Team Guide 2023
There are 18 WorldTour pro cycling men’s teams – the top level of road cycling – who take part in all WorldTour races, including the Grand Tours (Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España).
Following a 3-year cycle, two teams – Israel-Premier Tech and Lotto Soudal – were relegated to ProTeam status at the end of 2022 whilst Alpecin-Deceuninck and Arkéa-Samsic were promoted to the WorldTour.
Despite this, the two relegated sides, along with TotalEnergies as the highest ranked ProTeam, were invited to the Grand Tours in 2023. Here’s a quick guide to those teams, who rides for them, and notable transfers in the close season:
2022 UCI ranking: 1
The Dutch powerhouse rose to the top of the standings following a stellar 2022 with 48 wins, including the biggest of them all – Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de France. Jumbo, the Dutch supermarket chain, and Visma, a Norwegian software company, continue as joint title sponsors into 2023. Vingegaard will defend his yellow jersey in July and Wout van Aert will look again to take green as well as target the Classics.
Bikes: Cervélo
In: Tom Gloag, Wilco Kelderman, Jan Tratnik, Attila Valter, Dylan van Baarle
Out: Tom Dumoulin (retired), Chris Harper (Team Jayco AlUla), Mike Teunissen (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty)
Other selected riders: Tobias Foss, Olav Kooij, Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte, Primož Roglič, Wout van Aert, Jonas Vingegaard
Jumbo-Visma (Netherlands)
2022 UCI ranking: 2
Originally an Italian team, the UAE took over ownership in 2017 and have the double Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar on their roster. He’ll be looking to regain that title in 2023 as well as challenge in the Monuments.
Bikes: Colnago
In: Adam Yates, Tim Wellens, Jay Vine
Out: Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circuc-Wanty), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team)
Other selected riders: Pascal Ackermann, João Almeida, Juan Ayuso, Alessandro Covi, March Hirschi, Tadej Pogačar, Marc Soler
UAE Team Emirates (UAE)
2022 UCI Ranking: 3
Formerly Team Sky, the UK-based team are now bankrolled by the billionaire founder of chemicals company Ineos, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The Grenadier is an off-road utility vehicle produced by their automotive division.
Bikes: Pinarello
In: Thymen Arensman, Connor Swift, Leo Hayter
Out: Richie Porte (retired), Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Dylan van Baarle (Jumbo-Visma)
Other selected riders: Egan Bernal, Filippo Ganna, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ethan Hayter, Dani Martínez, Tom Pidcock, Carlos Rodríguez, Geraint Thomas
INEOS Grenadiers (UK)
2022 UCI Ranking: 4
The standout result for Bora in 2022 was Jai Hindley’s impressive Giro d’Italia win – he’ll be looking to cement his place at the top table of Grand Tour riders in 2023. Main sponsors Bora make fancy cookers whilst Hansgrohe specialise in bathroom fittings.
Bikes: Specialized
In: Nico Denz, Bob Jungels
Out: Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates), Wilco Kelderman (Jumbo-Visma)
Other selected riders: Sam Bennett, Sergio Higuita, Jai Hindley, Lennard Kämna, Max Schachmann, Aleksandr Vlasov
BORA–hansgrohe (Germany)
2022 UCI ranking: 5
This Belgian team moved up to WorldTeam level in 2021 and enjoyed immediate success with stage wins at the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España – a feat they repeated in 2022. They’re co-sponsored by French supermarket chain Intermarché, casino and gambling group Circus, and Belgian engineering firm Wanty.
Bikes: Cube
In: Rui Costa, Mike Teunissen
Out: Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team), Andrea Pasqualon (Bahrain-Victorious)
Other selected riders: Biniam Grmay, Louis Meintjes, Hugo Page, Lorenzo Rota, Rein Taaramäe, Gerben Thijssen, Taco van der Hoorn
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty(Belgium)
2022 UCI ranking: 6
The self-branded ‘Wolfpack’ weren’t quite as dominant in 2022 as they have been in previous years, but Remco Evenepoel was the exception, winning his first Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España, a Monument at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and ending the season in the rainbow stripes after victory at the world championship road race.
Bikes: Specialized
In: Tim Merlier, Jan Hirt, Casper Pedersen
Out: Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Zdeněk Štybar (Team Jayco AlUla), Mikkel Honoré (EF Education-Easypost)
Other selected riders: Julian Alaphilippe, Kasper Asgreen, Rémi Cavagna, Remco Evenepoel, Fabio Jakobsen, Yves Lampaert, Mauro Schmid, Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step (Belgium)
2022 UCI ranking: 7
FDJ stands for Français des Jeux, the French national lottery, who own a majority of the shares and are the title sponsors along with insurance firm Groupama. In David Gaudu, this unofficial French national team have a genuine Tour de France podium contender.
Bikes: Lapierre
In: Romain Grégoire, Sam Watson
Out: Ramon Sinkeldam (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Attila Valter (Jumbo-Visma)
Other selected riders: Arnaud Démare, David Gaudu, Stefan Küng, Valentin Madouas, Thibaut Pinot, Michael Storer
Groupama–FDJ (France)
2022 UCI ranking: 8
Relatively new team (started in 2017) which is funded by the government of Bahrain. Their standout performance in 2022 was Matej Mohorič’s daredevil descent off the Poggio and win at Milan-Sanremo.
Bikes: Merida
In: Nikias Arndt, Andrea Pasqualon
Out: Sonny Colbrelli (retired), Domen Novak (UAE Team Emirates), Luis León Sánchez (Astana Qasaqstan Team), Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech)
Other selected riders: Pello Bilbao, Santiago Buitrago, Jack Haig, Mikel Landa, Gino Mäder, Matej Mohorič, Wout Poels, Fred Wright
Bahrain Victorious (Bahrain)
2022 UCI ranking: 9
Promoted to WorldTeam level in 2023 but have lost two of their biggest hitters in Tim Merlier and Jay Vine – both moving on in the close season. However, they retain the services of superstar Mathieu van der Poel and Champs-Élysées winner Jasper Philipsen.
Bikes: Canyon
In: Kaden Groves, Quinten Hermans, Søren Kragh Andersen, Ramon Sinkeldam
Out: Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates)
Other selected riders: Dries De Bondt, Jasper Philipsen, Mathieu van der Poel
Alpecin-Deceuninck (Belgium)
2022 UCI ranking: 10
Money-lending company Cofidis have been an ever-present sponsor to this French team for over 20 years. They’ll be stage hunting come the Grand Tours.
Bikes: Look
In: Jonathan Lastra
Out: Sander Armée (retired), Davide Villella (retired)
Other selected riders: Davide Cimolai, Simone Consonni, Bryan Coquard, Simon Geschke, Jesús Herrada, Ion Izagirre, Victor Lafay, Guillaume Martin, Rémy Rochas, Benjamin Thomas
Cofidis (France)
2022 UCI ranking: 11
Under various guises, this Spanish team has been going for over 40 years and been sponsored by the mobile phone company Movistar for the last ten. Famous in recent years for a very candid behind the scenes Netflix documentary series, ‘The Least Expected Day’.
Bikes: Canyon
In: Fernando Gaviria, Ruben Guerreiro
Out: Alejandro Valverde (retired)
Other selected riders: Alex Aranburu, Iván García Cortina, Matteo Jorgenson, Enric Mas, Iván Sosa, Carlos Verona
Movistar Team (Spain)
Team Arkéa Samsic
2022 UCI Ranking: 12
Promoted to WorldTour level in 2023 but decided not to retain the services of their marquee rider, Nairo Quintana, following his retrospective Tour de France disqualification due to the detection of tramadol usage.
Bikes: Bianchi
In: Clément Champoussin, David Dekker, Cristián Rodríguez
Out: Nairo Quintana (unattached), Connor Swift (INEOS Grenadiers)
Other selected riders: Warren Barguil, Nacer Bouhanni, Hugo Hofstetter, Kévin Vauquelin
Team Arkéa Samsic (France)
2022 UCI ranking: 13
Owned by US bike manufacturer Trek, they’ve partnered with Italian coffee brand Segafredo for the last seven years. Former world champion, Mads Pedersen, was the standout Trek rider in 2022 with a Tour de France stage win followed by another three and a green jersey at the Vuelta a España.
Bikes: Trek
In: Natnael Tesfatsion
Out: Gianluca Brambilla (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team)
Other selected riders: Giulio Ciccone, Juan Pedro López, Bauke Mollema, Mads Pedersen, Quinn Simmons, Mattias Skjelmose, Jasper Stuyven
Trek–Segafredo (US)
2022 UCI ranking: 14
Newly relegated to ProTeam ranks, this Belgian team goes all the way back to the 80s and have been supported pretty much throughout by Lotto, the Belgian lottery. Cloud technology firm Dstny are the new co-sponsors.
Bikes: Ridley
In: Pascal Eenkhoorn, Jacopo Guarnieri, Milan Menten
Out: Philippe Gilbert (retired), Harm Vanhoucke (Team DSM), Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates)
Other selected riders: Victor Campenaerts, Thomas De Gendt, Arnaud De Lie, Caleb Ewan, Andreas Kron, Harry Sweeny, Brent Van Moer
Lotto Dstny (Belgium)
AG2R Citroën Team
2022 UCI ranking: 15
French team which goes back 30 years in various guises. Car maker Citroën became joint title sponsors in 2021 with insurance firm AG2R La Mondiale.
Bikes: BMC
In: Franck Bonnamour, Bastien Tronchon
Out: Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Clément Champoussin (Team Arkéa Samsic), Bob Jungels (BORA-hansgrohe)
Other selected riders: Geoffrey Bouchard, Benoît Cosnefroy, Felix Gall, Ben O’Connor, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Greg Van Avermaet, Andrea Vendrame
AG2R Citroën Team (France)
2022 UCI ranking: 16
Another name tweak for the Australian outfit with Saudi Arabia heritage partner AlUla joining the US trailer firm Jayco for the coming season. Punched above their weight in 2022 with six Grand Tour stage wins.
Bikes: Giant
In: Alessandro De Marchi, Eddie Dunbar, Chris Harper, Lukas Pöstlberger, Zdeněk Štybar, Filippo Zana
Out: Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Damien Howson (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Nick Schultz (Israel-Premier Tech)
Other selected riders: Lawson Craddock, Luke Durbridge, Dylan Groenewegen, Lucas Hamilton, Michael Matthews, Matteo Sobrero, Simon Yates
Team Jayco AlUla (Australia)
TotalEnergies
2022 UCI Ranking: 17
Energy company TotalEnergies continue funding this second-tier French team. There will be particular focus on cycling superstar Peter Sagan’s final season on the road – can he rediscover his old form and end with another big win?
Bikes: Specialized
In: Steff Cras
Out: Niccolò Bonifazio (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Cristián Rodríguez (Team Arkéa Samsic), Niki Terpstra (Retired)
Other selected riders: Pierre Latour, Peter Sagan, Anthony Turgis
TotalEnergies (France)
2022 UCI ranking: 18
US-based team who ride in bright pink, now owned by the international education company EF Education and co-sponsored by shipping logistics company, EasyPost.
Bikes: Cannondale
In: Andrey Amador, Richard Carapaz, Mikkel Honoré
Out: Ruben Guerreiro (Movistar Team)
Other selected riders: Alberto Bettiol, Stefan Bissegger, Hugh Carthy, Esteban Chaves, Magnus Cort, Mark Padun, Neilson Powless, Rigoberto Urán
EF Education–Easypost (US)
2022 UCI ranking: 19
A German team but with Dutch title sponsors. Moving away from their mining origins, DSM now deal in a variety of areas including health, nutrition and materials. In what has become a trend over the last few years (Marc Hirschi, Jai Hindley, Michael Storer), their most impressive young rider in 2022 – Thymen Arensman – left the team.
Bikes: Scott
In: Patrick Bevin, Oscar Onley, Harm Vanhoucke
Out: Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers), Nikias Arndt (Bahrain-Victorious), Cees Bol (Astana Qazaqstan), Søren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Other selected riders: Romain Bardet, Alberto Dainese, Andreas Leknessund, Sam Welsford
Team DSM (Germany)
2022 UCI ranking: 20
Formed by the Israel Cycling Academy, the team has added some marquee names over the last few years though many on their roster have their best days very firmly behind them. Their surprise stage wins at the Tour de France (Simon Clarke and Hugo Houle) were the clear highlight of 2022.
Bikes: Factor
In: Domenico Pozzovivo, Nick Schultz
Out: Patrick Bevin (Team DSM), Alessandro De Marchi (Team Jayco AlUla)
Other selected riders: Chris Froome, Jakob Fuglsang, Giacomo Nizzolo, Dylan Teuns, Michael Woods, Mads Würtz Schmid
Israel Premier Tech (Israel)
2022 UCI ranking: 21
This Kazakh team is now fully funded and sponsored by state-owned companies and ride in the distinctive turquoise of the national flag. They had a lacklustre 2022 with only three victories outside their home championships but swooped to sign Mark Cavendish following the collapse of the B&B Hotels team. All eyes will be on the British champion to see if he can win a record 35th stage at the Tour de France.
Bikes: Wilier
In: Cees Bol, Mark Cavendish, Luis León Sánchez
Out: Valerio Conti (Team Corratec), Miguel Ángel López (Team Medellin-EPM), Vincenzo Nibali (retired)
Other selected riders: David de la Cruz, Alexey Lutsenko, Gianni Moscon
Astana Qazaqstan Team (Kazakhstan)
