2020 season: World Tour transfers - All the changes for the professional cyclists

Many prominent names changed teams at the start of the official transfer period on 1 August 2019. With Giro winner Richard Carapaz (to Ineos), Nairo Quintana (to Arkea-Samsic) and Mikel Landa (to Bahrain-Merida), the Spanish team Movistar lost its three best tour riders. Other tour specialists are also changing teams: Vincenzo Nibali is joining Trek-Segafredo, Tom Dumoulin is strengthening Jumob Visma and Dan Martin has signed a contract with Israel Cycling Academy, which will be promoted to the top tier of cycling next season by taking over Katusha's WorldTour licence.

Despite the departure of Tour debutant Lennard Kämna to Bora-hansgrohe, Team Sunweb was able to expand its German contingent: With Nico Denz and Jasha Sütterlin, two seasoned racers joined the classics fraction. Speaking of classics: former star Philippe Gilbert returns from Quickstep to Lotto-Soudal, where he was already under contract until 2012.

In 2020, four young German riders made the leap into the WorldTour: Jonas Rutsch with Education First, Georg Zimmermann with CCC, Jannik Steimle with Quickstep and Juri Hollmann with Movistar.

Here is an overview of all the changes so far, with German drivers bolded to make them easier to recognise:

Ag2r

• New arrivals: Harry Tanfield (Team Katusha Alpecin), Lawrence Naesen (Lotto Soudal), Andrea Vendrame (Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec).
• Departures: Nico Denz (Team Sunweb).

Astana

• New signings: Fabio Felline (Trek-Segafredo), Davide Martinelli (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Harold Tejada Canacue (Team Medellín), Vadim Pronskiy (Stagiaire), Aleksandr Vlasov (Gazprom-RusVelo), Alex Aranburu (Caja Rural), Oscar Rodrigeuz (Euskadi-Murias).
• Departures: Magnus Cort Nielsen (Education First), Dario Cataldo (Movistar Team), Davide Villella (Movistar Team), Andrey Zeits (Mitchelton-SCOTT), Davide Ballerini (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Jan Hirt (CCC Team), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-Merida)
  

Bahrain-Merida

• New signings: Mark Cavendish (Team Dimension Data), Mikel Landa, Rafael Valls (both Movistar Team), Wout Poels (Team Ineos), Scott Davies (Team Dimension Data), Pello Bilbao (Astana Pro Team), Marco Haller (Team Katusha Alpecin), Eros Capecchi (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Kevin Inkelaar (Equipe Continentale Groupama-FDJ)
• Departures: Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo), Antonio Nibali (Trek-Segafredo).

Bora-hansgrohe

• New arrivals: Matteo Fabro (Katusha Alpecin), Lennard Kämna (Team Sunweb), Ide Schelling (SEG Racing Acacdmy), Martin Laas (Team Illuminate), Patrick Gamper (Tirol KTM Cycling Team)
• Departures: Christoph Pfingsten (Team Jumbo-Visma)Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates).

Team CCC

• New arrivals: Fausto Masnada (Androni Gicattoli - Sidermec), Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-SCOTT), Georg Zimmermann (Tirol KTM Cycling Team)Ilnur Zakarin, Pavel Kochetkov (both Katusha Alpecin), Jan Hirt (Astana Pro Team), Michał Paluta, Kamil Małeck (CCC Development Team)
• Departures: Lukasz Owsian (Team Arkéa Samsic), Riccardo Zoidl (Team Felbermayr - Simplon Wels), Amaro Antunes (W52/FC Porto)

Decceuninck-Quickstep

• New arrivals: Davide Ballerini (Astana Pro Team), Andrea Bagioli (Team Colpack), Stijn Steels (Roompot-Charles), Bert Van Lerberghe (Cofidis), Mattia Cattaneo (Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec), João Almeida (Hagens Berman Axeon), Mauri Vansevenant, Jannik Steimle (Team Vorarlberg)Ian Garrison (Hagens Berman Axeon)
• Departures: Philippe Gilbert (Lotto Soudal), Max Richeze (UAE Team Emirates), Elia Viviani (Cofidis), Fabio Sabatini (Cofidis), Davide Martinelli (Astana Pro Team), Enric Mas (Movistar Team), Eros Capecchi (Bahrain Merida)

Team NTT (launched in 2019 under the name "Dimension Data")

• New additions: Dylan Sunderland (Team BridgeLane), Max Walscheid (Team Sunweb)Michael Gogl (Trek-Segafredo), Victor Campanaerts (Lotto Soudal), Carlos Barbero (Movistar Team), Matteo Sobrero, Samuele Battistella (both Dimension Data for Qhubeka), Benjamin Dyball (Team Sapura), Andreas Stokbro (Riwal Readynez)
• Departures: Tom-Jelte Slagter (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept), Mark Cavendish, Scott Davies (both Bahrain Merida), Julien Vermote (Team Cofidis)

Education First

• New additions: Jonas Rutsch (Team Lotto - Kern Haus), Neilson Powless (Team Jumbo-Visma), Magnus Cort Nielsen (Astana Pro Team), Kristoffer Halvorsen (Team INEOS), Jens Keukeleire (Lotto Soudal), Ruben Guerreiro (Katusha-Alpecin), Stefan Bissegger (Swiss Racing Academy)
• Departures: Joe Dombrowski (UAE Team Emirates), Nathan Brown (Rally UHC Cycling), Dan McLay (Team Arkéa Samsic).

Groupama-FDJ

• New arrivals: Alexys Brunel, Simon Guglielmi (both Equipe Continentale Groupama-FDJ)
• Departures: Daniel Hoelgaard (Uno-X Norwegian Development Team)

Team Ineos

• Newcomers: Richard Carapaz (Movistar), Brandon Rivera (GW-Shimano), Carlos Rodriguez (Polartec-Kometa).
• Departures: Wout Poels (Bahrain Merida), Kenny Ellisonde (Trek-Segafredo), Diego Rosa (Team Arkéa Samsic), Kristoffer Halvorsen (EF Education First), David de la Cruz (UAE Emirates).

Israel Cycling Academy

• New arrivals: Andre Greipel (Arkea Samsic), Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates), Rory Sutherland (UAE Team Emirates), Hugo Hofstetter (Cofidis), Patrick Schelling (Team Vorarlberg Santic), James Piccoli (Elevate - KHS Pro Cycling), Alexis Renard, Norman Vahtra, Daniel Navarro, Jenthe Biermans, Rick Zabel, Nils PolittMads Wurtz Schmidt (all Team Katusha Alpecin)
• Departures: August Jensen (Riwal Readynez), Sondre Holst Enger (Riwal Readynez), Ruben Plaza, Zak Dempster (both career end).

Jumbo-Visma

• New additions: Christoph Pfingsten (BORA-hansgrohe), Chris Harper (Team BridgeLane), Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), Tobias Foss (Uno-X Norwegian Development Team).
• Departures: Neilson Powless (EF Education First), Danny Van Poppel (Wanty-Gobert).

Lotto-Soudal

• Newcomers: Jon Dibben, Matthew Holmes (both Madison Genesis), Steff Cras (Katusha-Alpecin), Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Kobe Goossens (Lotto Soudal U23), Stefano Oldani (Kometa Cycling Team), John Degenkolb (Trek Segafredo).
• Departures: Victor Campanaerts (Team Dimension Data), Lawrence Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale), Tiesj Benoot (Team Sunweb), Jens Keukeleire (Education First).

Mitchelton-Scott

• New arrivals: Barnabás Peák (SEG Racing Academy), Andrey Zeits (Astana Pro Team), Alexander Konychev (Dimension Data)
• Departures: Matteo Trentin (CCC Team).

Movistar

• New signings: Enric Mas (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Dario Cataldo, Davide Villella (both Astana Pro Team), Gabriel Culliaigh (Team Wiggins Le Col), Juan Diego Alba (Coldeportes Zenú), Einer Rubio (Aran Cucine - Vejus), Juri Hollman (Heizomat Rad-Net)Matteo Jorgenson, Sergio Samitier (Euskadi-Murias)
• Departures: Richard Carapaz (Team INEOS), Nairo Quintana (Team Arkéa Samsic), Rafael Valls, Mikel Landa (both Bahrain Merida), Jasha Sütterlin (Team Sunweb), Winner Anacona (Team Arkéa Samsic), Carlos Barbero (Team Dimension Data), Ruben Fernandez (Fundación Euskadi).

Team Sunweb

• New additions: Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal), Nico Denz (AG2R La Mondiale), Jasha Sütterlin (Movistar Team), Mark Donovan (Team Wiggins Le Col), Thymen Arensman, Alberto Dainese (both SEG Racing Academy).
• Departures: Max Walscheid (Team Dimension Data)Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma), Louis Vervaecke (Corendon-Circus), Lennard Kämna (BORA - hansgrohe).

Trek-Segafredo

• Newcomers: Quinn Simmons (Lux Junior Cycling), Kenny Ellisonde (Team INEOS), Emils Liepins (Wallonie-Bruxelles), Alexander Kamp (Riwal Readynez), Vincenzo Nibali, Antonio Nibali (both Bahrain-Merida), Juan Pedro López , Michel Ries (both Kometa Cycling Team), Nicolas Debeaumarché (stagiaire), Charlie Quarterman (Leopard Pro Cycling), Antonio Tiberi (Team Colpack)
• Departures: John Degenkolb (Lotto-Soudal), Michael Gogl (Team Dimension Data), Fabio Felline (Astana), Fumiyuki Beppu (Delko Marseille Provence)

UAE Emirates

• New arrivals: Joe Dombrowski (EF Education First), Davide Formolo (BORA-hansgrohe), David de la Cruz (Team INEOS), Max Richeze (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Camilo Ardila, Brandon McNulty (Rally UHC Cycling), Mikkel Bjerg (Hagens Berman Axeon), Alessandro Covi (stagiaire), Matthew Beers (stagiaire), Nicolas Dalla Valle (stagiaire).
• Departures: Dan Martin (Israel Cycling Academy), Simone Consonni (Cofidis), Simone Petilli (Wanty-Gobert), Rory Sutherland (ISrael Cycling Academy)

Katusha-Alpecin (to be dissolved at the end of 2019)