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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Thursday, December 25, 2025

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up - they have no holidays. - Henny Youngman

Les Woodland's book Dirty Feet: How the Great Unwashed Created the Tour de France is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Upcoming racing:

• December 26: World Cup Gavere
• December 29: Trofee Loenhout-Azencross
• December 30: Superprestige Diegem
• January 1: GP Sven Nys
• January 17 - 25: Tour Down Under
• January 25: Classica Comunitat Valenciana 1969-GP Valencia
• January 28 - February 1: Challenge Ciclista Mallorca
• February 1: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

Latest completed racing:

• December 23: Superprestige Heusden-Zolder
• December 14: World Cup Namur
• November 16: Trofee Hamme-Flandriencross
• November 1: Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
• October 26: Superprestige Overijse-Vlaamse Druivencross
• October 14 - 19: Tour of Guangxi
• October 14 - 19: Tour of Holland
• October 19: Veneto Classic
• October 19: Japan Cup
• October 19: Chrono des Nations
• October 15: Giro del Veneto
• October 12: Paris-Tours

Here’s the team’s update:

With 67 riders, from 17 different countries, spread over four teams, GreenEDGE Cycling heads into its 15th season with big goals.

A new beginning
With a mixture of familiar, experienced faces and some new signings, Team Jayco AlUla is aiming to start afresh in the new year. Newly appointed Sporting Manager Gene Bates, alongside the squad’s sport directors, will lead a 29-rider roster that balances both youth and experience.

Michael Matthews, Ben O’Connor, Luke Plapp, Mauro Schmid, and Paul Double are among the team’s winners in 2025 that will continue to target success on the biggest stage. Among the nine new riders set to race in GreenEDGE Cycling colours next season are Hamish McKenzie, who is joining from Hagens Berman Jayco development team, Alessandro Covi, Pascal Ackermann, and Finlay Pickering.

Michael Matthews wins the 2025 Eschborn-Frankfurt-Rund um den Finanzplatz. Photo: Sprint Cycling

Building on progress
Headed by Sporting Director Wim Stroetinga, Liv AlUla Jayco is looking to build upon a season of progress that saw some breakout performances as well as a first-ever Tour de France Femmes stage victory. The likes of Silke Smulders, Ruby Roseman-Gannon, and Monica Trinca Colonel will remain key riders for the Australian team.

Much of the squad will remain the same as it was in 2025, with four new additions making up the 15-rider roster. Matilde Vitillo, Mackenzie Coupland, and Noä Jansen have all graduated up from the development squad, while promising young Canadian Nadia Gontova has also joined.

A strong proving ground
GreenEDGE Cycling’s development teams, Hagens Berman Jayco and Liv AlUla Jayco Women’s Continental Team, will continue to provide a proving ground for young talents in 2026. Having seen Jansen, Vitillo, Coupland, and McKenzie all step into the WorldTour, there are several new faces aiming to grow as riders in a high-level environment.

Gene Bates – Team Jayco AlUla Sporting Manager:
“Basically, I think it feels like a fresh new start, a new chapter in the team and one we are excited about. We have several new signings in the group and coupled with some of our experienced riders who helped shape the team over the years, we are in a great place to start this new three-year cycle. You can certainly feel a real positive and ambitious energy in the team and staff, and I think we are all excited to get the season underway in January. We are hungry for success and want to win races in 2026, and we also want to do this with a clear culture of putting the team first and racing with unity and the underdog spirit!”

Wim Stroetinga – Liv AlUla Jayco Sporting Manager:
“We now have our team in place, and we’ve become even stronger across the board. Our philosophy is that we are strong together, and we use that to achieve the best possible results as a team. With these riders, we can definitely play a role in every race we start, in any lineup.”

Team Jayco AlUla for 2026 (29)
Pascal Ackermann (GER) – NEW
Koen Bouwman (NED)
Amaury Capiot (BEL) – NEW
Filippo Conca (ITA)
Alessandro Covi (ITA) – NEW
Dries De Bondt (BEL) – NEW
Dries De Pooter (BEL) – NEW
Davide De Pretto (ITA)
Robert Donaldson (GBR)
Paul Double (GBR)
Luke Durbridge (AUS)
Felix Engelhardt (GER)
Anders Foldager (DEN)
Patrick Gamper (AUT)
Alan Hatherly (RSA)
Asbjørn Hellemose (DEN)
Christopher Juul-Jensen (DEN)
Jelte Krijnsen (NED)
Michael Matthews (AUS)
Hamish McKenzie (AUS) – NEW, from the development team
Luka Mezgec (SLO)
Kelland O’Brien (AUS)
Ben O’Connor (AUS)
Finaly Pickering (GBR) – NEW
Luke Plapp (AUS)
Rudy Porter (AUS) – NEW
Mauro Schmid (SWI)
Jasha Sütterlin (GER)
Andrea Vendrame (ITA) – NEW

Liv AlUla Jayco for 2026 (15)
Caroline Andersson (SWE)
Georgia Baker (AUS)
Mackenzie Coupland (AUS) – NEW, from the development team
Nadia Gontova (CAN) – NEW
Noä Jansen (NED) – NEW, from the development team
Jeanne Korevaar (NED)
Amber Pate (AUS)
Letizia Paternoster (ITA)
Ruby Roseman-Gannon (AUS)
Silke Smulders (NED)
Josie Talbot (AUS)
Quinty Ton (NED)
Monica Trinca Colonel (ITA)
Matilde Vitillo (ITA) – NEW, from the development team
Ella Wyllie (NZL)

Hagens Berman Jayco for 2026 (13)
Jed Smithson (GBR) – NEW
David Gaffney (IRL) – NEW
Riccardo Colombo (ITA) – NEW
Vinnie Manion (AUS) – NEW
Wil Holmes (AUS)
Adam Rafferty (IRL)
Giacomo Serangeli (ITA) – NEW
Jasper Verbrugge (BEL) – NEW
Kieran Gordge (RSA) – NEW
Daniel Moreira (POR)
Carl Pedersen (DEN)
Mattia Sambinello (ITA)
Ben Wiggins (GBR)

Liv AlUla Jayco Women’s Continental Team (10)
Moroj Adil (KSA)
Alli Anderson (AUS) – NEW
Talia Appleton (AUS) – NEW
Erin Boothman (GBR) – NEW
Hélène Hesters (BEL)
Emma Jeffers (IRL)
Sophie Marr (AUS) – NEW
Lucinda Stewart (AUS)
Sidney Swierenga (CAN) – NEW
Anabelle Thomas (CAN) – NEW

Here’s the team’s news:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike proudly announces a new partnership with Bikeroom, a platform offering new and used premium bikes to cycling fans and consumers worldwide. As part of this collaboration, the Dutch cycling team will provide exclusive team bikes that will be made available to cycling enthusiasts around the world through Bikeroom.

Thanks to this partnership, fans will have the opportunity to ride the same bikes used by Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders. This allows fans to experience what it’s like to ride equipment developed for performance at the highest level.

Sven van der Lugt, Head of Partnerships & New Business:
Sven van der Lugt, Head of Partnerships & New Business at Team Visma | Lease a Bike, reacts enthusiastically: “Through our partnership with Bikeroom, fans get the chance to experience cycling on the same high-quality equipment our riders use. It’s a unique opportunity to get a piece of our sporting history in their hands.”

Denis Moretti & Matteo Maruzzi, founders of Bikeroom, are delighted to add the bikes of Team Visma | Lease a Bike to their collection: “Our mission is simple: to bring people’s dream bike within reach. Through our collaboration with Team Visma | Lease a Bike, we can now offer fans a bike from one of the most successful cycling teams. This way, we help even more people make their dream come true.”

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