Newly crowned U23 time trial world champion Ryan Gal is reportedly set to join Alpecin Premier-Tech, potentially putting the 21-year-old Dutchman on course to become a future teammate of Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen.
Gal produced one of the biggest surprises of the World Championships in Montreal on Monday, winning the men’s under-23 individual time trial. He defeated highly regarded competitors including Nicholas Milesi and Hector Alvarez to claim the rainbow jersey.
The Dutch rider left the Picnic PostNL development programme at the end of 2025 and moved to Metec-SOLARWATT for the 2026 season. His career has now taken a major turn, with reports from Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad claiming that he had already reached an agreement with Alpecin Premier-Tech before his world title triumph.
According to the report, Gal will initially ride for Alpecin’s development squad rather than immediately joining the WorldTour team. The length of his reported contract has not yet been revealed.
The agreement was apparently completed before the World Championships, meaning Gal’s unexpected victory did not trigger the move. If he eventually progresses to the senior squad, he could find himself sharing a team with Van der Poel and Philipsen.
Gal revealed after his victory that simply making it to the World Championships had been a challenge. He became ill in the build-up to the race and was involved in a battle to regain his fitness in time. Despite that setback, he felt strong during the decisive time trial and managed to deliver a winning performance.
He said he still had energy remaining during the final kilometres and decided to give everything he had to secure the victory.
The emotional significance of the result became clear immediately afterward, with Gal calling his mother to celebrate. He described her as a major source of support and admitted that, at the time of the call, he had not yet fully realised that he had become world champion.
Gal’s reported move comes as Van der Poel prepares for his own attempt to win the elite men’s road race world title. The Dutch star arrives in Montreal in strong form after producing a remarkable 170-kilometre solo ride to win the final stage of the Tour of Luxembourg.
That performance also covered the same distance as a significant section of the World Championship course, providing Van der Poel with valuable preparation ahead of his bid for the rainbow jersey.
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