Cycling authorities have given the green light to an additional squad to compete in the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Vuelta a España races.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has made a significant decision to increase the number of teams participating in the men's Grand Tours, allowing for an extra wildcard invitation at the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Vuelta a Espana.
The Professional Cycling Council (PCC) proposed this increase last week, with the UCI's decision to approve the request coming on Monday. The move is aimed at supporting second division teams (UCI ProTeams), strengthening race line-ups, and giving riders from additional teams the opportunity to compete in a Grand Tour.
In 2021, the UCI allowed an extra wildcard invitation in the Grand Tours to help ProTeams recover from the impacts of Covid-19. Lotto and Israel-Premier Tech were awarded automatic Grand Tour invitations as the two best-ranked ProTeams at the start of the season. Teams considered for wildcard invitations at the men's Grand Tours in 2025 include Uno-X, Tudor, Arkéa, and other ProTeams.
However, for the 2025 Vuelta specifically, some contenders like Uno-X did not receive a wildcard invitation, while teams like Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team and Bahrain Victorious were likely considered for or received invitations. The Tour de France has already confirmed its wildcards for 2025 will be TotalEnergies, Tudor, and Uno-X.
Not everyone is in favour of this change, however. Richard Plugge, boss of Visma-Lease a Bike, has expressed his opposition to adding a 23rd team to the Grand Tours. He argues that giving out an extra wildcard would be strange for the value of the WorldTour and that an additional team could score a lot of points during the relegation cycle and pose a problem for WorldTour teams at the bottom of the team rankings.
The UCI's decision to increase the number of teams from 22 to 23 does not apply to the women's Grand Tours. All women's race equivalents already carry at least five wildcards. The peloton size for the Grand Tours was reduced from 198 to 176 riders in 2018, with the UCI's decision to limit the peloton size being made to "improve the safety of the riders, spectators and the race convoy".
In the 2022 season, 184 riders will be permitted to start the Grand Tours. The UCI's new ruling also states that race organisers will now be able to make a third invitation, but the UCI has asked the PCC to consider reserving the extra spot for the third best ProTeam. The peloton size for the Grand Tours was reduced from 198 to 176 riders in 2018 to improve the safety of the riders, spectators, and the race convoy.
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