2026 starts within a week and there are still over 60 World Tour and ProTeam riders without a contract for the next season. This includes some pretty big names, whose future remains in the unknown. The likes of Derek Gee, Chris Froome, Hugh Carthy and Oier Lazkano are some of the most sounding names on this list.

In the World Tour there are 30 riders who are still without a contract. There are many different reasons as to why this is. Several riders are certain to retire, perhaps most on the list even. Figures such as Hugh Carthy, Ruben Guerreiro and Michael Hepburn, names with a lot of success in the past, are not rumoured to be heading to any team and might see a premature end to their career.

Louis Barré of Intermarché – Wanty has been strongly rumoured to be joining Team Visma | Lease a Bike and has trained with the team too in Spain throughout December, but his signing has not yet been made official. The same can be said of Derek Gee (not World Tour, but similar situation) who was reported to have travelled to Spain to join the Lidl-Trek camp, but on site CyclingUpToDate wasn’t able to confirm this.

Oier Lazkano, on paper, is also part of this list. The Spaniard was provisionally suspended due to his biological passport anomalies, but the truth is he is free to be signed and although unlikely, he can potentially be allowed to race next year.

derekgee

There’s been lots of speculation over Derek Gee’s future in recent months, but his future is not yet secured. @Sirotti

The British Matthew Walls and Jack Rootkin-Gray are on this list, as is the case with off-road specialists such as Sam Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty) who used the road to complement their MTB and cyclocross schedules. Red Bull athlete Anton Palzer of Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe is also without a contract, after not fulfilling the potential that the German team hoped of him.

In the ProTeam ranks there is the obvious case of Chris Froome right at the top, who has not confirmed he will retire from the sport, but the announcement appears imminent. The four-time Tour de France winner has not performed at a high level for several years and his contract with Israel – Premier Tech has now ended. With major injuries suffered in a crash months ago, any chances of continuing in the pro peloton have diminished.

Iván Sosa of Equipo Kern Pharma is a relative surprise on this list, however perhaps justified by his diagnosis of endofibrosis in July. This summer, he finished third to Cristián Rodríguez and José Felix Parra, showcasing his climbing talent is still present. The likes of sprinters Job Aberasturi, Attilio Viviani, Daniel Babor and Davide Bomboi and Sasha Weemaes; and Uno-X Mobility riders Amund Jansen and Magnus Kulset are also still looking for a contract.

World Tour riders without contract for 2026

Rider Team Age 1  PASQUALON Andrea Bahrain – Victorious 37 2  CARTHY Hugh EF Education – EasyPost 31 3  GUERREIRO Ruben Movistar Team 31 4  SMITH Dion Intermarché – Wanty 32 5  VERMOTE Julien Team Visma | Lease a Bike 36 6  HEPBURN Michael Team Jayco AlUla 34 7  PEDRERO Antonio Movistar Team 34 8  LAZKANO Oier Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe 26 9  COMBAUD Romain Team Picnic PostNL 34 10  BARRÉ Louis Intermarché – Wanty 25 11  VAN HOECKE Gijs Intermarché – Wanty 34 12  EDMONDSON Alex Team Picnic PostNL 32 13  GOOSSENS Kobe Intermarché – Wanty 29 14  SCOTSON Miles Arkéa – B&B Hotels 31 15  WALLS Matthew Groupama – FDJ 27 16  MACIEJUK Filip Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe 26 17  COLLEONI Kevin Intermarché – Wanty 26 18  RIES Michel Arkéa – B&B Hotels 27 19  HOLLMANN Juri Alpecin – Deceuninck 26 20  HUBY Antoine Soudal Quick-Step 24 21  BERHE Welay Hagos Team Jayco AlUla 24 22  STEWART Campbell Team Jayco AlUla 27 23  DAVY Clément Groupama – FDJ 27 24  ROOTKIN-GRAY Jack EF Education – EasyPost 23 25  PALZER Anton Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe 32 26  EPIS Giosuè Arkéa – B&B Hotels 23 27  LE HUITOUZE Eddy Groupama – FDJ 22 28  EDDY Patrick Team Picnic PostNL 23 29  GAZE Samuel Alpecin – Deceuninck 30 30  KUYPERS Gerben Intermarché – Wanty 25

ProTeam riders without contract for 2026 

Rider Team Age 1  FROOME Chris Israel – Premier Tech 40 2  SOSA Iván Ramiro Equipo Kern Pharma 28 3  ABERASTURI Jon Euskaltel – Euskadi 36 4  GEE-WEST Derek Israel – Premier Tech 28 5  JANSEN Amund Grøndahl Uno-X Mobility 31 6  TIZZA Marco Wagner Bazin WB 33 7  DE TIER Floris Wagner Bazin WB 33 8  VAN ROOY Kenneth Wagner Bazin WB 32 9  CARBONI Giovanni Unibet Tietema Rockets 30 10  SCHWARZMANN Michael Israel – Premier Tech 34 11  ERIKSSON Lucas Tudor Pro Cycling Team 29 12  WEEMAES Sasha Wagner Bazin WB 27 13  TSARENKO Kyrylo Team Solution Tech – Vini Fantini 25 14  VAN DE PAAR Jarne Lotto 25 15  CURRIE Logan Lotto 24 16  JACKSON George Burgos Burpellet BH 25 17  VIVIANI Attilio Team Solution Tech – Vini Fantini 29 18  REYNDERS Jens Wagner Bazin WB 27 19  VAN POUCKE Aaron Team Flanders – Baloise 27 20  BABOR Daniel Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 26 21  BOMBOI Davide Unibet Tietema Rockets 25 22  ANGULO Antonio Burgos Burpellet BH 33 23  FERNÁNDEZ Miguel Ángel Equipo Kern Pharma 28 24  SCALCO Matteo VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè 21 25  INKELAAR Kevin Unibet Tietema Rockets 28 26  VILLA Giacomo Wagner Bazin WB 23 27  CLYNHENS Toon Team Flanders – Baloise 24 28  BIAGINI Federico VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè 22 29  MATTHYS Louka Wagner Bazin WB 25 30  AZPARREN Enekoitz Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 23 31  DELGADO David Burgos Burpellet BH 25 32  KULSET Magnus Uno-X Mobility 25 33  PERCRULE Doriand Team Novo Nordisk 26 34  PHIPPEN Logan Team Novo Nordisk 33