2025 is almost over and the 2026 racing season is only a few short weeks away, with the excitement for the new season now palpable.
The biggest teams have presented their 2026 jersey designs and season goals, so it is time to understand the new balance of power in the men’s WorldTour peloton. Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad dominated in 2025, but Visma-Lease a Bike, Lidl-Trek, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, and Decathlon CMA CGM all look stronger than ever before. Could 2026 be a season of change?
It will be fascinating to see if Pogačar can win Paris-Roubaix or a record-equaling fifth Tour de France, how Remco Evenepoel performs after his transfer to Red Bull, if Olav Kooij can become the best sprinter in the world with Decathlon and if Juan Ayuso can finally show his talent after leaving UAE for Lidl-Trek.
Alpecin-Premier Tech
- UCI World Ranking 2025: 9th
- Key riders: Mathieu van der Poel, Jasper Philipsen
- Rider to watch: Tibor del Grosso
The Belgian team secured sponsorship from Premier Tech late in 2025 after the Canadian brand left the troubled Israel team. The funding was too late to stop a haemorrhage of trusted domestiques, but Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen remain as team leaders and as a dangerous Classics and sprint combo.
Thirty-year-old Van der Poel is at the peak of his career and will surely fight for victory in every monument he rides in 2026. Pogačar is again targeting the Classics, but Van der Poel has the bike skills, power and fast finish to beat him at Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
Philipsen will focus on the Classics in the spring and then switch to pure sprinting for the Giro and Tour. He crashed hard last spring and then crashed out of the Tour…
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