25 wonderkids on the transfer market for 2026 🚌
We've scoured the market, talked to teams and agents and come up with a list of 25 huge talents
Hi Subscribers,
The likes of Lorenzo Finn and Ashlin Barry are locked in for several years, and while the majority of the media attention has fallen on a handful of junior stars already destined for the WorldTour, dozens of talented riders between the ages of 16 to 19 are still tipped for the very top.
This is the most extensive list of wonderkids out there, with the majority of them currently listed as free for next season. I’ve focused primarily on riders between the ages of 16 and 19 - with a few exceptions - but if you think I’ve missed any riders, please leave a comment below. Chances are, they’re contracted to a team for next year, and it’s not public knowledge, or they’re not on my radar (yet).
Read more: 21 transfer market hidden gems 💎
Read more: 6 conclusions from an epic edition of Paris-Roubaix 🇫🇷
Have a great Monday.
Daniel 🫶
BenjamÃn Noval (MMR Academy)
Nationality: Spain 🇪🇸
Age: 16
Word on the streets of Mieres, Spain, is that young Noval is the real deal. If the name sounds familiar, and I mean exactly familiar, it’s because his dad - also BenjamÃn Noval - was a WorldTour pro in the 2000s and 2010s and raced alongside Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador. BenjamÃn Noval junior is just 16, but he’s placed fourth in the cyclo-cross World Championships, won a national title and is turning heads across Europe with performances on the road this season. He’s winning one-day races by two minutes, picking up stage race results and made his Paris-Roubaix debut last weekend. He’s part of the MMR Academy, which is run by former rider Samuel Sanchez and has produced a string of promising riders over the last few years. The WorldTour development teams are calling, and I’ve also heard that Xabier Artetxe, the former head coach at Ineos Grenadiers, is assisting him. ‘Top, top talent’, as Jamie Redknapp would say.
Michiel Mouris (Team GRENKE - Auto Eder)
Nationality: Netherlands 🇳🇱
Age: 18
If there wasn’t a huge market for the 18-year-old, there will be now following his victory in the junior version of Paris-Roubaix on Sunday. The Dutch rider was part of an elite seven-rider move that included Ashlin Barry, and attacked with just under 3km remaining to seal the biggest road race win of his career and follow in the footsteps of former Paris-Roubaix winners Mads Pedersen, Tom Pidcock and Geraint Thomas. This victory was no fluke either; Mouris is the European time trial champion from 2024 and is considered one of the best cyclo-cross riders in the junior ranks. That’s not all; he’s also still on the market for 2026. Sign him up!
Henry Hobbs (Fensham Howes-MAS Design-CAMS)
Nationality: Great Britain 🇬🇧
Age: 17
The younger brother of Noah Hobbs, who is currently tearing it up for EF Education-Aevolo, Henry is the junior individual pursuit world champion and finished eighth in Paris-Roubaix last weekend. In fact, he’s not finished outside the top ten all season, picking up a victory in the UK and second in Danilith Nokere Koerse. He is a complete powerhouse, and you can read our exclusive interview with him from back in February right here. WorldTour programmes will definitely be looking at bringing onboard the young British rider as part of their junior or U23 set-ups. He’s not the only major talent on the Fensham squad, either. Leon Atkins is joining Lid-Trek’s U23 team in a couple of years, and frankly, anyone on the existing roster for the British team could earn a spot on a WorldTour U23 squad for 2026.
Erin Boothman (Tofauti Everyone Active Majoco)
Nationality: Great Britain 🇬🇧
Age: 17
Boothman is a second-year junior who is slightly under the radar right now because she didn’t race much during the road season last year as she focused on her education. However, she won the Clásica de Jaén Nation's Cup Women earlier this year and followed that up with fifth in the Piccolo Trofeo Alfredo Binda - Valli del Verbano. It’s on the track where the young rider has truly made a name for herself thanks to two World titles at the 2024 UCI Junior Track World Championships. The 17-year-old took gold in Madison alongside Carys Lloyd, and the pair then went on to set a new world record alongside Imogen Wolff and Cat Ferguson in the team pursuit. If you’re running a WorldTour squad with a development project and you’re not looking at Boothman, you need to hire better scouts.