Tom Pidcock and Q36.5 receive Vuelta a Espana wildcard as Equipo Kern Pharma is controversially out of the mix
Cycling
The Vuelta a España has unveiled its wildcard invitations for the 2025 edition, and British fans can certainly get excited. But, a certain Spanish team may feel hard done by.
After Equipo Kern Pharma and Euskaltel - Euskadi competed in the Spanish grand tour in 2024, this season it is the turn of Burgos Burpellet BH and Caja Rural Seguros - RGA. This is Javier Guillén's usual rotating system for the Spanish teams. With the third invitation, new this year, the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team of Tom Pidcock will be in action.
In addition to the 3 teams mentioned above, as with the rest of the grand tours, the 18 WorldTeams will be present. The two best ProTeams of last year, Israel - Premier Tech and a Lotto that, as it did in 2024, will skip the Giro but will attend the Tour de France and the Vuelta.
The 3 victories of Kern Pharma in 2024 seem not to have been enough despite the extra invitation, despite how impressive they were. We imagine that the Vuelta will give an explanation for the absence of a team like Kern Pharma lit up the race last year.
It should also be noted that Q36.5, in addition to beating the Spanish teams, has also beaten the other team in contention, Tudor, which had obtained invitations to the Giro and Tour de France, but has not been able to complete the full set.
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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❤️ #LaVuelta25 team selection ❤️ ✅ The 18 UCI WorldTeams 🇧🇪 @lottocycling_ and 🇮🇱 @IsraelPremTech , 1st and 2nd UCI ProTeams 🇪🇸 @BurgosBH , 🇪🇸 @CajaRural_RGA and 🇨🇭@Q36_5ProCycling , invited by the organizers 🤩 See you on summer ‼️ ❤️ La selección de equipos de #LaVuelta25
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