Transfer Mechanics: Analysing teams 2020 – Part 3

Adam Yates – and his twin brother Simon – will once again be relied upon by Australian WorldTour team Mitchelton-Scott for their Grand Tour ambitions (Image credit: Getty Images)

With the European road season now firmly behind us, and most rosters secured for next season, Cyclingnews takes a look at the 2019-20 transfer market. We delve into the ins and outs, and the analysis of who's gone where and which teams have dealt themselves a stronger or weaker hand.

In our first instalment, we looked at AG2R La Mondiale, Astana, Bahrain-McLaren and Bora-Hansgrohe, followed by CCC Team, Deceuninck-QuickStep, Dimension Data, EF Education First and Groupama-FDJ.

With Chris Froome 34 and recovering from injury, and Geraint Thomas now 33, the future of Team Ineos seems to revolve around Egan Bernal. Even if new arrival Richard Carapaz is a Grand Tour winner and potential team leader in his own right, Bernal is the centre of the project. Brandon Rivera is a childhood friend and old mountain-bike rival of Bernal's, and looks set to form part of his entourage.

That's not to say that team manager Dave Brailsford isn't reaching into his notoriously deep pockets, however. Firstly, it should be pointed out that Ineos can land the likes of Bernal and Sivakov by being able to offer the most attractive terms. Secondly, the Carapaz signing seems like pure indulgence, bringing the number of Grand Tour winners to four and enhancing that strength in depth they possess over their rivals. Amador would only enhance the feeling that they're not just stockpiling the best leaders but the best domestiques, too.

Several promising riders who have got lost in the works over the past couple of years are leaving Team Ineos. Halvorsen won the U23 Worlds in 2016 but has done little of note compared to the riders he beat that day, not least Pascal Ackermann. Diego Rosa hasn't kicked on from the displays that had teams fighting for his signature three years ago, while De la Cruz has had a poor season and was reportedly shoehorned into the Vuelta line-up by his agent. The rider forced to make way in Spain? Elissonde, who will be remembered at the team for teeing up Froome's famous Giro-winning attack but who was ultimately deemed dispensable.

Tom Dumoulin is a blockbuster signing and a real statement of intent. Swooping while the 29-year-old's relationship with Team Sunweb plummeted in the early summer represented a fine piece of business, and the biggest Dutch team now have the biggest Dutch rider. Roglic wasn't put off, signing a lucrative new contract that'll keep him there for the next four years. Quite how Jumbo-Visma deploy their resources – whether they split the Grand Tours evenly or take an all-star cast to the Tour – remains to be seen, but it's a headache the management are no doubt happy to have.

Dumoulin is the marquee signing but Tobias Foss is one of the most promising talents in the sport, having won this year's Tour de l'Avenir. The Norwegian, who can time trial as well as climb, looks a Grand Tour contender in the making, and Jumbo beat a number of teams to his signature. There's an emphasis on youth on the contract extensions list, with Kuss, Tolhoek and Bouwman all on board for another two years. The three of them were lacking at the Giro but are considered the engine room for the Grand Tour charge.

Amongst all this, it's easy to forget about a certain Dylan Groenewegen. The Dutch sprinter won more races than anyone else this year, but where does he fit into this rapidly evolving squad? Choosing what to do with their GC resources is one thing; trying to slot a sprinter and lead-out into the mix is another. The Dutch sprinter has signed a mammoth four-year extension but it's hard to see his status or opportunity in the team anything other than diminished.

Analysis: Tiesj Benoot was once the future of this team, hyped to the rafters after finishing fifth in his first Tour of Flanders in his first pro season. Almost four years on, he has won Strade Bianche but nothing else. Even if he has consistently demonstrated his ability, there's a sense the last couple of years haven't worked out quite the way either party envisioned. He has decided to leave for Team Sunweb, and Lotto will also say good-bye to their secondary cobbled Classics leader, Jens Keukeleire, as well as Lawrence Naesen.

Out with the development project built around a young talent, in with two established stars who are over 30. The arrival of Philippe Gilbert and John Degenkolb certainly adds some much-needed lustre to the Belgian team's Classics division, but there will be question marks over whether their best days are behind them. Thirty-seven-year-old Gilbert's best days came in a Lotto jersey, back in his all-conquering 2011 campaign, and so there is some romance to this reunion, but a three-year contract indicates rather loftier ambitions and expectation.

Acquadro allegedly strung Movistar along with Carapaz when the Ecuadorian had already agreed terms with Ineos, while Amador has reportedly gone back on a pre-agreement for a contract extension. Both are huge losses, and Unzue is so fed up he has remarkably cut all dealings with Acquadro. That means Imanol Erviti and Sergio Samitier both had to find new agents in order to finalise their respective deals. Some riders will see that as a price worth paying but an Acquadro freeze-out massively hamstrings the team in the market now and in the future.

Signing Enric Mas makes sense all round: Movistar getting the brightest young Spanish talent and Mas moving to a team that can support him. His podium at the 2018 Vuelta was an indication of his potential, but his performance at this year's Tour showed he is far from the finished article and, in a year where Alejandro Valverde's main focus will be one-day objectives and the Tokyo Olympics , a lot of responsibility rests on the 24-year-old's shoulders.

Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.