I had this year were obviously a massive scare, but at the same time, I feel like they've given me a second chance in cycling," the Australian told Cyclingnews in December. "I feel like it's a rebirth of my career. My new contract also gives me extra motivation, too. I honestly feel there are bigger things to come.

"I'm not really putting an end date on my career. It could come at any time, but at the moment, I'm just loving riding my bike. I love being with my teammates, I love racing, and I love competing. I honestly haven't even thought about retirement."

His contract with Jayco AlUla lasts until the end of 2027. During his lengthy career, Matthews has won stages of all three Grand Tours, and the green jersey at the Tour de France.

It is the latest training incident for pro riders. This week Belgian Leander Van Hautegem found himself disoriented in a ditch after a heavy crash. Last summer, Chris Froome was airlifted to hospital with a fractured vertebrae, collapsed lung and five broken bones sustained in an incident. Meanwhile, Jonas Vingegaard suffered minor injuries after crashing during a training ride in Spain.

The 2026 season is well underway, with two Women's WorldTour races already completed, the Tour Down Under and the UAE Tour.

As the racing switches to Europe, it's time to look at the teams, the key riders, and the races to watch across an engrossing season. Everything is building up to a fifth Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in August, but there is so much more before then.

Here is our team-by-team guide to the Women's WorldTour, and the moments of the season to anticipate.

This feature originally appeared in Cycling Weekly magazine on 5 February 2026. Subscribe now and never miss an issue.

Teams

AG Insurance-Soudal
Belgium
2025 WorldTour wins: 5
Team leaders: Kim Le Court and Sarah Gigante
Team boss: Jurgen Foré
Raison d’être: Providing a solid platform for Le Court and Gigante to fly from

This was a winter of continuity for AG Insurance-Soudal, with two riders leaving and only one, Letizia Borghesi, joining. It means 2026 looks very similar to 2025, but with the hindsight of what happened last season, we can expect them to deliver more regularly.

Kim Le Court was far from an unknown, having won a stage of the Giro d’Italia Women in 2024, but last year was her breakout, with wins at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour of Britain Women and, the biggest, the Tour de France Femmes. Her teammate Sarah Gigante finished on the podium at the Giro and sixth at the Tour.

This pair will continue to lead the team, alongside Urška Žigart and Justine Ghekiere, both of whom have big results in them.

Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
Germany
2025 WorldTour wins: 2
Team leader: Kasia Niewiadoma Phinney
Team boss: Ronny Lauke
Raison d’etre: Challenge again for the top step of the Tour de France Femmes

It was always going to be a big ask for Kasia Niewiadoma to defend her Tour de France Femmes title in 2025, especially with the return of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot at Visma-Lease a Bike and renewed hunger of Demi Vollering at FDJ-SUEZ, so to hold on to the final podium place in the end felt like a job well done. Never one to settle, the Polish rider and her team will be hoping to win back the yellow jersey this summer, but also pick up a few more victories along the way.

Although Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto won 15 times last season – their highest tally since 2019, and a marked improvement from six in 2024 – only two of those victories came on the WorldTour: one thanks to Chloé Dygert at the Tour Down Under, and the other signed by Zoe Bäckstedt at the Simac Ladies Tour.

The team will no doubt call on the two time trial sensations again in 2026. Already, Dygert has come out with fighting talk. “I’m sick of losing,” she said ahead of January’s Tour Down Under, “so this year, I’m really focusing on making sure it doesn’t happen much.” Unfortunately for the American, she left Australia with 12 stitches in her leg, and is now eyeing a period of recovery before the Classics.

There have been no new signings at Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto over the winter, and only two outgoings: Tour stage winner Ricarda Bauernfiend has found a new home at Lidl-Trek, while former British champion Alice Towers has moved to EF Education-Oatly. The effervescent Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and budding climber Neve Bradbury remain among the most exciting riders in the team. Italian sprinter Chiara Consonni will be there for the flatter days.

EF Education-Oatly
USA
2025 WorldTour wins: 2
Team leader: Noemi Rüegg and Cédrine Kerbaol
Team boss: Esra Tromp
Raison d’être: Keeping the good vibes going at a young team full of talent

New to the Women’s WorldTour, EF Education-Oatly had the perfect start to their season, by winning the Tour Down Under for the second year in a row through Noemi Rüegg.

However, those were the team’s last WorldTour victories in 2025, so it is a low bar to clear for this season. In Rüegg and Cédrine Kerbaol they have two riders who were often at the front of races last year. The team stand out in pink, and also because they have the rainbow jersey, through Magdeleine Vallieres.

Kristen Faulkner, Olympic champion, will want more than her one win last year, while there has been an injection of youth to keep the American squad ticking over. No more Alison Jackson.

FDJ United-Suez
France
2025 WorldTour wins: 11
Team leader: Demi Vollering
Team boss: Stephen Delcourt
Raison d’être: To win the Tour de France Femmes and remain the world's top-ranked team

When the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift was first announced, team manager Stephen Delcourt dreamed of winning it, building the team with that ambition in the front of his mind. Only six years ago the team was one of the also-ran squads, but since Évita Muzic won the closing stage of the 2020 Giro Rosa, their first WorldTour win, they’ve been on the rise. Last season they brought in defending Tour champion Demi Vollering hoping the yellow jersey ambition might be realised but, while she came close, second place was all the team could manage.

FDJ dominated the first half of last season. Vollering quickly repaid Delcourt's faith, blossoming into a fine leader, starting the year with victory in the four-day Comunitat Velenciana, then winning Strade Bianche, the Vuelta Femenina, Itzulia Women and the Volta Catalunya. They were far from a one-woman band; fellow new recruit Elise Chabbey and Ally Wollaston contributed multiple victories, helping the French team to top spot in the UCI rankings.

That said, they have fewer riders this year, but have recruited well, with German champion Frazinska Koch the pick of the new additions. A hugely versatile Classics rider and domestique, she will contribute widely, while Eva van Agt is a proven helper and Sofia Bertizzolo has been a target for the team for years now. It will be interesting to see how Scotswoman Lauren Dickson fares in only her third year in the sport. The signs are promising: she finished 17th on GC at the recent Tour Down Under, helping Wollaston to two stage wins and brilliant team performance.

Fenix-Premier Tech
Belgium
2025 WorldTour wins: 1
Team leader: Puck Pieterse
Team boss: Philip Roodhooft
Raison d'être: Big Classics victories

Fenix-Premier Tech are among the minority of Women's WorldTour teams to have more riders this year than last, starting 2026 with 19 of the permitted 22 riders. An interesting mix of cyclo-cross and Classics riders, they have never been prolific winners. Last season they took only five, though three of those were national championships.

When they do win, they win big, with stages in the Tour de France Femmes on the team palmarès. The hugely talented and versatile Puck Pieterse is always among the action, finishing in the top 10 in every one of last year's spring Classics and winning La Flèche Wallonne. Charlotte Kool joined the squad mid-season last year and should she regain her mojo will provide genuine winning potential in the sprints.

Lidl-Trek
Germany
2025 WorldTour wins: 5
Team leader: Elisa Balsamo and Niamh Fisher-Black
Team boss: Luca Guercilena
Raison d’être: Getting the big signings to deliver

There’s a lot of talent stockpiled at Lidl-Trek, and getting it to fire is the main goal of the team for 2026. Ellen van Dijk and Lizzie Deignan retiring could have unbalanced another team, but this one was prepared for this eventuality already, making the big changes ahead of 2025. As it is, the German squad’s signings this winter have largely been dealing with domestique reorganisation, and providing some experience to a developing roster.

Last season saw success through the year, although perhaps not quite at the level that was expected, with fewer WorldTour wins than 2024. However, there were stage victories at the Vuelta España Femenina and the Giro d’Italia Women, with Anna Henderson’s result in the latter perhaps spurring her on to more consistent success, and Elisa Balsamo won the Trofeo Alfredo Binda.

Niamh Fisher-Black and Riejanne Markus, both signed as general classification options, performed impressively at stage races, with Fisher-Black fifth at the Tour de France Femmes and sixth at the Vuelta. This year, they will aim to cement their places in the top five at WorldTour stage events, especially the Grand Tours. Fisher-Black has a lot of promise, and is still only 25, so one feels that there is a breakout performance still to come.

In the Classics, Balsamo has the abilities to overcome almost anyone, therefore just needs the race to fall in her favour, while she will be ably backed up by Clara Copponi, Emma Norsgaard, Shirin van Anrooij and Henderson, which has the makings of a pretty good collection of leaders for the chaos of one-day racing. The team still has four 20-year-olds, too, including Isabella Holmgren, who finished eight at last year’s Giro, so there is a lot of hope for the future.

Movistar
Spain
2025 WorldTour wins: 10
Team leader: Marlen Reusser
Team boss: Sebastián Unzué
Raison d’etre: Win regularly and develop young talent

Only four teams won more races than Movistar in 2025 – SD Worx-Protime, UAE Team ADQ, FDJ-SUEZ and Visma-Lease a Bike – putting the Spanish squad just outside of the realm of the super-teams. Of Movistar’s 10 victories at WorldTour level, seven came courtesy of the world time trial champion Marlen Reusser. And that doesn’t account for the Swiss rider’s status as one of the peloton’s best GC contenders; she finished runner-up at both the Vuelta Femenina and the Giro last year.

Movistar will also look to British prodigy Cat Ferguson for wins in 2026, one of a handful of talented teenagers in the squad. The youngest is Spaniard Paula Ostiz, the junior world and European road champion, who turned pro this year.

Picnic PostNL
Netherlands
2025 WorldTour wins: 1
Team leader: Pfeiffer Georgi
Team boss: Iwan Spekenbrink
Raison d’etre: A team in transition, with a host of young riders on board

Nine riders left Picnic PostNL over the winter, and eight came in, underlining how in transition this team is. Some of those who left will be missed badly: Charlotte Kool, Francesca Barale, Franzi Koch, Megan Jastrab and Nienke Vinke. It leaves a young, callow squad, which will hope to outperform low expectations.

They hit the ground running at the Tour Down Under, with two podiums and 12th place overall for Josie Nelson, but the Classics will be the place where the squad can really show their mettle. Pfeiffer Georgi had a quiet 2025, as she worked her way back from the concussion she suffered at the Tour de France Femmes a couple of years ago, and will be looking to show that she is still a contender.

SD Worx-Protime
Netherlands
2025 WorldTour wins: 27
Team leaders: Lotte Kopecky, Anna van der Breggen and Lorena Wiebes
Team boss: Erwin Janssen
Raison d’être: Retaking their number one ranking after a slight dip

This year represents a new challenge for the previously all-conquering SD Worx-Protime. Instead of coming into the season as the number one team, the one everyone wanted to beat, they are now number two, chasing FDJ United-SUEZ, and their former charge Vollering.

That’s not to say 2025 was a fallow year for the Dutch squad, with 48 wins across the year, including 25 wins for Lorena Wiebes, who appears unbeatable in sprints. Wiebes won through the year, from the UAE Tour onwards, taking two stage wins at both the Giro d’Italia Women and the Tour de France Femmes. Meanwhile, Lotte Kopecky won the Tour of Flanders, again, and Anna van der Breggen and Mischa Bredewold showed themselves in flashes.

However, Kopecky did have an off-year, due to knee and lower-back issues, and her tilt at Tour GC failed to materialise. Also, in the absence of Vollering, they only won one general classification title. This might be a continued trend, with a group of developing riders not quite there yet, although Van der Breggen did finish third at last year’s Vuelta España Femenina.

Expect Wiebes to keep winning, wherever she races, and Kopecky to go all in for the Classics, from Omloop Nieuwsblad onwards. Ultimately, SD Worx want to be the team that everyone watches in the peloton again, and be back to the space where they can bend races to their will. They do not have the same number of dominant riders as before, but they do have the right pieces for the right races. New signing Nienke Vinke could be the future for GC challenges, and Bredewold can continue to do her very good Vollering impression in hillier one-day races.

UAE Team ADQ
UAE
2025 WorldTour wins: 7
Team leader: Elisa Longo Borghini
Team boss: Yana Seel
Raison d'être: Defence of Elisa Longo Borghini's Giro title and a Tour de France Femmes podium finish

Building year on year, UAE Team ADQ are now among the most dangerous teams in the peloton. The addition of Elisa Longo Borghini last year has proved pivotal. Though they've only existed in their current form since 2022, the team dates all the way back to Nicole Cooke's Mcipollini-Giordana team of 2011. Last year's crop of 28 wins represented their most successful season, the winning shared among a remarkable 13 of their 19-woman roster.

2025 Tour de France Femmes revelation Maeva Squiban, along with Karlijn Swinkels, have already opened the team's account, winning in Mallorca last week. While they're one of the few teams to have increased the size of their roster, we can expect Longo Borghini to be most influential again.

Visma-Lease a Bike
Netherlands
2025 WorldTour wins: 7
Team leader: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Marianne Vos
Team boss: Rutger Tijssen
Raison d'être: Another Tour de France title for Pauline Ferrand Prévot and big Classics wins for Marianne Vos

Even without Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's Tour de France Femmes victory, Visma-Lease a Bike had a great 2025, winning more races than in any of their four previous seasons while relying less on their big names. Martina Fidanza stepped up with three wins, and Ninke Veenhoven bagged two. The future lies with two young riders: the hugely talented Brit Imogen Wolff, who began winning before her 19th birthday, and Marion Bunel, who is already among the best climbers in the bunch aged only 21.

Ferrand-Prévot has a freakish ability to successfully target races, so another Tour de France win is possible. Meanwhile, Marianne Vos always bags at least one big win a year. Add in Canadian all-rounder Sarah Van Dam and Dutch rouleur Daniek Hengeveld and Visma have a recipe for success.

Uno-X Mobility, Liv AlUla Jayco and Human Powered Health

Uno-X Mobility won just one WorldTour race last year, a stage of the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas through Mie Bjørndal Ottestad, who won four more races for the team. This year, they are likely to continue their aggressive underdog strategy, which has brought them success in the past. In Katrine Aalerud, they have an experienced GC leader.

2025 ended well for Liv AlUla Jayco, who won two stages at the Tour of Chongming Island; they also won stage two of the Tour de France Femmes through Mavi García. This year, they will hope that they can return to the front of races more often, through Letizia Paternoster and Ruby Roseman-Gannon, among others.

Human Powered Health will aim to be more than just the 14th WorldTour team, with a ProTour or WorldTour victory surely among their plans. In Thalita de Jong and Kathrin Schweinberger, they have experienced riders who could surprise.

Races

Spring Classics

From Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (28 Feb) until Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes (26 April), the women's Spring Classics season follows an almost identical rhythm to that of the men's, with female 'siblings' having been introduced for nearly all of the original major men's races. The inauguration of Milan-San Remo Donne (21 March) last season – won by Lorena Wiebes – leaves E3 Saxo Classic as the only men's WorldTour race with no equivalent. Omloop and Opening Weekend is followed in March by Italy's Strade Bianche, San Remo, and a pair of new names: In Flanders Fields. From Middelkerke to Wevelgem (formerly the more succinct Gent-Wevelgem) and the Tour of Bruges (formerly Brugge-De Panne).

There is also the Trofeo Alfredo Binda (15 March), one of the oldest Classics on the women's calendar with more than 50 years of history.

As with the men, the women's Classics tends to centre around the Tour of Flanders (5 April) and Paris-Roubaix (12 April), but some of the stronger climbers will target the hilly Ardennes races – Amstel Gold (19 April), Flèche Wallonne (22 April) and Liège.

Vuelta España Femenina by carrefour.es – 3-10 May

With the women's season rejigged to free the Giro d'Italia Women from its annual clash with the men's Tour de France, there is now a decent gap between the three Grand Tours, opening up the possibility of seeing all of the world's best riders in all three. The season is packed, though, especially in May when the Vuelta is the first of three Spanish WorldTour stage races, and with teams having such small rosters it's more likely teams will need to be very choosy when selecting their squads.

In its short history as a stage race, the Vuelta Femenina has always attracted the pick of the stage racing bunch, and that is unlikely to change this season. Not many riders have confirmed their programmes beyond the Classics and the Tour de France Femmes so far, but last year's runner-up Marlen Reusser is down to ride, and don't be surprised defending champion Demi Vollering here either.

Tour de France Femmes – 1-9 August

The 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift begins slowly with two flattish stages, before the temperature gradually rises. A series of hilly stages are punctuated by an individual time trial, before the pièce de resistance, Mont Ventoux. After Planche des Belles Filles, the Tourmalet, Alpe d’Huez and the Madeleine comes the Giant of Provence. The bald mountain will surely hint at the direction of the fifth yellow jersey, but there is still a hectic stage around Nice to come, like a turbo-charged final day of Paris-Nice. Four ascents of the Col d’Eze will sort out the wheat from the chaff.

Demi Vollering will be itching to take back the crown she lost in 2024, and prove that she really is the best rider in the world; FDJ United-SUEZ will also demand better from their star signing. However, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has proved that she will go to huge lengths to win, and will have the French public on her side. It should be a clash for the ages. From Switzerland to the Mediterranean, the action will not stop.

Australian men’s team Jayco AlUla and its women’s equivalent Liv AlUla Jayco are expected to continue on the WorldTour in 2026 after “paperwork issues” led to delayed registration.

The two teams were absent from a UCI press release earlier this month which confirmed the men’s and women’s WorldTour licence applicants for 2026-2028. Teams were given a deadline of 15 October to submit their registration documents, which included ethical, financial and administrative files.

According to Escape Collective, Jayco AlUla founder Gerry Ryan failed to present a bank guarantee to the UCI by the initial deadline.

A team spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that issues have now been resolved.

"We are pleased to confirm that the paperwork issues have been resolved and the relevant documents have been submitted to the UCI. We look forward to a prosperous 2026 season," the spokesperson said in a statement to Cyclingnews.

According to reports, the teams have now been issued a new deadline for their documents to be processed.

Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco were founded in 2020 as Orica GreenEDGE and Orica-AIS. The teams have since gone under different names, including Mitchelton-Scott and Team BikeExchange, but always remained under the ownership of Australian businessman Ryan.

To guarantee a place on the WorldTour for the upcoming three-year cycle, the men’s Jayco AlUla needed to rank within the top 18 teams of the 2023-2025 UCI rankings; the team placed 16th.

The women’s Liv AlUla Jayco finished the season eighth, comfortably within the top-15 places needed to secure Women’s WorldTour status for 2026.

As well as meeting the sporting criteria, team bosses must disclose their budgets and sponsor contracts signed for the upcoming season. The UCI asks that teams provide a bank guarantee equivalent to “one quarter of all the gross sums due for payment by the UCI WorldTeam to riders and persons under contract for the operation of the team during the registration year”, plus CHF 15,000 (£14,240/$18,700).

This figure must meet a minimum of CHF 975,000 (£925,600/$1.2m) for men’s WorldTour teams, and CHF 130,000 (£123,400/$162,000) for women’s WorldTour teams.

In its list of candidate teams posted on 20 October, in which Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco were absent, the UCI said teams not included “still have the possibility to rectify their situation before the end of the registration process, which would enable them to be registered for the 2026 season.”

The UCI is expected to publish the final list of team registrations on 10 December.

The teams applying to be part of the WorldTour from 2026 have been revealed by the UCI, including Tom Pidcock's Q36.5 Pro Cycling.

20 men's teams are attempting to join the WorldTour, and 16 women's teams for the Women's WorldTour; there are 18 and 15 slots for each, respectively. The UCI will publish the successful lists on 10 December 2025, with 20 others applying to be men's and women's ProTeams.

WorldTour team licences will be set for the next three years, with those top-level squads having access to all the biggest races; the applications are assessed on ethical, financial, organisation and administrative criteria, but also sporting.

For the men's WorldTour, for instance, the top 18 UCI point-scoring teams from the last three seasons are given priority. The review process for WorldTeams and ProTeams is now ongoing: "The UCI is currently assessing the compliance of these applications with regulatory requirements, in collaboration with the external audit firm PwC."

15 of the current 18 men's WorldTour teams were announced by the UCI as applying for WorldTour status again, with Arkéa-B&B Hotels and Intermarché-Wanty ceasing to exist in their current formats from the end of this year. Throwing their hats in the ring, as it were, are ProTeams Lotto, Uno-X Mobility, Cycling Academy (formerly Israel-Premier Tech) and Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling.

Based on points, Lotto (with their merger with Intermarché pending), Cycling Academy and Uno-X Mobility should be promoted, with Arkéa, Intermarché and Cofidis dropping out. However, notable by their absence in the UCI list are Jayco AlUla, who have signed riders for 2026, and there have not been concerns over their future, so late paperwork is likely.

It is also notable that Q36.5 Pro Cycling are listed as Pinarello-Q36.5, with the team currently using Scott bikes, although Pidcock uses Pinarello for off-road racing.

Meanwhile, 12 of the current 15 Women's WorldTour teams have applied for 2026-2028; CERATIZIT are to cease operations, while Liv Jayco AlUla and Roland-Le Dévoluy are not listed, due to complete paperwork not being submitted.

Based on UCI points, the 15 new WorldTour teams should include ProTeams VolkerWessels and EF Education-Oatly, although VolkerWessels have not applied to be a ProTeam. Roland would be the WorldTour team to miss out, with Cofidis submitting an application to be at the top table.

The UCI missive reads: "Teams that did not submit all the essential documents by the 15 October deadline, are included in the above count but are not included in the list below. However, they still have the possibility to rectify their situation before the end of the registration process, which would enable them to be registered for the 2026 season.

"In accordance with the UCI Regulations and subject to other applicable provisions, riders from these teams may terminate their contracts early, but this right will lapse if their team is subsequently registered."

Women's WorldTour applicants

AG Insurance - Soudal
Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
Cofidis Women
EF Education–Oatly
FDJ United-SUEZ
Fenix-Deceuninck
Human Powered Health
Lidl–Trek
Movistar
Picnic PostNL
SD Worx–Protime
Visma-Lease A Bike
UAE Team ADQ
Uno-X Mobility

Men's WorldTour applicants

Alpecin-Deceuninck
Bahrain Victorious
Cofidis
Cycling Academy
Decathlon CMA CGM
EF Education–Easypost
Groupama-FDJ United
Ineos Grenadiers
Lidl-Trek
Lotto Cycling
Movistar
Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling
Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe
Soudal Quick-Step
Picnic PostNL
Visma-Lease A Bike
UAE Team Emirates XRG
Uno-X Mobility
XDS Astana Team

Caleb Ewan has said he contemplated retirement before joining Ineos Grenadiers after being put in a “bad situation” by his previous team, Jayco AlUla.

Ewan signed a one year deal with Ineos in January after a deal to move to XDS Astana reportedly fell through. The 30-year-old Australian had a contract in place with Jayco AIUla for 2025, but he was then left off the team’s list of riders on its official website.

Speaking on the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast this week, Ewan explained: "There was a while where I didn’t really know what I wanted to do to be honest. That was just because I was in a pretty shitty situation with my team. So that was all going on and I honestly did not know what my future was going to hold, it was a very stressful time for me.

"Because of all that I didn’t really know what I wanted. To be honest they put me in a bad situation and it wasn’t ideal. Now I’ve kind of moved on a bit and I’m happy now that I’ve joined Ineos.”

Ewan turned professional with Jayco AlUla in 2014 in their former guise as Orica-GreenEDGE, before returning at the start of last season after several years with Lotto. The sprinter has won stages of all three Grand Tours, including five at the Tour de France, but he has not won a WorldTour race since 2022.

He also revealed that a potential move to Ineos, formerly known as Team Sky, had been on the table at various points of his career, including right at the beginning when he first turned professional. The 30-year-old explained that the move to the British squad has come at the right time.

“I didn’t know what was going on for I would say the past three months, four months,” Ewan said. “So it was pretty hard to know what I was training for. And I would say I’m a very goal focused person, so when I had no goal or nothing to train for it was pretty hard to get out on the bike. But It’s quite easy now that I’ve got a bit of a clearer focus.”

“It’s [Ineos is] one of the biggest teams in the world for sure. I would say I’ve never really experienced a team of this scale before. There've been a few times in my career where I’ve kind of asked the question of joining, but it never really worked out, so I’m glad this time that it did.”

His former team, Jayco AlUla, declined to comment.

Melbourne-based MAAP has grown a reputation for its bold designs in the cycling apparel scene, so it’s with characteristic intrepidness that the brand breaks onto the WorldTour, with a pair of grey ‘shadow’ bib shorts.

MAAP has today unveiled its kit to be worn by Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco in 2025, the brand’s first top-level partnership, which will see the Australian squads dress in purple and grey.

It’s a colour choice that comes from the MAAP's history, research of peloton aerial shots, and a desire to stand out. It's also one the brand knows will spark debate.

“We just wanted to have something distinctive in the peloton,” said Misha Glisovic, MAAP’s creative director.

The colour of the jersey, Glisovic explained, was inspired by “night desert skies, AlUla sunsets, and the aurora australis”, a light phenomenon seen from the Australian outback. The shorts, in contrast, came as an opportunity to rub against the grain. “We call it shadow,” Glisovic said of the tone. “It’s a colour that we’ve used before within our main line, and it seems to go well with both bright and neutral colours.

“It’s something that feels uniquely MAAP, and it brings that lifestyle fashion influence into the sport, trying to present something different within the peloton.”

In a blur of black and navy shorts, Jayco AlUla’s bottom half will be sure to stand out. The ‘shadow’ colour will attempt to fill a hole left in the bunch by AG2R La Mondiale, who flaunted controversial brown bib shorts for more than a decade, before scrapping them at the start of this year.

“AG2R bibs were iconic, right?” said Oliver Cousins, MAAP co-CEO and co-founder. “We generally were big fans of that, and I personally think it was a shame that they walked away from it.

“I think shadow is not as contentious as the AG2R colour, but it’s definitely something that we wanted to offer, and it was different to what’s out there in terms of navy blues and blacks. I think it will be well received.”

Founded in 2014, MAAP has previously supplied kit to British Continental teams Trinity Racing and Lifeplus-Wahoo. The brand’s entry into the WorldTour, Cousins said, has long been one of its “core goals”, with an Australian team the natural choice.

“This is what we’ve always wanted to do,” the co-founder said. “I don’t think that it will be a big surprise that we’re jumping in [to the WorldTour]. In my eyes, it’s probably almost like, why hasn’t MAAP joined the WorldTour yet? If you are committed to the sport and developing performance-oriented kit, to me, you’ve got to play in that space.”

The jersey colour has been approved by the UCI – despite initial concerns the purple may clash with the women’s WorldTour leader’s jersey – and MAAP is confident that the shadow shorts, one of its best-selling colours, will be a hit with fans.

“We want to sell it as well,” said Jarrad Smith, MAAP's other co-founder and co-CEO, of the new kit. “It's another massive goal for us, or for me personally, to be able to look at people wearing the Jayco kit, because we're so proud of it. I want to wear it, and I'm hoping it resonates with people.”

You can find all the newly updated WorldTour kits for 2025 on the Cycling Weekly website now.

Rohan Dennis could face the maximum sentence of 15 years in prison after being officially charged over an incident in December in which his wife, former track world champion Melissa Hoskins, died.

Dennis, who retired from pro cycling at the end of last year and is a former double world time trial champion, was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, and driving without due care over the incident, which took place outside the Adelaide house where the couple and their two children lived.

A lawyer for Dennis, Jessica Kurtzer, told Adelaide Magistrates' Court that negotiations were underway, reports the Australia Associated Press.

Dennis, 34, was given bail and will appear in court again on October 30.

The incident took place on December 30 last year, with South Australia Police reporting that 32-year-old Hoskins had been struck by a car driver. She was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital but died later that evening of her injuries.

Hoskins won her team pursuit world title in 2015, having already competed in the same event at the London 2012 Olympics, helping the Australian trio to fourth place. She also rode in the Rio 2016 Olympics after the event had changed from 3,000 to 4,000 metres.

She also competed on the road for Orica-AIS, winning the Tour of Chongming Island in 2012 and also taking the mountains competition in the Women's Tour in the UK in 2015.

That team – now Jayco-AlUla – released a statement after her death, saying: "We are devastated to learn of the passing of former GreenEDGE Cycling rider Melissa Dennis nee Hoskins. Our thoughts are with her family and friends and the whole cycling community at this deeply saddening time. She will never be forgotten. RIP Mel."

Dennis turned pro in 2009, spending a large chunk of his career with BMC Racing and also racing for Ineos Grenadiers and Visma-Lease a Bike in recent years. 

He won the world championship time trial in 2018 and 2019, as well as winning stages in the Tour de France and Vuelta a España.

He appeared in court on March 13 to have his bail extended while prosecutors requested more time to complete a detailed crash investigation. He has not made any statement to the media so far, and did not speak at all following this week's hearing either.

Lawson Craddock (Team Jayco AlUla) is hanging up his wheels at the end of the season. The 32-year-old Texan says his 11-year career has been a “hell of a run” but that he’s “excited to say” that 2024 will be his last year in the professional peloton.

The two-time U.S. national time trial champion started his cycling career as a 10-year-old on the Alkek Velodrome in Houston, Texas. He turned pro with the U23 development team, Trek-Livestrong. in 2011 and made his UCI WorldTour debut three years later as part of the Giant-Shimano team (later known as Team Giant-Alpecin). 

Following his stint with the Giant-Shimano team, Craddock joined Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team (now known as EF Education First Pro Cycling) in 2016. It was with this team that Craddock rode himself into the hearts of American fans when, during the 2018 Tour de France, he sustained a fractured scapula on the first stage but continued to race, determined to finish the three-week Tour and raise funds for the Alkek Velodrome in the process. His childhood velodrome was damaged by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Craddock’s efforts raised more than $250,000 to repair the venue. His resilience also earned him the overall combativity award for the 2018 Tour de France.

Craddock finished his career with what is now known as Team Jayco AlUla. Throughout his career he was valued as a hardworking teammate and all-rounder. He performed well in the race against the clock and stage races – particularly when the roads turned upward. His palmarès includes two U.S. national time trial titles, a third-place finish overall at the Tour of California, a Top 10 at the UCI World Time Trial Championships, and a stage win at the Tour of the Gila. 

“It’s been a hell of a run, but I’m excited to say that 2024 will be my last year in the professional peloton,” Craddock announced on social media. “There are so many people to thank but none more than my wife and children. I’m so blessed to have them by my side and can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us.”

Stevie Williams' trip to Australia did not get off on the best foot. The Israel-Premier Tech rider was "spewing his head off" on the flight over, according to his teammate George Bennett. Fortunately, he had a bit of time to recover before the Tour Down Under kicked off. His trip is certainly going well now, with victory on stage six of the race netting him the overall title, his first general classification win at WorldTour level. From sickness to the best health.

The 27-year-old from Aberystwyth was not top of many people's lists of favourites ahead of the week, something his directeur sportif Sam Bewley readily admitted. It might be January but the likes of Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla), Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious) were worthy challengers, but none could match the Welshman.

Williams finished second on Willunga Hill on Saturday's stage five, to take the leader's jersey, and then completed his total victory on Sunday, with a stage win. The man in ochre calmly reeled back in those attacking him on the final ascent of Mount Lofty, before launching his sprint, keeping Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) and Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) at bay. It was his sprint which won him the race.

"He's really quick, people underestimate him I think," Bewley said. "We knew he was a good chance for us this week, we kept it under wraps pretty well I think. I hazard to guess that no one would have said Stevie Williams would have won the Tour Down Under, but we delivered it."

Perhaps we should have seen this coming when Williams finished third on stage two, the bunch sprint finish where the win was stolen by Del Toro, who ended up finishing second overall. Williams didn't have any doubt in his team, that was clear.

"I thought we were nailed on to do something to be honest," he said. "I think the calibre of riders we had here, we were backing ourselves to come here and perform. We weren't here to make the numbers up."

Williams' victory did not come out of the blue. His win at the Tour Down Under followed taking the Arctic Race of Norway last year, and a stage of the Tour de Suisse the year before. However, it is safe to say this is the biggest moment of his career to date.

"Cycling is funny, they [wins] don't come round so often, once you get a victory like this, you have to make sure you enjoy it and take it in," he said. "For me to win a WorldTour GC, at this point in the season, is really important for my development.

"It's nice to start a season well for once. If you look at my career over the last five or six years, it has been pretty up and down. I think from here, it's definitely something I want to kick on with, and make sure the season is consistent."

His Israel-Premier Tech team know they have a big talent on their hands, they just had to get him to believe in his abilities.

"He's a really calm guy," Bewley explained. "Sometimes he doesn't back himself, and we've been trying to instil it in him that he should. Case in point is this. I think there's going to be a big shift in his confidence, and that's going to take him a long way for the rest of his career. 

"He's a really unassuming guy and he just gets on with it. He doesn't like to overcomplicate things, he spends his evening watching old NBA highlights and listening to Drake. He's a relaxed guy and he just wants to get out there and race his bike."

Williams might not be on the level of a Primož Roglič, Remco Evenepoel or Tadej Pogačar, but he is from the same school of riding. Climb, go into the red, and then manage to sprint at the end.

"He's got the goods. In this kind of race especially," Bennett explained. "He's incredibly fast on five minute climbs. This is his bread and butter, he's genuinely one of the fastest people I've ever met. His sprint is unbelievable. He can hit bunch sprint watts. These short climbs, you'll see him, that's his specialty."

"He climbs really well, even in the high mountains, but he's got that little sprint in him that not a lot of people know about - they probably do now," Bewley added. "He's really quick, as you saw on stage two when he came third when he was leading out Corbin Strong.

"The new model of cyclist, a lot of the guys are having a lot of success, are they guys that can climb well and sprint too. Stevie fits right in that mix, and that's where he's heading, he's there now. That will become his bread and butter."

Williams appears to have hit his stride after years of his career where he has struggled with injury and to find a team which backed him. With this Israel-Premier Tech team, its environment, and with a clean bill of health, the Welshman is one to watch at week-long stage races and the Ardennes Classics, which are his next goal.

"At the moment, I'm definitely a puncheur with a fast finish," he said. "Short, sharp climbs. Being able to go into the red, recover, red, recover. That's where I am at the moment, but the longer climbs are something I want to try and improve on. But if this is right for me at the minute, and I'm winning, then why change something.

"The next most important thing will be the Ardennes Classics. I want to go there and get a good block in, and then once we know which Grand Tour I'm going to do, it will be all go for that."

His goal now is a simple one, to replicate this in Europe. It doesn't seem unachievable.

"I want to go to the biggest races in the world and do this," Williams said. "I think this is a stepping stone in the right direction, considering it's a week-long stage race. I'd like to head back now and kick on from here, and make the most of it. Try my best to get some good results."

There's a fair deal of pressure on Jayco AlUla at the Tour Down Under. It's the home stage race for the only Australian WorldTour team, they have brought a strong squad which includes a Grand Tour winner and the Australian champion, and they haven't won the race since 2019. So, naturally, they are aiming to win every stage and the overall.

Simon Yates, Caleb Ewan and Luke Plapp, with Chris Harper too, are the key members of the seven-man team seeking to conquer the Tour Down Under. Yates finished second overall last year, winning a stage en route; Ewan is a nine-time stage winner, although his last win came in 2020; meanwhile Plapp is the newly crowned Australian champion, winning it for a third time in a row just over a week before the TDU begins.

The team are in good form, with Plapp's victory in the Australian nationals road race coming ahead of two other teammates in Harper and Kelland O'Brien; Plapp's victory in the time trial also came ahead of two Jayco teammates, while Ewan won the criterium to boot.

However, Plapp was keen to play down his role before the race, talking up Ewan and Yates instead.

"Yates is the team leader and he's here for a reason," he said in the pre-race press conference. "And we've also got Caleb who is in some really red hot form. I think we saw that at Nationals as well. He's really motivated and wants to start his season off really strong. 

"To be honest, we're looking to win every single stage and the GC. I think that's a good team target, and I really feel confident that we've got a great group of riders here."

The first four stages of the race are likely to be days for sprinters, unless the breakaway spoils the day, with multiple teams interested in bunch finishes. However, they are not easy days, with stage two to Lobethal in particular looking tough.

It is the weekend where the race will be decided, though, with stage five concluding with two ascents of Willunga Hill, and stage six seeing the riders take on Mount Lofty three times.

"Yatesy is here for a reason," Plapp said. "He got second here last year and I think this course suits him even better, having Willunga. I'd love to play a part in helping him succeed and win the race. And then see how I can fare in that as well. 

"I'd love to be up there too. But at the end of the day, we are here to win. So as long as one of us is we're in that ochre jersey at the end of the week, that'd be the goal."

Plapp will also have the advantage of being in reasonably top form for the race, while some of his European peers are still working towards their shape; he also is used to the heats, and the roads.

"It does sort of feel like a bit of a home race," he explained. "I don't really need to do recons or check the courses out because I used to train on them so often. So now I'm really looking forward to it. I've got some fond memories of racing here with Richie [Porte] a couple years ago and then also to have been a part of Ineos last year racing."

Jayco are not the only team with riders in contention for victory, however. For the overall, Bahrain-Victorious are here with Jack Haig, and Soudal Quick-Step have Julian Alaphilippe, while for the sprints, there are the likes of Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty).

Alaphilippe, however, was clear that while he was aiming to do well, his form is uncertain.

"I have no idea," the Frenchman explained. "I don't know but for sure I'm motivated to do my best. You never know how you will feel during the first race of the season. It will be the first big effort and also like I said with the heat, you have to be careful.

"I think it's an important year for me to try to come back to my best level and I will give my best. I have no stress. I just want to enjoy."

Rohan Dennis has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving after his wife, two-time Olympian Melissa Hoskins, was killed in a crash in Adelaide, Australia, on Saturday.

South Australia Police said that Hoskins was hit by a car on Saturday evening in north Adelaide. She suffered serious injuries, was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, but died overnight. 

The 32-year-old competed in the team pursuit at two Olympics for Australia, winning gold in the same event at the 2015 World Championships. She also competed on the road for Orica-AIS, winning the Tour of Chongming Island in 2012.

Dennis, the two-time time trial world champion, was arrested and charged with causing death by dangerous driving, driving without due care and endangering life. He was bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on 13 March.

While neither have been named officially by SA Police, multiple Australian media outlets, including the national broadcaster ABC, reported that Hoskins had been killed, and that Dennis had been arrested. The pair had two children together.

The couple were previously listed on the Santos Tour Down Under's website as leaders a family ride event at the 2024 cycling season's curtain-raiser event, but those details are no longer online.

Hoskins and Dennis married in 2018, and a recent Instagram post showed the family together for Christmas.

Hoskins turned professional in 2012, riding on the road until 2015, but retired from cycling in 2017. In 2015, she won the mountains classification at the Women's Tour in the UK. At the Rio Olympics in 2016, she was involved in a high-speed crash while training for the event, which saw her hospitalised, but not seriously injured. She won five medals at various track World Championships, and finished on the podium three times in the team time trial at the road World Championships.

In a statement on social media on Sunday afternoon, her former team, now Jayco AlUla, said: "We are devastated to learn of the passing of former GreenEDGE Cycling rider Melissa Dennis nee Hoskins. Our thoughts are with her family and friends and the whole cycling community at this deeply saddening time. She will never be forgotten. RIP Mel."

Dennis retired from cycling at the end of 2023 after a career which saw him win stages at the Vuelta a España, Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. He built his success on time trialling, which saw him become world champion in 2018 and 2019, but in the latter stages of his career the Australian became a super-domestique, at Ineos Grenadiers, and then Jumbo-Visma.