Transfer Season: 5 global men's transfers I want to see
Riders from Eritrea, Uruguay, Mauritius, Japan and Mexico who deserve a chance at a higher level next season
With the best young talent getting swallowed up earlier and earlier by the big teams these days, managers need to get more and more creative when it comes to recruitment for the new season. Everyone is looking for the diamond that no-one else has found.
What not many teams are doing is to look outside of the the usual nations, despite the wealth of talent that is out there.
Here are five men’s transfers that I’d like to see for 2025, starting with a familiar name.
Merhawi Kudus, 30, Eritrea
Suggested 2025 team: Jayco-AlUla
In my opinion, Merhawi Kudus not getting a professional contract at the end of last season was a travesty, and a massive oversight by team managers.
Kudus has been racing this season with the Malaysian continental squad Terengganu Cycling Team. Before that, he raced for eight years at WorldTour level; first with Dimension Data, then Astana and finally EF. The American team let him go at the end of 2023 and Kudus could only find a home at Terengganu - the best team on the Asia Tour.
This year, Kudus has shown that he still has the level required to race in a WorldTour team. Here’s a brief rattling-off of his results: 10th overall at the AlUla Tour, 9th at the Muscat Classic, 3rd in the African Games road race, 2nd overall at the Tour of Türkiye, 2nd at the Tour de Kumano, 2nd at the Tour of Japan, and most recently a stage and the overall win at the Tour de Banyuwangi Ijen. That’s a very nice 549 UCI points by the end of July - any teams in need of some of those?
So, the legs are there. That’s obvious. What Kudus also provides for any team is a serious amount of experience and racing nous. And at 30, he still has some good years ahead.
Frankly, I think he could take a spot in almost any squad.
Pablo Bonilla, 19, Uruguay
Suggested 2025 team: Movistar
Behind Colombia and Ecuador, Uruguay is quickly becoming established as South America’s third cycling nation. Eric Fagundez (Burgos BH) and Thomas Silva (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) have been tearing it up in the pros this year. Bonilla should be next up and could be the best of the lot.
The teenager has been racing in the last two seasons for Padrones Cortizo, a team which regularly feeds Burgos BH with the latest talent. They compete on the extremely challenging Spanish amateur circuit, and Bonillo has been one of the best in those races this year. In July, he won the prestigious Vuelta a Madrid (U23), a race which boasts the likes of Petr Vakoc and Gorka Izagirre as previous podium finishers.
Bonilla is an accomplished climber with significant European experience gained since he was a junior. Movistar may see him as a possible prospect as a Spanish speaker, but it’s more likely he will end up with Burgos.
Read more: Transfer season: 5 global women's transfers I want to see
Christopher Rougier-Lagane, 25, Mauritius
Suggested 2025 team: St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93
There aren’t many nations around the world enjoying a meteoric rise in the sport of cycling to the extent that Mauritius are at the moment. This tiny island in the Indian Ocean have their first Grand Tour stage winner of course, with Kim Le Court taking the final stage of the Giro d’Italia Women earlier this season.
Rougier-Lagane has played his part too. He, along with Le Court, became Mauritius’ first road cycling Olympian in Paris. He made the most of his chance. Not content with sitting at the back of the peloton waiting to be dropped, Rougier-Lagane joined a truly diverse breakaway in the men’s road race which stayed away for two-thirds of the race. All the riders in the move played their part and showed their talent.
Rougier-Lagane is a solid climber who has had some decent results this season. As well as doubling-up in the national championships, the 25-year-old has done well on the Africa Tour, placing 3rd at the Tour d’Algerie and 5th at his home race, the Tour de Maurice. In preparation for the Olympics he spent some time racing and training in France, winning the Ronde Finistérienne - Saint-Jacques Guiclan among a string of good performances.
He is not young, but I think in this age of the wunderkind we place too much emphasis on that. There are diamonds out there who are in their early and mid-twenties. You’ve just got to have an open mind to discover them.
Read more: Why the new breed of wonderkids is bad for global cycling
Yoshiki Terada, 22, Japan
Suggested 2025 team: Polti-Kometa
With Yukiya Arashiro retiring at the end of this season, Japan will be down to just two professionals across the men’s and women’s pelotons: Yuhi Todome (EF Education First-EasyPost) and Eri Yonamine (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi). As it already stands, Japan with its famous cycling culture and sizeable cycling businesses, is underrepresented in the sport.
Terada may be the most promising of the riders coming through. Racing for a small Japanese squad, Terada showed his speed at the Tour of Japan this season. He was second in the opening prologue behind Max Walker and took four further top-10s on the sprint stages to take home the points jersey in a high quality race. Terada has also been dominant on the popular Japanese criterium circuit this season and won the national under-23 road title.
Although he’s spent this season and last at home, Terada is not unfamiliar with European racing. He spent much of 2021 and 2022 competing in France at the national level and raced in Europe as a junior.
This is a very quick rider, with age on his side. Terada could be a very nice pick up for a team willing to take the chance.
Jose Ramon Muniz, 22, Mexico
Suggested 2025 team: Equipo Kern Pharma
You may remember Muniz from last year’s Tour de l’Avenir. He put in a couple of top performances in the high mountains to put young sensation Isaac del Toro into the perfect position to win the race.
Since then, Muniz signed for Gianni Savio’s Team Petrolike in the off-season and has spent most of the year racing in Europe, including solid rides at the Ronde de l’Isard and Giro Next Gen. Before that, early in the year, he was 15th at the Tour of Colombia in WorldTour company.
Muniz was planning to make a return to the Tour de l’Avenir last week, but instead put out a scathing social media post accusing A.R.Monex, the team that propelled Del Toro to dizzying heights, of monopolising the Mexico squad for the race. This robbed Muniz of the opportunity to compete, while only one Mexican made it past stage two.
Is 22-year-old Muniz another Isaac del Toro? Probably not. However, this guy is really good and deserves a chance at a higher level.
Do you agree with these? What transfers do you hope to see for 2025?
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