Team Europcar optimistic to receive a 2013 Tour de France wild-card entry
It was rumoured that Team Europcar might apply for its World Tour status for the 2013 season but Team Manager Jean-Rene Bernaudeau has denied all the reports confirming that he is happy to stay as a Professional Continental team for the season ahead.
“We didn’t apply this year,” Bernaudeau told the French website Velochrono.fr.
"I don’t have the means to be in the WorldTour. You need thirty riders and it means a very heavy race programme”.
“I didn’t have the possibility to increase my budget and to sign extra riders. We will focus on the races we can do well in and I’m sure we’ll we have an even better season than in 2012”.
“The sponsors trust me, they’re happy and there is no interference,” he concluded.
Automatic invitation to all the World Tour races is one of the benefits that only a World Tour team can enjoy,
The Professional Continental teams have to rely on a wild-card entry to ensure their participation at these races, which is not certain and depends on various factors including, the team’s performance, its nationality and the organisers’ preferences.
Bernaudeau has decided against the World Tour status, knowing that Thomas Voeckler and Pierre Rolland will earn him wild-card invitations for most of the major races in the season ahead including the Tour de France.
The French team was invited at all the major World Tour and stage races excluding the Vuelta a Espana and the Giro d’Italia 2012.
Jean briefed that his team’s performance is good enough to earn a World Tour status and easily falls in the top 20 teams in the world.
He noted that the team is targeting the Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Tour of Flanders and the Tirreno-Adriatico 2012.
Team Europcar bagged overall victories at the Tour de Normandie, La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Mi-Août Bretonne and the Tour de Limousin 2012.
It also bagged stages at the Etoile de Besseges, Four Days of Dunkirk, Rhone-Alpes Isere Tour, Ronde de I’Oise and three stages at the Tour de France 2012.
A total number of 12 World Tour teams that were invited at all major races of the 2012 season include, Team Astana, Team BMC, Team Liquigas-Cannondale, Team FDJ-Big Mat, Team Katusha, Team Lampre-Merida, Team Movistar, Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Team
Orica-GreenEdge, Team RadioShack-Nissan, Team Sky and Team Vacansoleil-DCM.
UCI confirmed earlier that five teams have applied for an extension in their World Tour license whereas, only one professional continental side, Team Argos-Shimano have requested for an approval to ride at the highest level of the sport.
The five teams that have asked for a renewal in their World Tour status include, Team AG2R La Mondiale, Team Euskaltel-Euskadi, Team Rabobank and Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank.
As many as sixteen professional continental teams are currently in operation under UCI including, Team Accent Jobs-Wanty, Team Androni Giocattoli, Team Caja Rural, Team CCP Polsat Polkowice, Team IAM Cycling, and Team Champion System Pro Cycling.
Team Landbouwkrediet-Euphony, Team MTN-Qhubeka, Team Sojasun, Team Europcar, Team NetApp-Endura, Team Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise, Team UnitedHealthcare Professional and Team Vini Fantini are the listed UCI Professional Continental teams as of 2012.
Tags: