Into October and there's only 1 cycling transfer story worth talking about. Yes, it's the return of CavWatch! The Bah Brigade though they'd finally got rid of him but there are strong suggestions the Missile will be launching again for Astana in 2024, behind super-leadout Michael Morkov.

There is also the ongoing situation with Morkov's previous employers. The Steppers are close to being joined to the Visma supersquad, to create some all-destroying monster of a team. Giro winner Primoz Roglic won't be part of it however, as he has been granted leave to find a new team (likely still subject to some money changing hands). Trek, Ineos and Movistar are the prime candidates, with confirmation expected this week.

The big question mark surrounding the merger/takeover is the future of Remco Evenepoel. If as expected the new entity is registered with the UCI under the Visma licence/agent, any Stepper contracted riders including Remco would be free to find new employment. Seems like a good bargaining situation for his agent. If he did sign up with the new monster it would create an interesting dynamic with Vingegaard and van Aert. A good storyline for the inevitable Netflix Amazon Prime BTS documentary.

Once this situation is cleared up it'll likely lead to a wave of other deals; Ineos in particular are very short of riders for next year. Add any news in the comments.