Relegation watch gets a new twist with Tour de France wildcard limitations

ALCUDIA SPAIN JANUARY 26 Reto Hollenstein of Switzerland Guy Sagiv of Ireland Tom Van Asbroeck of Belgium Alastair Mackellar of Australia Riley Pickrell of Canada Roi Weinberg of Israel Itamar Einhorn of Israel and Team IsraelPremier Tech prior to the 32nd Challenge Ciclista Mallorca 2023 Trofeo Ses Salines Alcdia a 1586km one day race from Ses Salines to Por DAlcdia ChallengeMallorca on January 26 2023 in Alcudia Spain Photo by Dario BelingheriGetty Images
Israel-Premier Tech moved down to ProTeam status in 2023 but were extended wildcard invitations to all three Grand Tours (Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)

Teams have a new concern when it comes to gaining UCI points: a new rule that limits wildcard invitations that Grand Tours such as the Tour de France can extend to the top 50 teams on the UCI World Rankings.

This season was the first year that teams were relegated from the WorldTour for dropping outside the top 18 in the three-year Team Rankings. Lotto-Dstny and Israel-Premier Tech dropped down to ProTeam status involuntarily, while Alpecin-Deceuninck and Arkéa-Samsic were elevated to the WorldTour.

Laura Weislo
Managing Editor

Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.