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 operating out of time to attain factors. Solely the groups within the high 18 of the mixed factors from the 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons will make the lower, and this week, Uno-X Mobility are one step nearer to assembly that purpose.
The Norwegian staff surpassed Cofidis over the previous few weeks and at the moment are 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 does not undergo, Intermarché seem like comparatively secure in opposition to relegation with solely 4 weeks of racing to go. Cofidis has averaged lower than 200 factors per week for many of the yr, whereas Uno-X Mobility have averaged 260 factors per week to Intermarché’s 160.
Uno-X had a massively profitable August and September to date, 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 Street World Championships time trial netted the staff 130 factors, too.
That momentum will come in 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 will want each consequence, 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 have 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 Group Rankings, however the staff’s sporting director Gabriel Rasch defined to Cyclingnews that being a WorldTour staff would enable them to offer extra alternatives to youthful riders reasonably than having to struggle 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 completed with a win in a UCI 1.1 race (125 factors) plus a couple of minor placings or perhaps a second place in a ProSeries race just like the Coppa Sabatini, the place Benjamin Thomas just lately scored 150 factors.
It can’t be emphasised sufficient that getting forward of Uno-X is extraordinarily essential for the French staff’s future. They’re 1,244 factors behind 18th-placed Intermarché, and even when the merger goes by means of, they might nonetheless be out of luck and get relegated if they cannot get forward of their Norwegian rivals.
For Cofidis, the image is not as vibrant. They’ve had a reasonably dismal season in comparison with the opposite WorldTour groups. They’re twenty first within the 2025 UCI Group Rankings, with solely Twenty fourth-placed Intermarché-Wanty having a worse yr as a WorldTour staff.
In the event that they’re compelled to drop to ProTeam standing, they possible won’t 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 yr. They’re additionally behind Arkéa-B&B Accommodations, 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 until Arkéa-B&B Accommodations fold. If Arkéa fold, then Cofidis would be capable to compete in a full WorldTour calendar with automated invites.
So Cofidis have quite a bit to fret about. All Uno-X Mobility must do is keep forward of Cofidis and hope the Intermarché-Lotto merger goes by means of and their WorldTour desires 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 Group Rankings are nice information for Tudor and Q36.5, too. They are going to be assured of invites to the entire 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 shouldn’t be as promising. They’re behind Cofidis and even farther from the compulsory WorldTour invites.
On the different finish of the staff rankings, the UCI would require any wildcard invites to be prolonged solely to groups within the high 30 of the earlier yr’s standings. Presently, VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizané are on the cusp of being overtaken by Answer Tech Vini Fantini, who’re solely 70 factors behind.
Control the 2 groups within the upcoming Italian one-day races as they battle to remain in rivalry for the Giro d’Italia wildcards.
