It’s a rest day at the Giro d’Italia today. While race leader Afonso Eulálio and the rest of the riders still left in the race sleep in before eventually going for a gentle two-hour recovery spin, those in suits meeting in hotel bars are getting down to business. Some riders need new homes; others need improved contracts. Plenty of deals need to be made.

“I’ve only got half an hour. After our call, I’ve got four video calls with four different teams,” Alex Carera, cycling’s premier agent, told The Athletic on the race’s first rest day last week, as the peloton and its huge convoy made its way from the start in Bulgaria back to the race’s homeland of Italy.

Previously, rest days at the Tour de France — held in July — were where hands got shaken and pens were put to paper. But around a decade ago, with teams eager to secure rosters before the summer, that shifted to the Giro. Nowadays, transfers and contracts are signed throughout the year, even if UCI rules state that they can’t be announced until after August 1. Nonetheless, the Giro is still abuzz with transfer talk.

“It’s true it’s a busy time of year right now, and the Giro, especially its rest days, are very important,” Carera, 50, explained. “But if you’re smart, you can find an opportunity to sign a good contract at any time of the year.”

Carera should know.

Since launching the A&J All Sports agency with his older brother Johnny in 1997, he has grown into the sport’s biggest, most powerful and most successful agent. The company represents more than 100 riders, including Tadej Pogačar, Jasper Philipsen, Isaac del Toro and Giro podium contender Giulio Pellizzari. In his near 30 years in the sport, Carera’s riders have won six Tours, six Giros, 44 world titles and 25 Monuments.

This article was published by The Athletic/New York Times in May 2026. You can read the full article here.