The transfer season for next year has been in full swing for well over two months. Over that period, each team has approached a different approach; some like UAE Team Emirates - XRG have wasted little time and announced its full roster weeks, or even months ago. Others like Netcompany INEOS prefer to keep their options open for as long as possible, and still keep a few spots (officially) open as the month of October is coming to an end.

At the moment, the 2027 roster of Netcompany INEOS features 22 names, having most recently confirmed the arrivals of Danish all-rounder Michael Valgren from EF Education-EasyPost and Javier Romo, who terminated his contract at Movistar Team two seasons early to join the British structure, this week.

Of the remaining eight spots, as much can be concluded that most of them will be filled out by current Netcompany INEOS riders whose contract runs out at the end of 2026 season, but are expected to renew for the upcoming season. Such seems to be the situation for Tobias Foss, Axel Laurance, Connor Swift, Brandon Rivera and Sam Watson. Óscar Rodríguez should extend as well.

In addition, the WorldTour promotion of Academy racer Mattie Dodd is planned for 2027. However that may postponed if a better offer comes around. After all, the 2027 transfer market is very chaotic with riders switching teams more often than ever, and with several big names still yet to commit their futures.

Two champions yet to sign

With all that in mind, we can ascertain that at least one - if not two or three - roster spots remain open for Netcompany INEOS in 2027. But who could possibly complete their roster? Although the options have grown somewhat limited by this point of the transfer window, star riders such as Primoz Roglic and Alan Hatherly have not disclosed their plans for next season yet.

The situation around Primoz Roglic is probably more complicated that was necessary. The 36-year-old Slovenian postponed 2027 transfer talks until the very end of his season, closing several door in the process. But at the same time, handful other teams have kept the possibility of four-time Vuelta champion part of their plans.

After three years, the Slovenian's stint at Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe came to an end this season. That Roglic would not renew became apparent rather early as the team continued to build its "Tour-winning team" independent of the 2020 Grande Boucle runner-up with Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz as their new designated leaders.

And Roglic himself is, despite a rather late entry into the sport at the age of 26, starting to feel the top of the cycling world slipping away from his reach. In fact, even thoughts about retirement from the sport have crossed the former Olympic champion's mind. But the last two months have confirmed that the 36-year-old is far from a write-off.

Despite a sub-ideal start to the season; 5th at Tirreno-Adriatico, 16th at Volta a Catalunya, 18th at Tour de Romandie, 8th at Tour de Suisse definitely aren't the types of results Roglic would be used to, Roglic pulled through to finish the season on a high with a second place overall at Vuelta a Espana, and a European time trial title in front of home crowds in Slovenia.

With such performances, there is no shortage of Roglic's suitors.

First rumours suggested Lotto-Intermarché and even Unibet Rose Rockets as interested in Roglic's services, but those offers might've not caught the Slovenian's attention. Instead, an old acquaintance emerged: Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Roglic already spent the first eight seasons of his professional career with the Dutch formation and would find a familiar environment in his old home.

Roglic could fill out a massive hole at Netcompany INEOS

Netcompany INEOS have already recruited Oscar Onley and Kevin Vauquelin last winter with the hopes of bringing a breathe of fresh air to their GC lineup. But even though Onley show glimpses of the man who finished 4th at the 2025 Tour de France, injuries held back his progress somewhat.

Bar Thymen Arensman's fourth place at Giro, it is unfortunate to note that all the other GC leaders at the British team have fallen through at Grand Tours this year:

Egan Bernal had his best day at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and finished only 10th at Giro. Vauquelin did well in smaller races, but was merely a stage hunter at Tour. And Carlos Rodríguez simply had another year to forget after a promising start with a second place at Tour de la Provence.

For the new season, none but one signing give hope that this situation should turn around. The wonderkid Benjamín Noval Jr., double junior World champion and European ITT champion, jumps straight to WorldTour on a rumoured 5-year contract. The team has no doubt great hopes of the Spanish rider into future, but it'd be surprising even for as talented rider to immediately compete for a Grand Tour podium in his first year.

It is fair to assume that based on their respective 2026 performances, Netcompany INEOS will try to bring Onley back to Tour de France 2027, after he was ruled out from this year's edition by a crash at Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes.

With Arensman heading either to Giro, Tour... or both and Bernal likely to line up as a back-up leader, Vuelta a Espana 2027 leadership remains an open affair at the British team. For Roglic, this would be the perfect opportunity to try and secure the record-breaking fifth Vuelta title on a team known for high-quality support of their GC leaders.

Hatherly as Pidcock's replacement?

But Netcompany INEOS could also head in a completely different direction... towards the mountain bike world! The two-time XCO world champion Alan Hatherly is officially without a team at the moment.

The Southafrican's two-year stay at Jayco AlUla yielded a moderate success including a third place overall at the 2026 Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali (2.1), but his focus remained on mountain bikes - even though the 2026 campaign left much to be desired without a single top-10 finish.

With the new UCI ranking system set to incorporate mountain bike results into the road ranking, Hatherly is a perfect fit for any team looking to add a leader-worth of points without the need to make too many sacrifices in the team's pecking order.

And on top of that, a strong mountain-biker such as Hatherly can bring the sponsors a great deal of visibility on a new market.

For Netcompany INEOS and bike manufacturer Pinarello, this wouldn't be a step into unknown. Between 2021-2024, they have supported Tom Pidcock's mountain-bike adventures, which included 9 World Cup victories, European and World titles, and a pair of Olympic gold medals.

Giro top-12 finisher still in search of a team

The list of names available on the transfer market does not end at just Hatherly or Roglic though. The list of experienced riders who are yet to secure a team for the upcoming season features Grand Tour stage winners, strong Classics riders and valued road captains alike.

The word of Primoz Roglic's made a stain in Jan Hirt's plans. The 35-year-old climber was long assumed to be heading to Visma | Lease a Bike to play the role of important mountain domestique in the hardest of mountain stages, similar to Sepp Kuss, but exploring the possibility to sign Vuelta runner-up Roglic obviously takes priority.

The Czech rider demonstrated his Grand Tour abilities clearly this year when he finished top-15 at both Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana. Netcompany INEOS could use an experienced domestique to be at hand of their leaders in the high mountains - something Oscar Onley was lacking at the Vuelta.