Cole Punchard also signs with Decathlon and completes a true dream team for 2027

The transfer market for 2027 continues to move, and Decathlon Ford Racing Team has just confirmed another top-level signing: Cole Punchard. The Canadian will follow in the footsteps of his teammate Luca Martin and will leave Cannondale Factory Racing after the team's dissolution at the end of this season.

The two riders have signed for the next two seasons and arrive after being part of two of the major breakthroughs in men's XCO in 2026. If Luca Martin joins Decathlon Ford as the overall winner of the XCO and XCC World Cup, Punchard does so after winning bronze at the Elite XCO World Championship in his first full season in the category.

Cole Punchard signs with Decathlon Ford after his explosion in 2026

At just 22 years old, Cole Punchard has needed very little time to confirm that his performance in lower categories was not circumstantial. In 2025, he finished second in the U23 XCO World Championship and third in the U23 XCC World Championship, results that anticipated a quick adaptation to the highest level.

And that is precisely what happened in 2026. In his first season among the Elites, Punchard has managed to fully engage in the fight with the best. His most significant result came at the XCO World Championship in Val di Sole, where he won the bronze medal, finishing only behind Charlie Aldridge and Tom Pidcock.

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His World Cup season has also yielded several important results. He was second in the XCO at Soldier Hollow, fourth in Lake Placid, and seventh in YongPyong, confirming a progression that places him among the riders to watch in the coming seasons.

Punchard himself acknowledges that his first Elite year has been a tremendous learning experience and that finishing it with a world championship medal has further strengthened his expectations. The Canadian also states that the project proposed by Decathlon Ford aligns with what he was looking for to continue developing.

For Samuel Roces, the team's general manager, his signing responds precisely to that potential. From the French structure, they consider Punchard one of the new faces of international MTB and highlight the speed with which he has been able to confirm among the Elites the results he had already achieved as a U23.

Decathlon Ford 2027 will be one of the most powerful teams in the World Cup

With Martin and Punchard confirmed, and the announced departure of Joshua Dubau, one of the riders who had been a reference for the French project in recent years, the roster that Decathlon Ford is forming for 2027 becomes one of the most powerful and complete in the paddock, both in the men's and women's categories.

The team will feature:

• Luca Martin, 24 years old: winner of the overall XCO and XCC World Cup 2026 and victor this year in Lenzerheide and La Thuile.
• Cole Punchard, 22 years old: bronze medalist at the Elite XCO World Championship 2026 and second in the XCO World Cup at Soldier Hollow.
• David List, 26 years old: tenth in the overall World Cup standings 2026.
• Alix André Gallis, 21 years old: French XCO and XCC U23 champion, European XCO U23 champion, and world runner-up.
• Lucas Teste, 19 years old: third in the U23 World Cup in La Thuile 2026.
• Samara Maxwell, 24 years old: overall winner of the World Cup 2025.
• Savilia Blunk, 27 years old: American XCO and XCC champion, fourth in the overall World Cup, and winner of the XCC in Lenzerheide.
• Greta Seiwald, 29 years old: stage winner at the Cape Epic 2026 and Italian XCC champion in 2025.

All of this under the direction of Samuel Roces, general manager of the structure, and with a sports project that enters 2027 clearly reinforced.

The commitment is particularly significant because it does not limit itself to signing established riders. Decathlon Ford is gathering some of the young cyclists with the greatest potential for progression in current MTB and combining them with riders who have already demonstrated the ability to win the World Cup.

With Samara Maxwell and Savilia Blunk as female references, and Luca Martin and Cole Punchard now leading the men's block, Decathlon Ford has the means to fight for victories practically every World Cup weekend.

Moreover, all of this coincides with a profound technical renewal of the project, with Van Rysel taking center stage in MTB and its new 32-inch competition bike.