There’s still hope for TotalEnergies as UCI announces team registrations for 2027

The number of men’s ProTeams has shrunk by two, but the women’s grew by one, and the men’s and women’s WorldTour teams should all be in the peloton in 2027, as the UCI announced the number of teams that have met the registration deadline of October 15.

Visma-Lease a Bike registered as “Yellow B.” – the name of the team’s parent company, as they are in talks with a new sponsor to replace Visma, who opted to step back rather than increase their support. Earlier this year, CEO Richard Plugge said the team were seeking around €20 million of a €60 – €70 million budget.

After losing their title sponsor, the TotalEnergies team were in danger of ending after 27 seasons, but team president Jean-René Bernaudeau told L’Equipe that they were able to submit the important bank guarantee while they continue to search for a replacement title sponsor.

“The bank guarantee has been submitted. We have met the ethical and banking guarantee requirements. We have to finalize the budget and submit it,” Bernaudeau said. The team still faces an uphill battle to continue, as nine riders have already signed other contracts, three have retired, and the rest need to be convinced to take the risk on an uncertain future.

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“It needs to be 70% complete for the application to be approved by the UCI, and we’re currently at 50%,” Bernaudeau said. “We need to have ten riders under contract and a sponsor providing a bank guarantee before being interviewed in December to finalize the budget. The end of the month is obviously the deadline; we promised ourselves we wouldn’t go beyond October 31st.”

The team needs to find a naming sponsor, but is finding support from the local Vendée business community. “There’s real solidarity, it’s very encouraging. Some doors have closed, but we still have hope because we don’t need millions and millions,” Bernaudeau said.

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“In the past, I easily secured the naming rights and then struggled to find the remaining 10%. Today, it’s the opposite: we’ve consolidated our foundation, SA Vendée is in very good financial health, we’ve always paid the salaries, we have no depreciation to worry about, and the investments have already been made.”

The situation is not so good for two other teams. The UCI didn’t list teams that did not submit all the essential documents by the 15 October deadline – there were 12 listed but 14 applications. Missing from the list were TotalEnergies, Kern Pharma, Flanders-Baloise and Euskaltel-Euskadi.

If TotalEnergies were among the two missing ProTeams from the list of 12, there is only one other team pending, and that is most likely Euskaltel-Euskadi.

Flanders-Baloise announced in early August that they would cease operations after 33 years in the peloton, while Kern-Pharma lost their title sponsor in May, and the team has not signed any new riders.

The health of the women’s peloton seems strong, with all 14 WorldTour teams continuing and one more ProTeam coming on board for 2027 thanks to the new Decathlon CMA CGM squad.

WorldTour Teams for 2027Alpecin – Premier TechBahrain – VictoriousDecathlon CMA CGM TeamEF Education – EasyPostGroupama – FDJ UnitedLidl – TrekLotto IntermarchéMovistar TeamNetcompany INEOSNSN Cycling TeamRed Bull – BORA – hansgroheSoudal-Safety JoggerTeam Jayco AlUla (pending)Team Picnic PostNL (pending)Yellow B. Cycling (Visma-Lease a Bike)UAE Team Emirates – XRGUno-X MobilityXDS Astana TeamWomen’s WorldTour Teams for 2027AG Insurance – Soudal TeamCanyon-SRAM Scalable CapitalEF EducationFDJ United – SUEZFenix-Premier TechHuman Powered HealthLidl – TrekLiv AlUla JaycoMovistar TeamTeam Picnic PostNLTeam SD Worx – ProtimeYellow B. Cycling (Visma-Lease a Bike)UAE Team L’IMADUno-X MobilityWomen’s ProTeamsCofidis Women TeamDecathlon CMA CGMLaboral Kutxa – Fundación EuskadiLotto Intermarché LadiesMa Petite EntrepriseMayenne Monbana My PieSt Michel – Preference Home – Auber93VolkerWessels Cycling TeamMen’s ProTeamsBardiani CSF 7 SaberBurgos Burpellet BHCaja Rural – Seguros RGACofidisEquipo Kern Pharma (pending? or ending?)Euskaltel – Euskadi (pending?)MBH Bank CSB Telecom FortModern Adventure Pro CyclingPinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling TeamToscana Factory Team (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali)Team Flanders – Baloise (ending)Team Novo (Novo Nordisk)Hayf Sports VisitMalta (Polti VisitMalta)TotalEnergies (pending)Tudor Pro Cycling TeamUnibet Rose Rockets