Seven of the most exciting pro cycling transfers for 2021 

The end of the 2020 season will come as a relief to plenty of pros in the peloton, after all the uncertainty and stress of the last year.

Some of those riders will also be looking to 2021 with a new kit and a new team, as there are some huge transfers taking place this off-season.

From Grand Tour stars like Chris Froome and Romain Bardet, to dominant riders like Annemiek van Vleuten, there will be some big changes to get used to next year.

We take a look at some of the biggest transfers for 2021: 

Annemiek van Vleuten and Marianne Vos

It’s rare that a transfer has an impact on the entire peloton, but in 2021 women’s racing will be completely reshaped by two huge transfers as Annemiek van Vleuten and Marianne Vos both depart their respective teams. 

The Dutch pairing have more than 300 wins between them (231 for Vos, 73 for Van Vleuten) and both continue to dominate the top step in a variety of races. 

Van Vleuten will be joining Spanish Women’s WorldTour team Movistar after five years with Mitchelton-Scott. 

Having picked up two Giro Rosa titles, two World Championship time trial jerseys, and victory in the 2019 Worlds road race, Van Vleuten is likely to transform the entire Movistar team.

Vos, three-time world champion, has changed teams more consistently during her career and will be leaving CCC-Liv after two years.

The 33-year-old will be joining the new Jumbo-Visma women’s team, giving her the chance to race for a home squad. 

If the women’s Jumbo squad is anything like the men’s outfit, we could see a new super-team with a star rider at the helm.

Chris Froome and Romain Bardet

 The biggest Grand Tour contenders often stick with the same teams for long periods, as consistency is so key when fighting for victory in a three-week race, but this year two of the biggest names in the Tour de France will be shaking things up. 

Chris Froome will be leaving Ineos Grenadiers, formerly Team Sky, after a decade while Romain Bardet will be parting ways with Ag2r La Mondiale after eight seasons. 

Both riders have been regular features on the Tour de France podium - Froome on the top step on four occasions, while Frenchman Bardet has finished second and third in Paris. 

Froome, now 35, will be heading to Israel Start-Up Nation to take over the sole Grand Tour leadership, as Ineos look to back riders like Egan Bernal and Richard Carapaz in the future.

The Brit has also been recovering from serious injuries suffered last season, so the question now is will he be able to get back to his best, while also adjusting to an entirely new team. 

Bardet has struggled for results in the Tour in recent years, prompting him to seek a new start with Sunweb, who have been rebuilding after the departure of Tom Dumoulin.

Sunweb is also parting ways with riders like Sam Oomen and Wilco Kelderman, so Bardet will take up a prominent spot in the squad, but he has also said he wants to focus more on the Classics as well, where Sunweb are making decent improvements.

Tom Pidcock

The arrival of Tom Pidcock at WorldTour level has been long-awaited, as the Yorkshireman ha been patient with his development in the under-23 ranks

But the time has arrived and Pidcock will be joining the biggest team there is, Ineos Grenadiers.

There are a number of questions the transfer does beg however, most importantly about how the pressure of riding for a British team will impact the 21-year-old, and also whether he will be given free reign to compete across disciplines. 

Pidcock has dominated the U23 scene in road racing, cyclocross, and mountain biking, even becoming the e-MTB world champion this year. 

Having signed with for three years, it’s clear development is still the goal for Pidcock and Ineos. 

Teniel Campbell

Described as “one of the most promising raw talents," Teniel Campbell is a rider to watch in 2021. 

The 23-year-old is joining the Women’s WorldTour with Mitchelton-Scott next season after developing her talents at the World Cycling Centre since 2018. 

Campbell, from Trinidad and Tobago, said: “ Mitchelton-Scott has been my dream team ever since I was in the World Cycling Centre, some days I have to pinch myself to believe it’s actually happening. 

“I never thought I would get to this point so quickly… to be performing so well amongst the best in Europe was really a shock to everyone because they wouldn’t expect me to fit in so quickly and already be a force to reckon with on the circuit.”

While Campbell has been singled out as a potential Classics specialist, she also hopes to experience stage racing to discover if she has the ability to become a general classification contender. 

Greg Van Avermaet

There will also be movement among the Classics stars, as Greg Van Avermaet will be leaving the CCC Team as the squad’s future looks uncertain. 

Van Avermaet will be heading for Ag2r La Mondiale, a team not famed for its prestige in the Classics but who are making improvements in the spring.  

Olympic champion Van Avermaet will be joining his compatriot Oliver Naesen at the renamed Ag2r-Citroën on a three-year deal, to give the French squad a few more opportunities in one-day races.

Naesen has podium finishes in Milan-San Remo, Ghent-Wevelgem and E3 Harelbeke but has yet to clinch a major Classics win, while Van Avermaet has two editions of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to his name, along with a Paris-Roubaix title as well as Ghent-Wevelgem and E3.

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But the dream of winning the Tour of Flanders continues to elude Van Avermaet, as the Belgian was forced to miss his home Monument this year due to injury.

Ag2r’s Benoît Cosnefroy has also shown great potential in one-day races, with podium finishes in Flèche Wallonne, Brabantse Pijl and Paris-Tours this year, making Ag2r a team to watch for the future.