ANALYSIS: The big problem for race organisers of the 2025 Tour de France

The 2025 Tour de France looks set to be an exciting one. The race will, more than likely, once again feature all of cycling's top stars: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel. However, the Grande Boucle will also face a major problem.

The race has already announced its route. Practically everything is ready for the Grand Départ in Lille next July. But there is still the issue of the wildcards which, with the signings of Julian Alaphilippe by the Tudor Pro Cycling Team and Tom Pidcock by Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, has become a very contested battle.

The Tour de France will have 2 wildcards to hand out for 2025. In addition to the two aforementioned teams, there will also be Tour de France regulars TotalEnergies (French team) and Uno-X Mobility, which, thanks in particular to Jonas Abrahamsen, was one of the most outstanding teams in the 2024 edition. Therefore, the Tour de France organization will have to make a difficult decision in selecting only 2 of these 4 mentioned teams to complete the list of participants of the race in 2025.

The possible first to be discarded could be TotalEnergies. Despite being a French team, it is not completely unheard of for Grand Tours to opt against inviting teams from their own country. For example, in 2024 Burgos BH was not chosen to participate in the Vuelta a Espana. In addition, there are already several French teams (Groupama - FDJ, Cofidis, Arkea - B&B Hotels) that are guaranteed to be in the Tour.

What there won't be as many of are French stars. For that reason, it's hard to imagine Tudor out of the race. Darling of French cycling Julian Alaphilippe will be competing in his first year at the Swiss-based outfit in 2025, and as one of most successful and most loved French riders of recent years, he alone could influence the decision to hand Tudor an invitation.

If Alaphilippe's Tudor gets one invitation, the other will most likely be decided between Q36.5 and Uno-X. Is Tom Pidcock's signing worth a place in the Tour de France for Q36.5? Certainly, the Brit is a star, but perhaps not enough to singlehandedly take away a spot from the Norwegian team that has earned much plaudits over the last two years, through its performances in the biggest race on the cycling calendar.

Who do you think should get the invitations for the 2025 Tour de France? Let us know your thoughts!