Development teams in 2026: who moved riders up

Updated 29 October 2026 · every figure is sourced below

If you are a U23 rider on a Continental team, your odds of a 2027 pro contract depended mostly on one thing: whether your team belonged to a WorldTeam.

In our list of 2026 U23 riders, 126 raced for the development team of a WorldTeam. Seventeen of them have a 2027 step-up registered. On all other Continental teams, 266 riders produced 3 step-ups. That is about one in seven against about one in ninety.

All numbers in this article come from our own data, `data/talents/rising_2026_pcs.json`. It holds 752 U23 riders born 2004 to 2007 who had a notable result in 2026, with 2027 registrations as of 8 October 2026. It is not a full roster of each team. Riders without such a result are not in it.

The table

Uno-X Mobility is the 18th WorldTeam. We found no U23 rider from an Uno-X development team in our list. "Signed" means a 2027 team at WorldTeam or ProTeam level was registered on 8 October 2026. Later announcements are not included.

What the table shows

Most riders who step up stay in the family. Thirteen of the 17 step-ups went to the development team's own parent. Héctor Álvarez goes from Lidl-Trek Future Racing to Lidl-Trek. Lorenzo Finn goes from the Rookies to Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe. Aubin Sparfel moves up within Decathlon. Our Turning pro in 2027 article has the full list.

Some leave. Four riders signed with a different team:

• Kristian Egholm, Lidl-Trek Future Racing to Uno-X Mobility (WorldTeam)
• Liam O'Brien, Lidl-Trek Future Racing to Pinarello Q36.5 (ProTeam)
• Romet Pajur, Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe Rookies to Burgos Burpellet BH (ProTeam)
• Niels Driesen, Lotto-Groupe Wanty to Pinarello Q36.5 (ProTeam)

A place on a development team is not a lock-in. Other teams watch these riders too.

One step-up per team is normal. Fourteen of the 17 development teams moved up one rider or none. Only three moved up more: Lidl-Trek Future Racing (3), Lotto-Groupe Wanty (3) and the Red Bull Rookies (2). Five teams had no step-up registered by 8 October: Soudal Quick-Step, EF, Picnic PostNL, INEOS and Alpecin-Premier Tech.

A zero does not mean those teams failed. Riders can stay on a development team for another year, and contracts announced after 8 October are missing here.

Outside the system, it is rare. Only three Continental U23 riders without a WorldTeam parent signed for 2027. Jesper Stiansen moves up within Tudor, which runs its own U23 team under a ProTeam. Mads Landbo goes from Team ColoQuick to Movistar. Rafael Barbas goes from Tavfer to Caja Rural-Seguros RGA.

How development teams took over

This is new. In January 2022, The Inner Ring counted six WorldTeams with a formal UCI development team (The Inner Ring). In our 2026 data, 17 of 18 WorldTeams have one with riders in our list.

The rules shape the system. A development team must have the same nationality as its parent and be registered by the parent team as a UCI Continental team (The Inner Ring). Its riders can also race with the parent team in .Pro and class 1 races: up to two development riders in a .Pro race and up to four in a class 1 race (The Inner Ring). The development team and its parent cannot start the same race (UCI, via USA Cycling).

The races changed with the teams. The UCI ended the men's U23 Nations' Cup, a series raced by national teams, as WorldTour feeder teams took over more of the pathway (Cyclingnews). From 2026, the Tour de l'Avenir invites development teams. Since 2007 it had been raced by national teams (Tour de l'Avenir, Cyclingnews).

Not every team kept going. BMC closed its U23 programme after some of its best prospects went on to race for rival WorldTour teams (Velo). The same risk is visible in our table: four of 17 step-ups went to another team.

What this means for a young rider

• Aim for a development team linked to a pro team. In our data, 17 of the 20 Continental step-ups for 2027 came from WorldTeam development teams.
• Do not count on a fast promotion. Most development teams moved up one rider or none this year.
• Other teams are watching. Four riders left their development system for another pro team. Your contract and its length matter. Ask what happens if another team makes an offer.
• There is still a way in from outside. Three riders signed from independent Continental teams. Their results had to stand out. See 152 winners, 15 contracts.
• A trainee spot is another door. Riders on independent teams can race for a pro team from 1 August. See What is a stagiaire?

The full path from Continental level to the WorldTour, with salary minimums, is in our guide From Continental team to WorldTour.

How we counted

• Development teams: the Continental team of each 2026 WorldTeam, as registered in our data.
• U23 riders: riders born 2004 to 2007 in our list of 752, which includes only riders with a notable 2026 result. Method on our methodology page.
• Signed: a 2027 team at WorldTeam or ProTeam level registered on 8 October 2026.
• The script that produced every number here, `development-teams-2026.calc.py`, is kept in the repository history.

Sources

• Our data: `data/talents/rising_2026_pcs.json` (registrations from ProCyclingStats, 8 October 2026), methodology
• The Inner Ring: UCI Continental development teams (January 2022)
• UCI: Instructions for the registration of UCI teams 2026, Continental teams (hosted by USA Cycling)
• Cyclingnews: Under-23 Nations' Cup set to end as WorldTour feeder teams take over
• Cyclingnews: Tour de l'Avenir changes rules to invite development teams for 2026
• Tour de l'Avenir: Tour de l'Avenir changes format
• Velo: BMC to end U23 program after seeing prospects go to rival teams

Know a figure here that is wrong or out of date? Tell us.