The beginning of August brings the biking switch season, the place riders and groups can announce their signings and contracts for the following yr.
The most important strikes, like Remco Evenepoel to Crimson Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, are those that make the headlines, however there are lots of of transfers every year, in any respect completely different ranges.
Stagiaires are younger riders who will experience for a crew on a trial foundation between August and December, to achieve racing expertise and attempt to show their value for a full contract – learn on for a full clarification, and the principles round stagiaires.
What’s a stagiaire?
‘Stagiaire’ is the French phrase for ‘intern’, and that principally sums up what a stagiaire stint is: a rider is basically interning for a crew, using for them on a trial foundation to achieve expertise and race kilometres.
Like an internship, there is not all the time a promise of employment or a full contract on the finish of a stagiaire interval.
Some will experience as a stagiaire to basically get a head begin on their WorldTour profession with a crew they’ve already signed for – assume Cat Ferguson racing for Movistar on the finish of final yr when she’d lengthy been signed for 2025 – however many will return to their previous crew, or a unique lower-level crew.
Nonetheless, they’ll additionally become full contracts, for the season to come back or a future one, and these stagiaire durations are vital for gaining relationships and connections with groups.
While stagiaire rides are primarily to achieve expertise in races, it is not exceptional for riders to search out success while using as a stagiaire – in 2023, for instance, the USA’s Riley Sheehan gained Paris-Excursions while on a stagiaire contract with Israel-Premier Tech. A full contract for the following yr was introduced shortly after his win.
At improvement groups that are not linked to professional groups, it is usually actually vital for crew managers to foster relationships with WorldTour groups that can provide them stagiaire spots – for instance, AVC Aix-en-Provence usually ship riders on to Cofidis.
Stagiaire guidelines
Like something in biking, there are specific guidelines that govern what groups can and may’t do with their stagiaires.
Firstly, groups are solely allowed to tackle a most of three per season. This may be along with the 28 (or 30, together with two neo-pros) riders {that a} crew is normally allowed to have, so groups may have as much as 33 riders in the long run a part of the season.
Nonetheless, associated to this, stagiaires do not earn any UCI factors for his or her crew while on a trainee contract. That is to stop groups from simply farming factors by way of stagiaires on the finish of a season. The rider themself will earn the factors, however they will not depend on the UCI crew rankings.
Thirdly, stagiaires aren’t permitted to experience WorldTour races, solely Professional races and beneath – however thankfully, there are many them on the finish of the season. This additionally offers WorldTour groups the prospect to relaxation a few of their fundamental squad and fill out the roster for the late-season one-day races with stagiaires.
There isn’t a restrict on age for a stagiaire; they only must haven’t had knowledgeable contract beforehand.
Why are stagiaires changing into much less frequent?
At this level in 2025, solely seven riders have been introduced as stagiaires for males’s WorldTour groups, which is about half of the quantity we have seen in the previous couple of years.
The explanations for this are advanced and diversified, however have rather a lot to do with the truth that riders are signing full contracts youthful and youthful. Due to this, riders and brokers know it is an choice and can push for a full contract over a stagiaire contract.
On the crew’s aspect, in the event that they assume a rider is sweet sufficient, they may simply signal them correctly – the elevated significance of information and scouting means these trial durations are much less invaluable now.
Furthermore, many extra WorldTour groups now have improvement squads, which considerably defeats the aim of stagiaires, as improvement riders can experience non-WorldTour races with the WorldTour squad at any time in the course of the season, or certainly be moved up at any level if there may be house. So groups do not want a proper stagiaire contract to present younger riders racing expertise.
Nonetheless, there are nonetheless some stagiaires at WorldTour stage, and nonetheless many at ProTeam and Continental stage, and so they’re a great way of figuring out new expertise, so they’re value being throughout as a fan.
Stagiaires to observe in 2025
The principle stagiaire rider you must regulate this autumn is Paula Ostiz, who’s using for Movistar. She already has a contract introduced with the crew for 2026-28, however will make her debut this autumn as a stagiaire, much like Cat Ferguson final yr.
Ostiz is among the most enjoyable junior prospects within the sport proper now, competing with the most effective juniors final yr – when she was nonetheless a first-year rider – and once more this yr. She took her greatest consequence thus far when she gained the junior Tour of Flanders, changing into the primary Spanish rider to ever win any iteration of the massive Belgian Traditional.
She additionally gained the Watersley Women Problem, an under-23 race, at simply 18, and is a favorite for the World Championships developing.
It isn’t but introduced which professional races she’s going to experience for Movistar this summer time and autumn, however do not be shocked if she repeats Ferguson’s success and takes an early high consequence, or perhaps a win, earlier than her everlasting switch to the WorldTour in January.
Stagiaires index
WorldTour stagiaires for the 2025 season
Alpecin Deceuninck
Arkéa-B&B Inns
- Camille Charret (19, from Vélo Membership Villefranche Beaujolais)
Cofidis
- Léandre Huck (25, from Veloce Membership Rouen 76)
- Jamie Meehan (21, from AVC Aix Provence Dole)
- Tommaso Dati (23, from Biesse-Carrera-Premac)
Picnic PostNL
- Dillon Corkery (26, from St Michel-Choice Residence-Auber93)
- Timo de Jong (26, from VolkerWessels)
Ladies’s WorldTour stagiaires for the 2025 season
Lidl-Trek
- Marine Lenehan (27, from Dan Morissey Primor by Pissei)
Movistar
- Paula Ostiz (18, from Café Baqué)
High ProTeam stagiaires for the 2025 season:
Arkéa-B&B Inns Ladies
Israel-Premier Tech
- Zac Marriage (21, 7Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines)
Lotto
- Matthew Fox (22, Veloce Membership Rouen 76)
TotalEnergies
- Theo Lévêque (21, Vendée U Pays de la Loire)
- Mathéo Barusseau (20, Vendée U Pays de la Loire)
- Adam Mitchell (23, Vendée U Pays de la Loire)
Uno-X Mobility
- Storm Ingebritsen (20, Staff Coop-Repsol)
- Tobias Svarre (21, Staff ColoQuick)
Cyclingnews will cowl the entire 2026 biking transfers from across the males’s and girls’s pelotons with information, evaluation, and an up to date switch index, to ensure you do not miss a factor this switch season.