There were two notable absentees from the UCI's list of pre-registered teams for the 2027 season on Monday, but both Picnic PostNL and Jayco-AlUla insist they will be part of the men's and women's WorldTour in 2027 and have offered explanations as to why they missed the initial deadline.
Both teams operate top-level men's and women's squads and have submitted applications to the UCI to renew their WorldTour licences in 2027. However, they have not yet provided essential supporting documentation to the sport's governing body.
The initial deadline was October 15, but they still have time to supply this before the hard deadline of December 8, when the WorldTour line-ups for 2027 will be set in stone. During this period of limbo, though, the teams' riders are now legally able to terminate their contracts early.
In the case of Picnic PostNL, the team have informed Cyclingnews that their absence from the list relates to their search for a new bike supplier amid the economic turmoil surrounding its current partner, Lapierre.
The French brand has been in serious trouble since news of the insolvency of its parent company Accell, and Picnic PostNL have now confirmed that there will be an early end to the partnership that was scheduled to run through 2028.
Picnic-PostNL say they have lined up a replacement bike supplier but have not yet finalised the contract, which is what has caused the hold-up in the paperwork they need to submit to the UCI.
"Our Men and Women's programs are currently in the application process for WorldTour status in the coming year," said a Picnic-PostNL spokesperson.
"To this end, the team still needs to provide information relating to the finalisation of a partnership with a technical partner for the coming season, following the bankruptcy of the current partner's company.
"We will be doing this in the coming period."
Bank transfer hold-up delays Jayco's registration
In the case of Jacyo-AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco, the Australian outfit say that their missed deadline was due to a technical problem relating to the transfer of funds internationally.
As part of the registration process, teams are required to provide a bank guarantee, which is held by the UCI so that a certain portion of wages can be paid out if the team encounters financial difficulty or for some other reason stops paying its staff or partners.
"This is purely due to a technical transfer process that will be resolved very soon," a spokesperson for the team told Cyclingnews.
"Processing the bank guarantee required by the UCI involves cross-border financial operations that sometimes can encounter delays.
"We can confirm that GreenEDGE Cycling’s planning and preparation for the 2027 season remains on track and we are looking forward to racing our 16th season in the WorldTour."
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