Team selections for the WorldTour races in France - A.S.O. (Tour de France, Paris-Nice and Critérium du Dauphiné) and in Italy - RCS (Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano-Sanremo)

Monday 27 February 2017 at 22h38

The 2017 cycling season is alive and kicking already and there have already been 4 UCI WorldTour* races this year and there are still 34 to come.

As you know, the UCI WorldTour races can invite, in addition to the 18 UCI WorldTeams, other continental pro teams, with a so called wildcard. And all those races of course do that to come up with a nice and dense peloton starting in all of the races.

The French (organised by A.S.O.) and Italian races (organised by RCS Sport) have already announced which teams they invited this year and hereunder you'll find the list for each of them.

* yes indeed, in addition to the Santos Tour Down Under, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race is now the second Australian race on this prestigious calendar, and the Abu Dhabi Tour the third one, despite the fact that for the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race it's only the 3rd edition and despite the fact that the organisation probably doesn't have the level which we could expect from a race being on that calendar ... The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad being the fourth race.

The 18 UCI WorldTeams are of course by default invited to participate in all UCI WorldTour races. Here they are:

AG2R La Mondiale

Astana Pro Team

{BRN}
Bahrain-Merida

BMC Racing Team

Bora-Hansgrohe

Cannondale Drapac Professional Cycling Team

FDJ

Lotto-Soudal

Movistar Team

Orica-Scott

Quick-Step Floors

Team Dimension Data

Team Katusha-Alpecin

Team LottoNL-Jumbo

Team Sky

Team Sunweb

Trek-Segafredo

UAE Abu Dhabi

The teams which have been invited to the French UCI WorldTour races organised by A.S.O.

Amaury Sport Organisation has announced its teams selections for its UCI WorldTour races, more precisely Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de France.

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The teams for Paris-Nice 2017 - the 75th edition which will take place from 5 till 12 March

For the 75th edition of the race to the sun, Paris-Nice 2017, which will take place from 5 till 12 March 2017, 4 French teams have been invited: Cofidis, solutions crédits, Delko Marseille Provence KTM, Direct Energie and Fortuneo-Vital Concept.

The teams for Paris-Roubaix 2017 - the 115th edition which will take place on 9 April

For the Hell of the North as Paris-Roubaix is nicknamed, and more precisely the 115th edition which will take place on 9 April 2017, Amaury Sport Organisation has invited 7 additional teams: 4 French teams, 2 Belgian teams and one Dutch team.

These are these 7 teams:

Cofidis, solutions crédits
Direct Energie
Fortuneo-Vital Concept
Delko Marseille Provence KTM
Wanty-Groupe Gobert
Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij

The teams for the Critérium du Dauphiné 2017 - the 69th edition which will take place from 4 till 11 June

The 69th edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné will take place from 4 till 11 June 2017 and will see 3 French teams - Cofidis, solutions crédits, Delko Marseille Provence KTM and Direct Energie - and one Belgian team, Wanty-Groupe Gobert, be present at the start in addition to the 18 UCI WorldTeams.

The teams for the Tour de France 2017 - the 104th edition which will take place from the 1st till the 23rd of July

The biggest race in the world is of course the Tour de France and for the Tour de France 2017 which will take place from the 1st till the 23rd of July 2017, A.S.O. has invited the French teams Cofidis, solutions crédits and Direct Energie and the Belgian team Wanty-Groupe Gobert like in the Critérium du Dauphiné, but the 4th invitation will be for the French team Fortuneo-Vital Concept which is also invited in Paris-Nice but not in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

The teams which have been invited for the Italian UCI WorldTour races organised by RCS Sport

RCS Sport has also announced its teams selections for its UCI WorldTour races, and more precisely Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milano-Sanremo and the Giro d'Italia, knowing that the wildcards (invitations) for Il Lombardia will be announced later this season.

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The teams for Strade Bianche 2017 - the 11th edition which will take place on 4 March

For the races on the white roads, Strade Bianche 2017, 3 teams have been invited with a wildcard, in addition to the 18 UCI WorldTeams. This concerns 3 Italian teams: Androni Giocattoli, Bardiani CSF and Nippo-Vini Fantini.

The teams for Tirreno Adriatico 2017 - the 52th edition which will take place from 8 till 14 March

The Tirreno Adriatico, the race of the two seas, will take place the same week as Paris-Nice and the Italian race will see 3 Italian teams in addition to the UCI WorldTeams: Androni Giocattoli, Bardiani CSF and Nippo-Vini Fantini (the 3 same teams as for the Strade Bianche), and one American team, Team Novo Nordisk.

The teams for Milan-Sanremo 2017 - the 108th edition which will take place on 18 March

On the Saturday after Tirreno Adriatico and Paris-Nice, Milan-Sanremo will be on the programme of 18 UCI WorldTeams and no less than 7 teams which have been invited with a wildcard: 4 Italian teams, the usual ones: Androni Giocattoli, Bardiani CSF and Nippo-Vini Fantini but also Wilier Triestina, the French team Cofidis, solutions crédits, the Russian team Gazprom-Rusvelo and finally the Amercian Team Novo Nordisk.

The teams for the Tour of Italy 2017 - the 100th edition which will take place from 5 till 28 May

For its anniversary edition of the Giro d'Italia, the 100th edition of the Tour of Italy, 4 teams have been invited, 2 Italian teams - Bardiani CSF and Wilier Triestina, a Polish team - CCC Sprandi Polkowice - and a Russian team, Gazprom-Rusvelo.