200 Riders Off Contract and Women’s First $1 Million Deal: Cycling’s Transfer Frenzy Is Just Getting Started

More than 200 WorldTour riders come off contract during the 2026-27 transfer season, and teams aren’t waiting.

The rider market is already heating up and could even top last year’s wild flurry of moves. Negotiations are underway, rumors are swirling, and the first major dominoes are starting to fall.

The latest names to surface are Jai Hindley, Felix Gall, and Kaden Groves.

Last year’s transfer market set a high bar with blockbuster moves. Remco Evenepoel broke his contract to switch from Soudal Quick-Step for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Juan Ayuso crossed from UAE Emirates-XRG to Lidl-Trek.

It was one of the most disruptive transfer windows in recent memory, and early signs suggest this year’s won’t be far behind as cycling’s wealthiest teams continue to open their wallets.

And lurking behind it all are two potentially defining storylines: the possibility of women’s cycling’s first $1 million contract and the future of French phenom Paul Seixas, the sport’s most coveted young talent.

Jai Hindley to Visma?

Tuttobici reports that Hindley will leave Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe to join Visma Lease a Bike for 2027.

Hindley, a former Giro d’Italia winner and recently third, would slot into the team’s super-domestique role that was vacated by the sudden retirement of Simon Yates.

The 2025 Giro winner’s departure left a huge hole in the roster this season, and the team’s been on the marketplace searching for a replacement.

Hindley looks to be the perfect fit, and could slot into an elite helper’s role behind Jonas Vingegaard and then step up for leadership opportunities across the rest of the season.

One glitch could be the team’s uncertain sponsorship future, and Hindley said he was holding off any firm commitments until after the Giro.

Lidl-Trek keeps spending

Lidl-Trek also appears to remain one of the market’s most aggressive teams this off-season.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Giro runner-up Gall could leave Decathlon CMA CGM and join Lidl-Trek.

Het Laatste Nieuws also reported that Austrian teammate and fellow climber Gregor Mühlberger and Belgian sprinter Jordi Meeus will leave Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe for Lidl-Trek.

The moves come on the heels of the blockbuster news that Visma-Lease a Bike mastermind Grischa Niermann prepares to replace Luca Guercilena, with the now German-backed team continuing to ramp up its ambitions.

Lidl-Trek’s season has not met heightened expectations so far in 2026, mainly due to injuries and setbacks for stars such as Mads Pedersen and Ayuso.

The team salvaged its Giro d’Italia campaign with a stage victory from Jonathan Milan, fifth overall from new arrival Derek Gee, and the climber’s jersey courtesy of Giulio Ciccone.

Groves could become Tudor’s next star signing

Another major move could see Groves become the latest headline signing at Tudor Pro Cycling.

L’Équipe reports that Groves will leave Alpecin-Deceuninck to join Fabian Cancellara’s ambitious second-tier project with WorldTour ambitions.

The Australian has often found himself behind Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen in the pecking order at Alpecin and would immediately become one of Tudor’s marquee leaders.

The wildcard: Paul Seixas

The biggest speculation in the market right now has nothing to do with riders who are actually available.

Seixas is under contract with Decathlon CMA CGM through 2027, but that hasn’t stopped nearly every super team in the peloton from circling.

The 19-year-old Frenchman has had a breakout season and is drawing heat as cycling’s newest superstar.

Sources indicate no major decisions are expected until after his Tour de France debut this summer.

But if Seixas delivers on his enormous promise in July, his future could quickly become the defining storyline of the entire off-season.

Who’s available? Roglič, Bernal and Nys lead massive free-agent class

The Hindley, Gall and Groves rumors are just the opening act.

The 2026-27 free-agent class is enormous.

Among the marquee names off contract at year’s end include Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Egan Bernal (Netcompany-Ineos) and Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek), plus emerging talents Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Intermarché) and Markel Beloki (EF Education-EasyPost).

Arnaud De Lie is also drawing attention, with Belgian media linking the Lotto Intermarché Belgian classics brawler to Tudor Pro Cycling.

The veterans’ market is equally crowded. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Diego Ulissi (XDS-Astana), Christophe Laporte (Visma-Lease a Bike), Ben O’Connor (Jayco-AlUla), Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek), Mikel Landa and Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) are just some of the other top veterans on the market.

Other reported moves, cited by Daniel Benson in his Substack, include Pavel Sivakov departing UAE Emirates-XRG for Decathlon CMA CGM and Mauro Schmid leaving Jayco-AlUla for Pinarello-Q36.5.

Several Americans are also on the market, including Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), Andrew August, Magnus Sheffield and Artem Shmidt (all Netcompany-Ineos).

One name already off the board is Brandon McNulty, who confirmed a contract extension with UAE Emirates-XRG.

Women’s market also heating up

The men’s market isn’t the only one worth watching. With more than 100 Women’s WorldTour riders off contract this season, the women’s transfer window is shaping up to be equally frenetic.

The most significant news involves American Olympic star Chloé Dygert, who is reportedly stepping back from European road racing to focus on domestic competition and her build-up toward the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, as Benson first reported on his Substack.

Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) continues to attract serious interest following her breakthrough victory at the Vuelta a España Femenina.

Super agent Alex Carera recently told The Athletic that he hopes the Spanish rider could become women’s cycling’s first $1 million signing, a benchmark that would mark a watershed moment for the women’s peloton.

Speculation is also growing around teammates Kasia Niewiadoma and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, both off contract at Canyon-SRAM.

Dutch star Anna van der Breggen is expected to remain at SD Worx-Protime after her successful return to racing last season.

Could this match last year’s transfer frenzy?

Last year’s “silly season” was exceptional by any measure.

Beyond the bombshell moves involving Evenepoel and Ayuso, 2025 also saw contract-breaking deals for Cian Uijtdebroeks and Biniam Girmay, followed by a high-fee transfer for Oscar Onley.

Those moves reveal just how aggressively cycling’s wealthiest teams are willing to spend, and how money seems to have no limit for cycling’s richest teams.

This transfer cycle may not produce moves quite that seismic, but with more than 200 riders coming off contract, don’t expect a quiet summer.

The rise of the “forever contract” for riders like Pedersen, Wout van Aert and Marianne Vos is another new trend in cycling ever-evolving game of musical chairs.

With Seixas’ future unresolved, Blasi chasing what could become women’s cycling’s first $1 million contract, and ambitious teams such as Lidl-Trek and Tudor continuing to spend aggressively, the 2026-27 transfer market could be every bit as dramatic as the last.