Vuelta podium hopefuls Skjelmose and Carapaz on their way out at Lidl-Trek and EF Education

The Vuelta a España is wide open following Tadej Pogacar’s withdrawal. The Slovenian crashed out, suddenly opening the door for several contenders for the red jersey. Riders like Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) have a shot at the podium or even more, but they might just be riding for a different team next year.

After a week of racing, Carapaz is in fifth place, 3.26 minutes behind red jersey wearer Enric Mas, while Skjelmose trails the Ecuadorian by just under half a minute. With two weeks to go, a lot can still change in the general classification, so these riders will be eager to move up the standings.

But according to Het Laatste Nieuws, the transfer market is wide open during the Vuelta. Rumors about Primož Roglič have been circulating for a while: the Slovenian could leave Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe due to competition from riders such as Remco Evenepoel, Florian Lipowitz, Jai Hindley, and Giulio Pellizzari. But Skjelmose and Carapaz are also reportedly eyeing a possible transfer.

Carapaz was already linked to a departure from EF Education-EasyPost last year, but the rumors have resurfaced this year. Reportedly, three different teams are interested in the climber’s services; he won two Tour stages and the polka-dot jersey this year. The Pro-Continental team Pinarello-Q36.5 is said to be looking to compete with NSN and Netcompany INEOS, the team where Carapaz rode for three years between 2020 and 2022.

Skjelmose won the Amstel Gold Race just last year and finished sixth in this year’s Tour de France, but due to growing competition at Lidl-Trek, the Dane might leave the team. As for general classification riders, Juan Ayuso and Derek Gee-West were signed this year, even though Skjelmose was the best of the three in the Tour. But Lidl-Trek is reportedly looking for even more climbers.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Felix Gall might leave Decathlon CMA CGM. Lidl-Trek is said to be his destination. With the Austrian—who finished second in this year’s Giro d’Italia and is in contention for a podium finish in the Vuelta—Skjelmose is reportedly on his way out, according to HLN. In addition, Lidl-Trek is facing yet another “luxury problem.”

For example, Gregor Mühlberger is set to join the team with Gall, and Jordi Meeus is also expected to make the move from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. In addition, Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Georg Zimmermann (Lotto-Intermarché) are also expected to join, while Jordan Jegat has already been officially signed from TotalEnergies. This would mean that some riders would have to leave: the team currently has 32 riders on the roster for the 2027 season.

That exceeds the maximum allowed number of thirty riders. That, combined with the increasing competition within the team, would mean that Skjelmose would have begun weighing his options. It is not known which teams might be interested in the Danish rider.