On 10 December 2025 the UCI confirmed the WorldTour pecking order for 2026, and for the first three‑year relegation cycle in which the men and women are aligned. Uno‑X Mobility were promoted to men’s WorldTeam status on sporting merit, Cofidis were relegated to ProTeam level, while Team Picnic PostNL were handed one‑year conditional licences under strict financial criteria.
The UCI Licence Commission awarded 14 UCI Women’s WorldTeam and 18 UCI WorldTeam licences for the 2026–2028 period, with 16 men’s ProTeams and 7 Women’s ProTeams registered for 2026. Where applications exceeded the 18 men’s top‑tier slots, cumulative ranking points from 2023–2025 decided who stayed up. That calculation propelled Uno‑X into the elite and dropped Cofidis below the cut.
Uno‑X become the first Norwegian outfit to hold a men’s WorldTeam licence and, with their women’s squad already at the top level, the first Scandinavian organisation to field WorldTeams in both genders. Cofidis lose automatic WorldTour access but, as a high‑ranking ProTeam, will continue to have strong race presence.
The day’s most notable warning came for Team Picnic PostNL. Both their men’s and women’s teams received only one‑year WorldTeam licences, conditional on meeting UCI financial requirements, underlining that budget guarantees now bite just as hard as race results.
The verdict also formalised a two‑tier women’s structure, with 7 Women’s ProTeams sitting beneath the 14 WorldTeams, and confirmed a reshaped commercial map featuring NSN Cycling Team’s Swiss registration and the XDS Astana rebrand. The 2026 peloton will roll out under stricter oversight and higher stakes than ever.
