Wiggins Jr. gets his call up to the Jayco AlUla WorldTour team, alongside 3 other emerging talents

But it’s not just the 21-year-old Brit who is making the move. His compatriot Jed Smithson, the Irishman Adam Rafferty, and the Australian Wil Holmes will also be joining from Hagens Berman Jayco, Jayco AlUla’s U23 team.

Wiggins has already had several opportunities to get a taste of professional cycling. Among other races, the young Brit rode Nokere Koerse, the GP Monseré, and the Tour of Limburg for the elite team, and finished tenth in the Tour of Britain as a member of the British national team, where he nearly won the final stage.

At the World Cycling Championships, he finished 11th in the U23 time trial. On the Jayco AlUla website, he talks about his transfer.

"It's a very special feeling to be part of the WorldTour next year, and riding for Team Jayco AlUla is a dream come true. I remember being at the Tour de France in 2019 and being lucky enough to be on the team bus that morning when Matteo Trentin won the stage to Gap for the team. Ever since that day, I’ve wanted to ride for the team. I can’t wait to be part of the races I’ve been following since I was a kid.”

As an Australian, it’s special for Holmes to make the leap to the WorldTour with the team that has been the only Australian team at the top for fifteen years.

The 20-year-old rider won the Australian U23 time trial championship this year and has also competed in races such as the ZLM Tour.

"I'm incredibly happy to be joining the WorldTour team next season," says Holmes.

"It’s been my dream ever since I saw GreenEDGE racing in the Tour Down Under when I was 10 years old. I’m looking forward to taking the next step in my development as a rider and learning from some of the best riders and staff in the world."

For Rafferty, this means there will now be two Raffertys riding in the WorldTour peloton: his older brother Darren has been a pro with EF Education-EasyPost for three years.

Last year, 21-year-old Adam won a stage in the Giro Next Gen, and this year he finished seventh in the overall standings there. His time trial performance is particularly impressive: last year, he took bronze in the time trial at the European Under-23 Championships.

"I'm incredibly happy that my childhood dream of becoming a professional cyclist has come true, and I'm convinced there's no better environment for my WorldTour debut than with GreenEDGE Cycling," says Rafferty. "I can’t wait to get started in 2027, and I’m really looking forward to being part of the Australian team culture."

Smithson may be a familiar name to some. The 21-year-old Briton was part of the Visma | Lease a Bike development team in 2024 and 2025, but chose to leave the Dutch team. At Hagens Berman Jayco, he put his sprinter’s legs to good use and already finished near the top 20 in the Scheldeprijs.

"The challenge of racing against the big names in the WorldTour next season is a huge step," says Smithson. "It feels like a milestone, but also like the realization that I’ve fulfilled a childhood dream: becoming a professional cyclist. It’s something I’ve worked very hard for over the years, and countless people have helped me achieve it."