Decathlon signs O’Connor, Sivakov and De Plus to support Seixas, as Carapaz and Blasi break contracts to move
The French team confirmed three Grand Tour riders for 2027 on 20 October. Richard Carapaz joins NSN after EF let him go to cut costs, Paula Blasi signs for Movistar, and Primož Roglič, 37 on 29 October, still has no team.
Decathlon CMA CGM confirmed three new Grand Tour riders for 2027 on 20 October, signing Ben O’Connor, Pavel Sivakov and Laurens De Plus to ride alongside Paul Seixas.
The 20-year-old Frenchman, who was fourth at the Tour de France in July and won Il Lombardia on 10 October, is under contract with the team until the end of 2027. Decathlon wants to keep him beyond that, and Cyclingnews and Brújula Bike both described the signings as part of that effort.
Three helpers, and a homecoming
O’Connor returns to the team he rode for from 2021 to 2024, when he won stages of the Tour and the Vuelta a España and finished second overall at the Vuelta. The 30-year-old Australian spent 2025 and 2026 at Jayco AlUla. “Hey everyone, guess who’s back?” he said in the team’s announcement, quoted by Cyclingnews. Brújula Bike reported that his contract runs to the end of 2028.
Sivakov, 29, leaves UAE Team Emirates-XRG after three seasons in which he helped Tadej Pogačar to Tour wins in 2024 and 2025. “An experienced rider, Pavel joins our project through 2029,” Decathlon said in a statement. De Plus joins from Netcompany Ineos; Brújula Bike reported a contract to the end of 2028.
Cyclingnews reported that Decathlon has moved its company base to Switzerland to free up room in its wage budget. The team has not published the terms of any of the deals.
Carapaz goes, and EF explains why
NSN Cycling announced on 16 October that Richard Carapaz will join on a three-year contract from 2027. The 33-year-old Ecuadorian, the 2019 Giro d’Italia winner and Olympic road race champion, won two Tour stages and the mountains jersey in July, then finished fourth at the Vuelta. According to Cyclingnews, his EF Education-EasyPost contract ran to the end of 2027.
“For me, it’s a tremendous opportunity as a rider to be part of this project and, above all, to be one of the team’s leaders,” Carapaz said in NSN’s announcement.
EF did not fight the move. Team boss Jonathan Vaughters told Escape Collective, as reported by Cyclingnews, that “our economic resources were stretched to the point that we needed to make some hard decisions”. He indicated budget cuts of around 15 per cent, partly because Oatly is leaving as a title sponsor of the women’s team. “We willingly let Richie go. It was not forced,” he said.
EF has since signed Tao Geoghegan Hart, the 2020 Giro winner, from Lidl-Trek, announced on 19 October. Cyclingnews reported that the deal appears to be for one year. “On a personal level, it’s really about trying to refind the condition I had in my best years,” Geoghegan Hart said in EF’s statement.
Blasi chooses Movistar
In the women’s peloton, Movistar confirmed on 21 October that Paula Blasi had signed for three seasons. The 23-year-old Spaniard won the Vuelta Femenina and the Amstel Gold Race in 2026, her first full professional season, and was fifth on her Tour de France Femmes debut. She is leaving UAE Team L’IMAD a year before her contract ends.
Spanish newspaper Marca reported that Movistar paid a buy-out of €85,000 and that Blasi turned down a bigger offer to stay. Neither figure has been confirmed by the teams. “I turned down a much bigger contract so I could race where I wanted,” she told Marca. “I didn’t want to earn a huge amount for three years and end up hanging up my bike because I couldn’t take it anymore.”
Roglič still undecided
Primož Roglič, who turns 37 on 29 October, has not announced a team for 2027. Il Lombardia on 10 October was his last race for Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, Domestique reported, ending a three-year spell there. Before that race he said: “I believe I will continue racing,” while not ruling out retirement.
Several teams have been linked with him, but no deal has been confirmed. Roglič confirmed talks with Lotto-Intermarché before the Vuelta, Domestique reported. Unibet Rose Rockets founder Bas Tietema told Sporza the team had been in contact with him. WielerFlits reported that Visma | Lease a Bike had made enquiries. Tudor and Pinarello-Q36.5 have also been named in speculation. All of these remain reports.
