With only one month left of the 2025 highway season, it is relegation watch time – the groups hoping to stay or be promoted to the lads’s WorldTour for the following three years are working out of time to attain factors. Solely the groups within the prime 18 of the mixed factors from the 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons will make the reduce, and this week, Uno-X Mobility are one step nearer to assembly that objective.
The Norwegian group surpassed Cofidis over the previous few weeks and are actually 140 factors forward and gaining momentum. Nonetheless, as a result of they’re in nineteenth place and 1,104 factors behind 18th, they’re nonetheless closely depending on the proposed Intermarché-Wanty merger with Lotto to have a hope of reaching the WorldTour.
If the merger would not undergo, Intermarché look like comparatively protected in opposition to relegation with solely 4 weeks of racing to go. Cofidis has averaged lower than 200 factors per week for a lot of the 12 months, whereas Uno-X Mobility have averaged 260 factors per week to Intermarché’s 160.
Uno-X had a vastly profitable August and September to this point, profitable the Deutschland Tour and two phases with Søren Wærenskjold, plus the Circuit Franco Belge and Muur Traditional Geraardsbergen with Jonas Abrahamsen. Abrahamsen additionally landed on the rostrum within the Maryland Biking Traditional. Andreas Leknessund’s sixth place within the UCI Highway World Championships time trial netted the group 130 factors, too.
That momentum will turn out to be useful of their upcoming races which embody the World Championships, three 1.1-ranked one-day races (125 factors for the win), 4 1.Professional races and the two.Professional Tour de Langkawi (200 factors for the win) and Il Lombardia (275 factors for the win).
They’re going to want each outcome, as a result of Cofidis have two WorldTour races – Il Lombardia and the Tour of Guangxi – 5 1.1, six 1.Professional and the two.Professional Tour of Taihu Lake for superior points-scoring alternatives.
Even when Uno-X Mobility stay as a ProTeam, their prospects are nonetheless good. After Lotto and Israel-Premier Tech had been relegated in 2022, they benefited from the UCI’s rule that requires the highest ProTeams to be invited to WorldTour races. Each groups are sitting comfortably in twelfth and thirteenth general within the three-year rankings this time round.
Uno-X Mobility are solidly the highest ProTeam of 2025 in eleventh within the 2025 UCI Workforce Rankings, however the group’s sporting director Gabriel Rasch defined to Cyclingnews that being a WorldTour group would permit them to provide extra alternatives to youthful riders somewhat than having to combat for factors in each race.
Cofidis have been making Uno-X work exhausting to maintain their place as subsequent in line for the WorldTour, given they’re solely 140 factors behind Uno-X Mobility – that is simply achieved with a win in a UCI 1.1 race (125 factors) plus just a few minor placings or perhaps a second place in a ProSeries race just like the Coppa Sabatini, the place Benjamin Thomas not too long ago scored 150 factors.
It can’t be emphasised sufficient that getting forward of Uno-X is extraordinarily necessary for the French group’s future. They’re 1,244 factors behind 18th-placed Intermarché, and even when the merger goes via, they’d nonetheless be out of luck and get relegated if they can not get forward of their Norwegian rivals.
For Cofidis, the image is not as brilliant. They’ve had a reasonably dismal season in comparison with the opposite WorldTour groups. They’re twenty first within the 2025 UCI Workforce Rankings, with solely Twenty fourth-placed Intermarché-Wanty having a worse 12 months as a WorldTour group.
In the event that they’re compelled to drop to ProTeam standing, they doubtless is not going to profit from the highest ProTeam rule, even after the UCI elevated the automated WorldTour invitations to the highest three groups. Cofidis are behind Uno-X, Israel-Premier Tech (being promoted), Tudor, and Q36.5 this 12 months. They’re additionally behind Arkéa-B&B Motels, whose future is sort of unsure as they’re dropping their sponsors and have till October 1 to signal a deal.
Within the situation the place Lotto merges with Intermarché and Uno-X Mobility get promoted to the WorldTour, Cofidis would nonetheless be fourth except Arkéa-B&B Motels fold. If Arkéa fold, then Cofidis would be capable of compete in a full WorldTour calendar with automated invites.
So Cofidis have so much to fret about. All Uno-X Mobility should do is keep forward of Cofidis and hope the Intermarché-Lotto merger goes via and their WorldTour goals will probably be a actuality. Intermarché aren’t out of attain, both, however gaining over 1,000 factors in 4 weeks is a tall order, even when Uno-X added the Tour de Langkawi to their schedule.
The 2025 UCI Workforce Rankings are nice information for Tudor and Q36.5, too. They are going to be assured of invites to all the Grand Excursions, WorldTour stage races, and WorldTour one-day races, which is able to give them an enormous benefit towards the following promotion/relegation cycle.
Sadly for TotalEnergies, the scenario just isn’t as promising. They’re behind Cofidis and even farther from the compulsory WorldTour invites.
On the different finish of the group rankings, the UCI would require any wildcard invites to be prolonged solely to groups within the prime 30 of the earlier 12 months’s standings. At the moment, VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizané are on the cusp of being overtaken by Answer Tech Vini Fantini, who’re solely 70 factors behind.
Regulate the 2 groups within the upcoming Italian one-day races as they battle to remain in competition for the Giro d’Italia wildcards.