On the edge of greatness: 9 North American riders to watch in 2026

North American cycling could be on the edge of greatness. We don’t have a superstar like Tadej Pogačar (yet), but we’re not struggling to find results either. USA, Canada and Mexico earned multiple medals at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, plus a rainbow jersey when Magdeleine Vallieres stunned the favourites.

Isaac del Toro nearly won the Giro d’Italia, while Brandon McNulty became one of only a few riders in history to follow Pogačar when he won the hilly 210km classic-style race at the GP de Montréal. There are many other names that we will get to in a second, but here is what you really need to know.

When I first set out to write this piece, I was looking for results, riding styles and potential. I wasn’t even looking at each rider’s age, but as I put together this list, I realised that the best North American riders are all between 18 to 27 years old, with some mega potential in the younger end of that range.

These are riders who made it through the Junior ranks and have continued to push and develop year after year. They didn’t burn out at 21 like so many overly hyped Junior stars. Instead, they took their time to train and learn in smaller races, eventually moving up the WorldTour, and then earning results at the highest tier.

This list is in no particular order, and it includes both male and female riders from the Junior ranks, U23s, and Elites. Here's who to keep your eye on in 2026.

Isaac Del Toro

Is it a bit crazy to ask whether Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG) is the next Tadej Pogačar, but the similarities are striking.

Del Toro was the only rider able to follow his trade teammate Pogačar at the UCI World Championships in Kigali (OK yes, Juan Ayuso was there also but he made it only a few kilometres before imploding), and he rides with a rare panache. The 22-year-old Mexican won nearly 20 races in 2025, including the General Classifications at the Vuelta a Burgos and Tour of Austria. And, as mentioned above, he came pretty darn close to winning the Giro.

We don’t really know what the limit is for Del Toro. He has impressed in every facet of road cycling so far, including group sprints, summit finishes and time trials. At 70kg, he has significantly more raw power than 60-65kg riders like Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma - Lease a Bike). He also has the technical skills to hold his own on tricky descents, and the durability to race a Grand Tour and win. He only lost his Giro GC lead on the final mountain stage to Simon Yates (Visma - Lease a Bike. The Mexican is barely into his twenties, and he is already one of the best riders in the world. It'll be exciting to see his star rise.

Quinn Simmons

Normally, one might say that Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) had a breakout year in 2025. He won his first two WorldTour races (with stage wins in the Volta Ciclista Catalunya and Tour de Suisse), finished second in a Tour de France stage, and claimed the final spot on the podium at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. But it’s clear the Coloradan is destined for bigger things.

Simmons’ performances are out of this world. He has some of the highest power outputs in the professional peloton, and he is getting closer and closer to notching a major win. “Captain America,” as he is called, put on a show at Il Lombardia, attacking at Kilometre Zero and only getting caught on the final climb. He went on to finish fourth, but you can see the pieces starting to come together. Watch out for a big win in 2026.

Matteo Jorgenson

One of the most versatile riders in the pro peloton is Matteo Jorgenson (Visma - Lease a bike). The 26-year-old can win a Belgian Classic, summit finish, flat TT and Paris-Nice in the same season. He spent most of the 2025 season working for his teammate Jonas Vingegaard, but still earned his own results along the way. When Vingegaard won the Vuelta a España, Jorgenson finished tenth. And when Vingegaard finished second at the Tour de France, Jorgenson finished in the Top 10 on six stages, including fifth in Stage 21 when he played a key role in setting up Wout Van Aert to win on the Champs-Élysées.

Needless to say, there is no ceiling for Jorgenson. The Team Visma - Lease a Bike rider has continued to improve, and he has the skillset to win almost anything.

Brandon McNulty

Whatever Brandon McNulty did between June and August, we need to know, because he was flying in the final third of the 2025 season. After finishing ninth overall in the Giro d’Italia, his first GC Top 10 in a Grand Tour, McNulty went on a tear of race wins. He won the Tour de Pologne, Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, Tour de Luxembourg, and CRO Race in just two months.

At 27 years old, it appears that the seasoned rider is finally hitting his stride. While he could always find room for a stage win here and there, the American hadn’t won a WorldTour GC until this year’s Tour de Pologne. His ambitions always come down to his race schedule. And at a team like UAE Team Emirates-XRG, that is quite the complicated conversation. Wherever he races in 2026, you can expect McNulty to be one of the strongest riders in the race, capable of winning with a 50km solo move.

Magdeleine Vallieres

On the cobblestone streets of Kigali, Magdeleine Vallieres climbed her way to the finish line of the 2025 UCI Road World Championships solo. Before the race, she might have been happy with a top-10 finish, but on this day, she was the first rider to cross the line, shocking the favourites and becoming World Champion. Vallieres had shown signs of promise – winning Trofeo Palma Femina in 2024 – but few saw her full potential until she showed them in Rwanda.

Now, the 24-year-old will enter 2026 with the rainbow jersey on her shoulders and, perhaps, more eyes on her. Some have crumbled under the pressure, while others have risen to a new level after winning the World Championships. Vallieres already notched two top-ten finishes in the rainbow stripes, and she will be racing for EF Education-Oatly through 2027. Outside of the Grand Tours, keep an eye on Vallieres in the hilly Classics such as La Flèche Wallonne Féminine.

Matthew Riccitello

If you don’t know the name Matthew Riccitello (Israel–Premier Tech), learn it now because we can feel that something big is coming. After a few years of slow but steady development, Riccitello had a breakout year in 2025. After winning the Sibia Cycling Tour, the American went to the Vuelta a España with high ambitions. In the end, he came away with fifth in GC and the Best Young Rider jersey.

The result is impressive, of course, but when you saw the way that Riccitello was riding, you could see the improvements from the previous years. At just 55kg, Riccitello is one of the smallest riders in the peloton, but he was able to hold his own in some big races this year. There was a long-held belief that he was a terrible time trialist, but on Stage 18 of the Vuelta, Riccitello averaged 53.7kph during the 12km effort, finishing only 15 seconds behind Juan Ayuso and Matteo Jorgenson, and less than 20 seconds behind the fastest GC contenders. If Riccitello continues to improve, we can expect him to fight for Grand Tour podiums in the near future.

Ashlin Barry

In 2025, 18-year-old Ashlin Barry raced 20 UCI races and finished on the podium 12 times. Two of those podiums were Paris-Roubaix Juniors and the World Championships Junior TT in Kigali. Both times, Barry finished second. Needless to say, it is quite the hit rate for a rider who is 6’ 3” and 170 lbs.

Barry clearly has a monstrous amount of power, and he is still developing at a rapid rate. Recently, he has been racing with the USA National Track Team, and in 2026, he will move to Team Visma | Lease a Bike Development squad as a first-year U23 rider. Barry is perfectly built for time trials and Classics, and he will undoubtedly be aiming for the U23 rainbow jersey in the coming years.

Isabella Holmgren

One of the youngest riders in the Women’s WorldTour is Isabella Holmgren, a 20-year-old Canadian who won this year’s Tour de l’Avenir Femmes. She didn’t just win it, she destroyed the field, finishing two minutes ahead of the second-place finisher and four minutes ahead of third place. There were only six stages, by the way. Those are the kind of time gaps we’ve seen in the past few Tours de France.

It’s obvious that Holmgren is a budding GC star, though her talent was first established in the dirt, as Holmgren is a former junior cross-country and cyclocross world champion.

The Canadian will be with Lidl-Trek for the next three years, and she will almost certainly be aiming for a Grand Tour podium in 2026.

Derek Gee

The biggest question about Derek Gee is where and when he’ll be racing again. The fallout with his former team, Israel-Premier Tech, has been public and messy. Gee hasn’t raced since the Canadian National Championships in June, and he hasn’t competed in the WorldTour since finishing fourth in GC at the Giro d’Italia. It’s clear that Gee is talented, but at 28 years old, he cannot afford to sit on the sidelines for long.

Depending on where Gee ends up, he could have quite a different race schedule in 2026. But if all goes in his favour, we could see him targeting a GC podium next season. Gee is a 70kg all-rounder with a mighty strong time trial. If he can improve his pure climbing abilities, he could be aiming to win the Giro or Vuelta in the next few years.

Honourable Mentions

Turns out, there are far too many talented North American riders to fit into a single article. So, what follows are many names that could have made this list, and I’m sure a few of them will prove me wrong by winning a big race in 2026.

On the men’s side, we must mention the 2024 Zwift Academy winner, Noah Ramsey (Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team) from Canada, as well as the American who put Team Visma | Lease a Bike to shame at Dwars door Vlaanderen: Neilson Powless (EF Education). Keep an eye also on Riley Sheehan (Israel - Premier Tech), Magnus Sheffield (INEOS Grenadiers)and former Vuelta winner, Sepp Kuss (Visma - Lease a bike). These riders are proven in their own right, and if the stars align, they could win a major race (again) very soon.

New to UAE Team Emirates-XRG for 2026 is Kevin Vermaerke, a rider who has some of the best power numbers I’ve ever heard of, but has yet to snag a major result. Andrew August (INEOS Grenadiers) and Viggo Moore (Israel Premier Tech Academy) are two additional young Americans to keep an eye on. They might need a few more years of development, but the signs are there for these great riders.

On the women’s side, we have Megan Jastrab (Team Picnic PostNL) and Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly), two Americans with proven records, but it’s been a while since their last win. Faulkner was flying in the early summer of 2025, but illness derailed her Tour de France Femmes bid, and then a torn labrum ended her season. Both riders will be back with a vengeance in 2026.

Last but not least is Sarah Van Dam (CERATIZIT Pro Cycling Team). The 23-year-old Canadian earned top tens at both the Tour de France Femmes and Giro d’Italia Women, plus a fifth place in GC at the Tour of Britain Women and third Overall at Itzulia Women. Van Dam recently signed a three-year contract with Team Visma-Lease a Bike, and she is certainly one to watch for the next decade.