Lotto-Intermarché merger, Uno-X promotion closer as WorldTour applications confirmed

The long-touted merger between Lotto and Intermarché-Wanty has not yet been formally announced but the prospect has moved closer following the publication of the list of applicants for 2026 WorldTour licences on Monday evening.

Intermarché are not listed, which suggests that the merged team will operate under Lotto’s licence. It’s good news for Uno-X Mobility, who will accede to the WorldTour if the merger between Lotto and Intermarché goes ahead.

The UCI confirmed that 20 teams have applied for the 18 available WorldTour places for 2026. Jayco-Alula did not succeed in submitting all the necessary essential documents by the October 15 deadline, though the Australian team has until November 1 to rectify the situation.

In the interim period, however, Jayco-Alula’s riders – including Ben O’Connor and Michael Matthews – are free to terminate their contracts. The same is true of Intermarché-Wanty’s riders – including Biniam Girmay – after the team opted against applying for a licence.

“They still have the possibility to rectify their situation before the end of the registration process, which would enable them to be registered for the 2026 season,” read the UCI statement. “In accordance with the UCI Regulations and subject to other applicable provisions, riders from these teams may terminate their contracts early, but this right will lapse if their team is subsequently registered.”

Cofidis, who fell outside the top 18 in the UCI rankings this year, and Q36.5 have also applied for WorldTour berths in 2026, but both squads are likely to operate at WorldTour level unless teams ranked above them fail to comply with the organisational and financial criteria.

The list published by the UCI suggests that Pinarello will come on board as a title sponsor of Tom Pidcock’s squad, while Israel-Premier Tech have applied for a licence under the Cycling Academy moniker pending an expected rebranding of the team.

Despite reports that Deceuninck was withdrawing from the sport, Mathieu van der Poel’s squad has applied for its WorldTour licence under the Alpecin-Deceuninck name.

14 teams have applied for registration as UCI Pro Teams in 2026, including the new American squad Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, which will be managed by George Hincapie.

16 teams have applied for the 15 available places in the UCI Women’s WorldTour, including EF Education-Oatly, who are set to be the only new addition to the top flight following the demise of the Ceratizit squad.

Cofidis and Roland also applied for WWT licences but they did not finish in the top 15 in the UCI rankings, and they are thus likely to operate as ProTeams in 2026.

Like their male counterparts, Liv-Jayco-Alula did not submit their essential documents ahead of the October 15 deadline, but they have until the end of the month to rectify the situation.