Now that the 2026 season is over and we know who will get the mandatory wild cards (Pinarello, Tudor and Cofidis) and which PRT teams are not eligible for the Grand Tours (mainly Bardiani), my prediction/discussion for the 2027 Grand Tour Wild Cards. The assumption is that Pinarello, Tudor and Cofidis particpate in all Grand Tours (very likely) and that no WT teams fold before the end of the season (likely, but it could also be otherwise - see especially Picnic).

Giro: Solution Tech and Polti. The only other serious contender is MBH, but for me it would be strange if they get the wild card in the first year they are eligible for it.

Vuelta: I do this first, because the Tour Wild Card might depend on it. The logical choice is Caja Rural and Euskadi; the have a rotation system which would give it to them.

Tour de France: TotalEnergies (well they will be called differently next year) after being surprisingly saved, is a given. Hm, normally then it should be Unibet with the French licence, the ranking and also their riders and appeal. I will not go into the troubles they had with ASO in the past. But Burgos does have a good roster....hm, in the end I give it to Unibet, nevertheless..

No post on the Decathlon CMA CGM website yet but here is the news from their insta:

https://www.instagram.com/decathloncmacgmteam/reel/DetWsgxuNSn/?hl=de

Ben O’Connor is back home! 💙

He left his mark on the team between 2021 and 2024, with a stage win at the Tour de France in 2021 and another at the Vuelta in 2024, where he also finished 2nd overall. Ben has signed through 2028.

Welcome back, Ben!

Canyon-SRAM have registered as Canyon-SRAM Scalable Capital for 2027, ushering in a new title sponsor after their split from zondacrypto earlier this year.

Scalable Capital came on board at the team in August as a non-naming sponsor, with their logo appearing on the team's vehicle and helmets, but they will step up a level in 2027 as a third title sponsor.

• Richard Carapaz
• Eddie Dunbar
• Dylan van Baarle
• Adam Yates
• Tao Geoghan Hart
• Luke Plapp
• Dani Martinez
• Pavel Sivakov
• Ben Tullet
• Ethan Hayter
• Jonathan Narvaez
• Tom Pidcock
• Andrew August
• Filippo Ganna
• Laurens de Plus
• Magnus Sheffield
• Ben Turner

The rider retention problem at Ineos is crazy. This is 2 pretty stacked TDF teams of riders that have left in the last 5 years. Interesting comparison to UAE who lock anyone half decent down with multi-year contracts long before they are up for renewal.