News Round-up: More transfers and women’s ProTeams for 2025

The transfer market opened on Tuesday but it has gathered pace today, with a flurry of activity, notably from Tudor Pro Cycling, plus one marquee move from one super team to another. We have the sorry news of another doping case and the brighter prospect of a new women’s team structure, as well as the latest racing action from the Tour de Pologne and the Tour de l’Ain.

| Pavel Sivakov signs for UAE Team Emirates

The second day of the 2023-2024 transfer window has eclipsed the first, and we’ll bring you a full round-up below, but the headline move is Pavel Sivakov from Ineos Grenadiers to UAE Team Emirates.

Sivakov has won the Tour of the Alps, Tour de Pologne, and Vuelta a Burgos during his time with the British team, as well as grabbing a top-10 spot at the Giro d’Italia. However, he has arguably not fulfilled the promise of his stunning final U23 campaign in 2017. He has suffered his fair share of misfortune, crashes, and injuries, and has struggled to acquire a Grand Tour leadership role at the stacked British team.

The 26-year-old has decided the time is right to move on, and a move to UAE Team Emirates represents a bumper transfer between two of the world’s most powerful teams, even if he may find opportunities even more limited at a team that already boasts Tadej Pogačar, Juan Ayuso, João Almeida, Adam Yates, and Jay Vine.

“It’s going to open up a new chapter in my career after the past 6 years at Ineos,” said Sivakov, who has signed a three-year contract. “For sure it’s going to be a big change for me but I’m really looking forward to joining the UAE project. I’ve been seeing how the team has been developing over the years and I ‘m happy to become part of that, both to try and win races and to help to win races.”

| UCI introduces women’s ProTeams from 2025

There’s good news for the development of women’s professional cycling, as the UCI announced it will introduce a third tier of pro teams from the 2025 season.

As it stands, there are two divisions: Women’s WorldTour teams and Women’s Continental teams. In the future, however, there will be parity with the men’s sport with the creation of a ProTeam category, which sits in between WorldTour and Continental.

Plans for this had been in the works for 2026 but the UCI, “in view of the current boom in women’s cycling and following consultation with stakeholders” is fast-tracking it.
The new structure should continue the professionalisation of the sport as a whole, after recent milestones in the form of minimum salaries, maternity leave and other contractual provisions. More riders should be able to make a career of being a pro cyclist.

"With the creation of a second division of women’s professional teams […] the sector is continuing the impressive progress it has made in recent years,” said UCI president David Lappartient. “These advances will boost the sector and provide further evidence of its growth.”

| Robert Stannard accused of doping violation

Robert Stannard has been implicated in a doping case, with the UCI notifying the Australian rider of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation apparently dating back to 2018-2019.

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Robert Stannard’s indiscretion dates back to his time as a Mitchelton-Scott (now Jayco AlUla) rider

The UCI has not issued a statement on the case but has added Stannard to its list of provisional suspensions. The reason given is ‘Use of Prohibited Methods and/or Prohibited Substances’, with no date given for a specific sample collection.

Stannard’s current team, Alpecin-Deceuninck, revealed the news, saying: “The UCI considers that Robert Stannard committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation, back in 2018 and 2019.” Stannard was not an Alpecin-Deceuninck rider at the time; he turned professional with Jayco-AlUla - then known as Mitchelton-Scott - at the end of 2018 and rode his first full season for the Australian team in 2019 before joining Alpecin in 2022.

Stannard later issued a statement denying all wrongdoing. “I have never intentionally or knowingly used a prohibited substance and will therefore ask for my case to be referred to the UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal,” he said. “I look forward to filing my defence and am confident of being exonerated and continuing my career.”

| Van den Berg wins reduced bunch sprint at Tour de Pologne

EF Education-EasyPost rider Marijn van den Berg powered to victory on stage 5 of the Tour de Pologne, as another uphill finish produced an enthralling finale that saw multiple riders hit the deck in the melee for stage honours. It is the Dutchman’s first WorldTour win and his team’s 22nd victory of the season, putting them only one behind their 2014 high of 23.

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Marijn van den Berg celebrates with his teammates after the finish

With two category 1 climbs preceded by a category 2 test, stage 5 was always going to be a tough test for the peloton and so it proved, with a reduced peloton arriving for the lumpy finishing circuit in Bielsko-Biala circuit.

The final kilometre was dramatic and unfortunate for some, with five riders hitting the deck as the small bunch kicked uphill to the finish, but it was Van den Berg who survived the chaos to power to his third professional victory.

Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) finished second - for the second time in the race - and the bonus seconds saw him extend his overall lead. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) placed third, seeing his gap to Mohorič grow from 10 to 12 seconds, while Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) moved into the final provisional podium position at 18 seconds given Rafal Majka (UAE Team Emirates) dropped out of the top-10.

| Storer storms to Tour de l’Ain title, and incredible stat

Having suffered the embarrassment and pain of crashing over the finish line the previous afternoon, Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ) bounced back in the best possible way to win the final stage and the overall title at the Tour de l’Ain.

The Australian attacked on the last and most difficult of the final day’s seven climbs, the Col de Menthières (9.1km at 6.3%), before soloing down the descent and through the uphill drag to the line. It was an utterly convincing display, as he won by more than two minutes.

Race leader Alexander Cepeda (EF Education-EasyPost) was well distanced by Storer’s onslaught, as were most of the contenders, with Kenny Elissonde (Lidl-Trek) the only one capable of staying with him on the climb. Storer, however, kicked again towards the top and extended his lead all the way to the line.

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Michael Storer’s victory coincides with the announcement of his impending move to Tudor Pro Cycling at the end of 2023

It was a sixth career win for the 26-year-old and a remarkable repeat of his display here two years ago. In fact, the similarities are spookily similar. In both the 2021 and 2023 editions of the race, Storer placed 97th on the opening stage, 2nd on stage 2, and 1st on stage 3, winning the general classification and the points classification.

| Transfer round-up

We’ve had the Sivakov news but it’s been a busy day on the transfer market, with a number of signings, extensions, and rumours.

Tudor Pro Cycling have announced no fewer than seven new riders in one fell swoop. No messing around with drip-feeding at Fabian Cancellara’s team, who have secured a marquee name in the form of Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates), former European champion and stage winner in all three Grand Tours. There are some more big names, too, with Michael Storer - his recent exploits already covered in this round-up - joining from Groupama-FDJ. Meanwhile, not one but two dsm-firmenich sprinters arrive in the form of Alberto Dainese and Marius Mayrhofer, while Hannes Wilksch is plucked from the Dutch team’s development squad. The final rider to arrive is Alexander Krieger from Alpecin-Deceuninck.

Elsewhere, Mauro Schmid moves from Soudal-QuickStep to Jayco-AlUla and Simone Boilard shifts from St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93 to Uno-X. Cees Bol has extended his contract at Astana Qazaqstan, which will fuel the rumours of a possible Mark Cavendish career continuation, and Movistar have renewed with Sheyla Gutiérrez after an impressive Tour de France Femmes.

Other moves not yet confirmed but reported by GCN Editor Daniel Benson include Michael Schwarzmann from Lotto Dstny to Israel-Premier Tech and contract extensions at Lidl-Trek for Alex Kirsch and Julien Bernard.