"It removes the appeal from the sport" - TotalEnergies DS critical of UCI's promotion and wilcards system

For TotalEnergies, a season with Tour de France stage victory is automatically seen as a successful year, but speaking strictly points-wise TotalEnergies found themselves quite far off the positions that would guarantee their start at the Tour also next year. Uno-X and Tudor will be more than formidable challengers for the two wild cards available at Grande Boucle.

In an interview with Velofute, Sport director Jean-René Bernaudeau looks back on 2024. "This season was much better than last year. It was a great season in which we showed our strengths in an environment still searching for its place." However, that optimistic outlook contrasts with the reality that TotalEnergies accumulated fewer UCI points this year.  

"Ah, those points! No, we don't look at the points," Bernaudeau states. "Anthony Turgis' victory in the Tour is worth more than all the points combined." This a bold statement since UCI points are now essential for entry into WorldTour races, something the team is not guaranteed next year with their place in the UCI rankings.

For Bernaudeau, however, performance always comes first. "The ranking is a consequence of our performance, not vice versa. To win, you must risk losing. And all that chasing for points? That removes the appeal from the sport. The system has reached its limits," he is critical.

However, TotalEnergies will have to fear for wildcards to race some of their key races, mainly Tour de France. The presence of Alaphilippe would have helped, but he instead opted to join the competition. "We made him a good offer, but he chose otherwise. Tudor has strengthened a lot this winter, and maybe what played into it was that he didn't want to be the only leader. He said it was a difficult choice and ultimately decided on instinct. Almost heads or tails," Bernaudeau said.