Women’s 2026 WorldTour teams take shape as EF Education-Oatly confirm intent to seek promotion

While the men’s battle to avoid relegation from or gain promotion to the WorldTour in 2026 wages on, the composition of the Women’s WorldTour in the coming three years is solidifying.

The women’s teams have to meet a similar sporting criteria to the men’s, except the women’s teams must make the top 15 in the 2024-2025 UCI Team Rankings rather than the top 18, as their maximum number of WorldTour teams is 15.

From 2026 onward, the women’s peloton will be on the same three-year promotion/relegation schedule, and licences awarded for 2026 will last through the end of the 2028 season. The first deadline for applying for 2026 team licences comes on Wednesday, August 15, when teams must state their intent to seek either a WorldTour or ProTeam licence.

EF Education-Oatly confirmed to Cyclingnews their intent to seek promotion to the WorldTour. The US team are currently 12th in the two-year standings and in little danger of dropping out of the top 15.

Meanwhile, the Roland Le Dévoluy team are the only current WorldTour team to miss out on the top 15. The team confirmed to Cyclingnews that they will not continue in the WorldTour, but intend to apply to be a ProTeam. The team are 18th in the 2024-2025 rankings and almost 3,000 points away from making the requirement to be in the top 15.

There is uncertainty around the Ceratizit team after the title sponsor announced they will end sponsorship of the team at the end of this season. The team were trying to find a new sponsor, and would be eligible to remain in the WorldTour as they are ranked 11th.

Should the Ceratizit team end, the Volkerwessels team would be the 15th-ranked team and, if they hold this position, they would be eligible to join the WorldTour.

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