World Tour Wildcards 2026

[yaco]

Ya, not that surprising. TDU is an expensive trip for ProTeams.

What. Everything is paid for by the organisers. Accommodation, vehicles, business class airfares.

 

[search]

What. Everything is paid for by the organisers. Accommodation, vehicles, business class airfares.

surely not for an unlimited amount of teams? Are you 100% sure that PT teams get the same deal as WT?

 

[yaco]

surely not for an unlimited amount of teams? Are you 100% sure that PT teams get the same deal as WT?

I am 100% certain. There is only one PT team at the men's edition. I will ask questions when I am on the ground at the TDU.

 

[ingsve]

What. Everything is paid for by the organisers. Accommodation, vehicles, business class airfares.

You sure? Never heard that.

 

[search]

There is only one PT team at the men's edition.

I was more thinking about the other two with a wildcard guarantee not coming, as is basically the case every year. Q36.5 has their guys in the national team anyway, but I guess a team like Cofidis would normally be interested, if everything was paid for them - also because the sprint race afterwards is now 1.pro.

By UCI rules, ProTeams only need to be paid 3500 EUR for travel exposures (+hotel costs, of course), while the mimimum participation allowance for WT teams comes down to a PCC agreement. And for 3500 Euro, obviously no one can travel to Australia.

So while all three PT teams must still be invited, an overseas race could basically cherry pick by offering one more than the other.
So it would be interesting to know how exactly this is handled.

 

[Samamba]

I am 100% certain. There is only one PT team at the men's edition. I will ask questions when I am on the ground at the TDU.

It's not the same for ProTeams. At least it wasn't in the past, maybe it changed. For Lotto It was 10s of thousands of euro's difference to go overseas (TDU and Canada) compared to being WT.

But also it's an expensive trip in general cause you need to be there earlier, and also after TDU for Cadel Evans.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

What. Everything is paid for by the organisers. Accommodation, vehicles, business class airfares.

UCI CYCLING REGULATIONS

Participation allowance
2.2.009 The contribution made by the organiser to the travel and subsistence expenses of the
teams or riders in a road race on the international calendar shall be negotiated directly
between the parties, except in the following cases:
1. UCI WorldTour races: the organiser must pay a participation allowance of which
the amount is determined by the Professional Cycling Council and published in
the financial obligation document; this amount shall be increased with CHF
1,550 for those one day races where a team cannot return home on the same
day because of the time of arrival of the race;
....
2.2.010 In all road stage races on the international calendar, the organisers must cover the
subsistence expenses of the teams from the night before the start to the final day; riders
must stay in the hotels provided by the organiser throughout the entire duration of the
race.
Team support staff will be covered up to a number equal to the number of riders per
team determined in the specific regulations for the event, without prejudice to any special
provision provided in the financial obligation document published by the UCI.
The organisers of the UCI WorldTour, UCI Women’s WorldTour or UCI Europe Tour
...

 

[search]

Here's the part from the financial obligations document as well:

"unless an exception is made" refers to a higher allowance paid, I think, not lower. I at least remember reading that the teams got a guarantee like that before the overseas races were added to WT.

It of course doesn't mean that they can't pay ProTeams the same. UAE Tour for example seems to (more or less) do so, while there's been some teams opting out of Quebec for financial reasons in the past, so they probaby don't.

 

[pastronef]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2007416884426355120

View: https://x.com/Domestique___/status/2007416884426355120

 

[Rockestar_33]

Solution Tech ineligible. 3x Spanish teams eligible. Surely they actually collaborate and don't stuff this up?

 

[Leadbelly]

There is another option. They don't invite anybody else and save a bit of money (or put the money they save towards helping with this).

 

[search]

Wildcards for Catalunya:

- Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
- Burgos Burpellet BH
- Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
- Equipo Kern Pharma
- Euskaltel - Euskadi
- Modern Adventure Pro Cycling

Picnic and Tudor decided to skip the race.

 

[Rockestar_33]

Wildcards for Catalunya:

- Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
- Burgos Burpellet BH
- Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
- Equipo Kern Pharma
- Euskaltel - Euskadi
- Modern Adventure Pro Cycling

Picnic and Tudor decided to skip the race.

Makes sense for Picnic to choose this as the UCI race they miss for the year, given its proximity to PN and TA, with Ronde van Brugge, E3 Saxo and Gent-Wevelgem happening during, as well as MSR right before and Flanders soon after.

Surprised Tudor are skipping though, didn't they say they want to enter all the races they're invited to?

 

[search]

Surprised Tudor are skipping though, didn't they say they want to enter all the races they're invited to?

that was my understanding as well, but maybe something got lost in translation there.

ASO announced some wildcards as well today, with a double invitation for Caja Rural at the Ardennes - races they never did before, as far as I can see.

 

[pastronef]

Burgos getting Omloop and Liege

Cofidis are skipping Strade, Tirreno, Giro d'Italia