<a Bahrain-McLaren are set to become Bahrain Victorious for the 2021 season while African setup NTT Pro Cycling look likely to drop out of the WorldTour altogether.
This after the UCI released a list of 46 men’s and women’s team applying for UCI WorldTour and ProTeam licences on Friday.
As expected, there has been a change of name for Bahraini backed team following British motorsport brand McLaren’s decision to withdraw from its involvement in professional cycling to focus on its core business, a decision taken partly because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The omission of South African side NTT Pro Cycling from the 2021 WorldTour also came as no surprise as the team continues to struggle to find a primary sponsor for next year.
Team principal Doug Ryder stated yesterday that the team was ‘very close to being on the road next year’ and that he was hopeful new financial backing would be secured to see the team continue into its 13th season. However, even if financial backing is secured, it looks like the team will have to drop down to ProTour level for 2021.
One team going the other way and making the step up from ProTour to WorldTour next season will be Belgian outfit Circus-Wanty Gobert. The team is currently in the process of purchasing its WorldTour licence from the folding CCC Team and should be confirmed for world cycling’s top tier pending review by the UCI.
There was also confirmation of French car manufacturer Citreon coming on board as co-named sponsors of the AG2R team.
Looking at the second-tier UCI ProTour, it was confirmed that the Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso-backed Spanish team Eolo-Kometa and the Kern Pharma outfit were applying for ProTeam status, however one team missing from the list is Riwal Securitas.
The Danish team has reportedly asked the UCI for an extension for application as it continues to resolve outstanding financial issues.
As for the women’s WorldTour, it looks set to grow by one team from eight to nine in 2021.
The new team making the jump to WorldTour status will be SD Worx, previously known as Boels-Dolmans, a setup containing current road and time-trial World Champion Anna van der Breggen.
The final list of WorldTour and ProTour licences is expected to be confirmed in December.