Jayco AlUla gives merger victim a lifeline and welcomes back an Australian as the team completes its 2026 roster

Jayco AlUla's 2026 squad stands at thirty riders and is thus complete. The Australian formation announced that Monday morning. The last two riders added were Lotto-Intermarché merger victim Dries De Pooter and the returning Rudy Porter. The Belgian signed a two-year contract, the Australian signed for one year.

"Team Jayco AlUla has completed its roster for the 2026 season with the signing of the Belgian Dries De Pooter and Australian Rudy Porter," the team opened in a statement. "De Pooter has more than three years of experience racing in the WorldTour with two Grand Tours under his belt having completed the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España."

For the Belgian, it's actually a return as well. "A former member of Axel Merckx’s Hagens Berman Jayco development squad, the punchy Belgian is a man for the one-day races in his native homeland," Jayco AlUla announced their new rider. De Pooter signs from Intermarché-Wanty, for whom he raced the previous three full seasons.

"I’m feeling super excited about joining this team," the Belgian let it be known. "I grew up watching them rocking the TTTs back in the day and now to be part of this team with such a great history makes me super happy. I’m most looking forward to being part of the classics squad for next year and to giving it a shot at trying to win races together because that’s what makes us all start racing bikes in the end."

"Porter returns to the team after a season a way," Jayco AlUla announced this other acquisition. "The 24-year-old turned professional with the team in 2023, having impressed on the domestic scene and as a U23 in Europe, including top-five overall finishes at the Santos Festival of Cycling and the Alpes Isère Tour in 2022."

So after a year's absence, Porter returns to the team. "During his time at Team Jayco AlUla, Porter developed as a rider and scored some promising results, but injury hampered his progression," the Australian formation explains of his stalled development.

"I’m really excited to be coming back to GreenEDGE," Porter said. "Returning after the long injury I dealt with in 2024 feels especially meaningful. I’ve put in a huge amount of work to get back to full strength, and that period taught me a lot. It’ll be great to reconnect with familiar faces, meet the new ones and collectively work towards a successful year as a team."

This brought the team's roster from last year to 30. It previously managed to attract Pascal Ackermann, Amaury Capiot, Alessandro Covi, Dries De Bondt, Dries De Pooter, Hamish McKenzie, Finlay Pickering and Andrea Vendrame. So a busy winter, with the other side also including the departures of Dylan Groenewegen, Eddie Dunbar and Filippo Zana.