The organizers of the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia have revealed the lucky teams that have earned wild cards for this year's races. The 18 World Tour teams and the two best Pro Teams from last season have automatically qualified for the first two Grand Tours of the year.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) has come out in support of the Grand Tours and agreed to allow 23 teams to compete, up from the previous 22. This will increase the number of riders to 184 (from 176). Several major teams opposed the change, arguing that it would increase safety risks and affect points-earning in the standings.
TotalEnergies, Tudor Pro Cycling and Uno-X Mobility were awarded free passes to the Tour. "This is a great recognition for our team, as we have worked hard to earn an invitation," said Thor Hushovd, a former top rider and now manager of Uno-X Mobility. "The competition for a wild card has never been so intense, but we have proven that we belong at this level. The invitation is the result of the work we have done in recent years, and to show ourselves on the biggest stage means a lot to both the team and our partners."
Giro organizers awarded wild cards to Q36.5 Pro Cycling and Tudor Pro Cycling, as well as Italian clubs Polti-VisitMalta and VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè.
The Vuelta organizers have not announced the wild card recipients, but they will probably choose from the following teams: Kern Pharma, Euskaltel-Euskadi, Burgos BH-Burpellet, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Q36.5 and Uno-X Mobility.
💛23 teams at the start of the #TDF2025 💛
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) March 31, 2025
✅ The 18 UCI WorldTeams
✅ 🇧🇪 @lottocycling_ and 🇮🇱 @IsraelPremTech , 1st and 2nd UCI ProTeams in 2024
🇫🇷 @TeamTotalEnrg , 🇨🇭 @TudorProCycling and 🇳🇴 @UnoXteam , invited by the organizers.
See you on July 5 😉
💛 23 teams au départ… pic.twitter.com/XjmxX6EjbI
23 teams, one epic race: wildcards are locked in!💥 Who are you rooting for?📢
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) March 31, 2025
23 squadre, una corsa epica: le Wildcard sono state assignate!💥 Per chi fai il tifo?📢 #GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/5qTRkk4KTP
