The 2025 Grand Tour wildcard conundrum ought to lastly be resolved on March 26 once we will lastly know who will obtain the ultimate locations on the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España.
Teams searching for to be promoted to the WorldTour in 2026 need Grand Tour invites as a result of these races are essentially the most profitable when it comes to rating factors. The factors will decide who meets the WorldTour sporting standards, being within the prime 18 workforce within the mixed 2023-2025 UCI Team Rankings.
ProTeams are lobbying for a spot that could possibly be very important to their workforce’s long-term improvement, however the present WorldTour groups are divided on the problem, with the largest groups towards rising the variety of Grand Tour groups.
It has been prompt that if a workforce is awarded an additional wild card for this 12 months’s Grand Tours any factors scored might prejudice the UCI workforce rankings and spark authorized motion from any workforce that misses out.
Everyone concerned within the debate and choice course of has completely different opinions and desires. It can be as much as the UCI and the PCC to make a ultimate determination.
Two WorldTour superteams, who didn’t wish to be named when chatting with Cyclingnews, argued that they spend between €20 to €50 million to be a part of the WorldTour, whereas lower-budget ProTeams might benefit from the enormous sponsor and visibility of the Tour de France and different Grand Tours for a lot much less if additional wild card locations are awarded.
Cyclingnews understands the UCI Professional Cycling Council, which governs skilled biking, will meet on March 26 and vote on a request from all three Grand Tour organisers so as to add a twenty third place to allow them to award an additional wild place.
Allowing a twenty third workforce would enable Tudor Pro Cycling, Uno-X Mobility, and TotalEnergies to experience the Tour de France, whereas Tudor Pro Cycling and Q36.5 Pro Cycling would additionally experience the Giro d’Italia alongside Italian groups Polti VisitMalta and VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè.
Spanish ProTeams Equipo Kern Pharma, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Euskaltel-Euskadi and Burgos Burpellet BH normally rotate within the wild card invites within the Vuelta a España, however this 12 months Q36.5 and Uno-X Mobility additionally wish to experience the Spanish Grand Tour. A twenty third workforce entry for all three Grand Tours would ease the Vuelta’s issues.
Under the UCI guidelines, the 18 WorldTour groups are routinely invited to the three Grand Tours, with the 2 best-ranked ProTeams in 2024 additionally invited however in a position to decide out. Lotto and Israel-Premier Tech will be part of the 18 WorldTour groups on the Tour de France begin listing, however Lotto have opted out of the Giro d’Italia to concentrate on scoring UCI rating factors in different races.
Uno-X Mobility have ridden the Tour de France because of a wildcard invitation for the final two years. However, Tudor appear assured of beginning the Tour for the primary time after signing Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi.
The UCI have allowed an additional workforce prior to now however desire to not make exemptions to their very own guidelines and undermine the prevailing choice course of and the combat for UCI rating factors. Safety can also be a difficulty, with extra riders within the Grand Tour pelotons rising the danger of crashes.
