Visma completes its 2027 roster with Elliot Rowe but leaves the door open for Paul Seixas

Visma | Lease a Bike has already defined the 30 riders with which it will face the 2027 season. The last spot will be for the 20-year-old British rider Elliot Rowe, who will make the jump from the development team. His incorporation ends several weeks of searching in the market, during which the Dutch team even considered the return of Primož Roglič. However, closing the roster for next year does not mean that Visma has finished planning its future, especially due to the interest surrounding Paul Seixas for 2028.

Elliot Rowe will occupy the last available spot at Visma

According to WielerFlits, citing several sources close to the team, Visma Lease a Bike has decided to promote Elliot Rowe to complete its 2027 roster. The young British rider will thus become the thirtieth rider of a structure that had deliberately reserved a spot to take advantage of any last-minute opportunity.

During the last few weeks, the sports management sought a cyclist with experience or a profile particularly suited for the classics, but none of the alternatives ended up convincing. They were also monitoring the situation of Picnic PostNL, whose issues with the necessary documentation to obtain the WorldTour license could facilitate the departure of some of its riders.

Among the possibilities considered was even Primož Roglič. The Slovenian had maintained contacts with his former team, although Visma ultimately decided not to proceed with his incorporation. A decision we already analyzed when Visma ruled out Roglič's return and began to explore other options to complete its roster.

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Without an external signing that met their expectations, the solution has come from their own academy. Rowe was one of the candidates alongside under-23 world champion Ashlin Barry, although the British rider had an advantage as he was at a more advanced stage of his sporting development.

A 20-year-old climber with good results in tours and classics

Elliot Rowe is a rider with qualities for the mountains, good time trial performance, and the ability to handle one-day races with demanding routes.

He arrived at Visma's development team from Fensham Howes-MAS Design-CAMS, the British formation linked to Giles Pidcock, father of Tom and Joe Pidcock, from which Matthew Brennan also emerged.

In 2025, Rowe achieved a stage victory in the Tour of the Future and finished second in the under-23 Giro di Lombardia. During 2026, he confirmed his progression with results both in the training calendar and against professional riders.

Among his most notable performances are the sixth place in the general classification of the under-23 Giro d'Italia, the stage victory in the Alpes Isère Tour, and the fourth place in the Flèche Ardennaise.

He has also demonstrated his level against WorldTour riders. In the Tour of Great Britain, he finished sixth overall and won the young riders' classification, while in the British National Championship, he was fourth, a result that allowed him to claim the under-23 national title.

His arrival offers Visma a future rider who can progressively develop in stage races without the need to immediately assume leadership responsibilities.

Visma closes 2027 but maintains its interest in Paul Seixas for 2028

The arrival of Rowe allows Visma to consider its sports planning for 2027 complete, although there is a much more important operation that could shape the team's medium-term future.

This concerns Paul Seixas, whose contract with Decathlon CMA CGM ends at the end of 2027. The Frenchman has already confirmed that he will continue with his current team next season, so his possible incorporation into Visma is being considered for 2028 and is not affected by the closure of next year's roster.

However, the operation is still far from being resolved. On October 26, Seixas explained in an interview with RMC that he had not yet made a decision about his future and that he did not want to rush under market pressure. He also did not rule out starting the 2027 season without announcing where he will race from 2028.

Decathlon, for its part, is working to convince him to renew, especially after strengthening its sports project with riders like Ben O'Connor, Pavel Sivakov, and Laurens De Plus.

Therefore, Visma has resolved its immediate needs, but the race to acquire one of the greatest talents in the international peloton remains open.

A roster of 30 riders with four new faces

With Rowe, Visma completes a roster that retains Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert, and Matteo Jorgenson among its main references.

The British rider will be the fourth addition compared to the team that started 2026. Fabio Jakobsen arrived during the summer from Picnic PostNL, while Matisse Van Kerckhove also rises from the development team and Mark Donovan joins after four seasons with Pinarello-Q36.5.

In terms of departures, the retirement of Steven Kruijswijk and the team changes of Loe van Belle and Simon Yates stand out.

The bet on Rowe also confirms the importance that Visma places on its development structure. Instead of committing the last spot with a last-minute signing that did not quite fit, the team preferred to continue with one of its most promising talents.

In this way, the Dutch formation will face 2027 with its 30 riders defined, while keeping open a question of much greater scope: where will Paul Seixas race from 2028.