UCI licenses 2026-2028 - Belgian merger confirmed, Picnic PostNL under scrutiny

The UCI has published the list of teams registered for the 2026 to 2028 seasons. Several important pieces of information emerge from this announcement.

Lotto and Intermarché united under a single team
The merger between Lotto and Intermarché-Wanty is now official. The two Belgian teams are registered under the name Lotto-Intermarché. This union had been announced several months ago. It has now been approved for the 2026-2028 WorldTour.

Picnic PostNL only granted a one-year license
The UCI has only granted Picnic PostNL a one-year license for both the men's and women's teams. The team must meet specific financial targets. These targets will determine its place in the WorldTour for 2027 and 2028. The Dutch team has therefore been given a reprieve and will have to prove its stability.

Few changes among the ProTeams
There are few changes in the second division. The new Modern Adventure team, linked to George Hincapie, joins the ProTeam level in its first year. The Chinese group Nippo joins the Toscana Factory structure, owner of the former Corratec team.

The 2026-2028 WorldTour men's teams (18 teams)

ALPECIN – PREMIER TECH (APC – BEL)
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS (TBV – BRN)
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM (DCT – FRA)
EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST (EFE – USA)
GROUPAMA – FDJ UNITED (GFC – FRA)
INEOS Grenadiers (IGD – GBR)
LIDL – TREK (LTK – GER)
LOTTO-INTERMARCHÉ (LAW – BELGIUM)
MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV – Spain)
NSN CYCLING TEAM (NSN – SUI)
RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE (RBH – GER)
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP (SOQ – BEL)
TEAM JAYCO ALULA (JAY – AUS)
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL (TPP – NED)*
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE (TVL – NED)
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG (UAE)
UNO-X MOBILITY (UXM – NOR)
XDS ASTANA TEAM (XAT – KAZ)

The 2026 ProTour men's teams (16 teams)

BARDIANI CSF (BCS – ITA)
BURGOS – BURPELLET – BH (BBH – Spain)
CAJA RURAL – SEGUROS RGA (CJR – ESP)
COFIDIS (COF – FRA)
EQUIPO KERN PHARMA (EKP – SPAIN)
EUSKALTEL – BASQUE COUNTRY (EUS – ESP)
MBH BANK CSB TELECOM FORT (MBH – HUN)
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING (MAP – USA)
PINARELLO – Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM (Q36 – SUI)
TEAM FLANDERS – BALOISE (TFB – BEL)
TEAM NOVO NORDISK (TNN – USA)
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA (PTV – ITA)
TOSCANA NIPPO RALI (TFT – ITA)
TOTALENERGIES (TEN – FRA)
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM (TUD – SUI)
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS (RKT – FRA)

WOMEN'S TEAMS: STABILITY AND A SIGNIFICANT PROMOTION

In the women's peloton, changes are limited. The EF Education-Oatly team joins the Women's WorldTour. It replaces the Ceratizit team, which is disappearing. The Cofidis Women team had applied for a WorldTour license, but the UCI rejected its application. It will therefore remain in the Women's ProTeam for 2026.

Women’s WorldTour teams 2026–2028 (14 teams)