🚨 Transfer mechanics: All the latest moves and rumours from inside the Giro d'Italia 📝
Show me the money, or as they say in Albanian, 'më trego paratë'
Hello subscribers,
Here’s the long-awaited transfer story I mentioned earlier today. It focuses on what’s happening right now in Albania, with several transfers occurring behind the scenes.
There are updates on several squads, including Ineos Grenadiers, Red Bull, Lidl-Trek, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Soudal QuickStep, Astana, EF Education-Easy Post, Jayco AlUla, Bahrain Victorious and more.
Remember, all the latest transfer news, updates, and analysis are on the Transfer Index Page. To coincide with the Giro d’Italia, I’ve set up a special 20% sale on annual subscriptions. Just click on the link below to sign up. For roughly £1 a week, you get all the stories on my Substack, including all the transfer exclusives.
Stage 1 of the Giro starts soon, and I’ll have race analysis later this evening.
Daniel 🫶
Albania was once home to Dua Lipa, Xherdan Shaqiri, and a surprisingly large number of Norman Wisdom fans. However, for the next 72 hours, it serves as the HQ for the most powerful rider agents in cycling.
While the majority of the pre-Giro d’Italia chatter has focused on the three stages set to take place in Albania and the form surrounding Primož Roglič and his maglia rosa rivals, being closed doors, the real power moves in cycling are being made by team managers and rider agents as they negotiate contracts and look to sign athletes for 2026 and beyond.
It’s not far-fetched to report that some bigger rider agencies will meet with almost all the current WorldTour squads during the next few days.
Most teams' current focus is on their Classics rosters for next season. Mathieu van der Poel, Mads Pedersen, Tadej Pogačar - less call him a Classics rider for now - Jasper Philipsen, Wout van Aert, and Remco Evenepoel all have long-term deals.
However, below that level, a string of riders are available, and having completed the Classics, every team is well aware of its shortcomings and what it’s looking for on the market.
Jasper Stuyven, Luke Lamperti, Matej Mohoric, Gianni Vermeersch, Yves Lampaert, Fred Wright, Lewis Askey, Stefan Küng, Tim Declercq, Daan Hoole, Tiesj Benoot, Alex Kirsch, Edward Theuns, Mathias Vacek, and Dylan van Baarle were all on the market at the start of the spring campaign, and talks for most of those riders began around the time of Milan-San Remo.
Some deals were done relatively early, while the majority were either concluded in the last fortnight or will be finalised in Albania.
From the list above, Luke Lamperti has been linked with a move to EF Education-EasyPost. His current team, Soudal Quick-Step, extended deals with Tim Merlier and Paul Magnier, but the American rider drew attention from several squads. There’s no response from any parties involved at this stage, but Gazzetta’s Ciro Scognamiglio, who first reported the potential transfer, is very accurate with his work.
Jasper Stuyven, meanwhile, has been linked with a move to Soudal Quick-Step. We can confirm he’s leaving Lidl-Trek, and Soudal Quick-Step has been mentioned to us as one realistic outcome. Make of that what you will, but Stuyven would undoubtedly give the Belgian outfit a new dimension within their Classics roster. There had been interest from several teams in the former Milan-San Remo winner, but Soudal Quick-Step is the most likely destination at this stage, although we can’t confirm that the deal is done.