The WorldTour season, hosting the highest level of bike racing in the world, is back underway for 2025.
Each year, 18 teams form the top tier, and compete for the sport's biggest prizes, from Paris-Roubaix to the Tour de France, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to the Tour of Guangxi.
Below, you'll find everything you need to know about every squad, and the key protagonists set to shape the year ahead.
Alpecin-Deceuninck
2024 WorldTour wins: 15
Team leader: Mathieu van der Poel
Team boss: Christophe Roodhooft
Raison d'être: More than a one-man team these days thanks to Japser Philipsen and Kaden Groves, but still a Mathieu van der Poel vehicle
It is still hard to look past the flying Dutchman himself, Mathieu van der Poel, when it comes to Alpecin-Deceuninck, with the 29-year-old dominating the Classics last year, winning both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, and appearing to be unbeatable in the spring. When he isn’t winning, Jasper Philipsen and Kaden Groves have proved themselves as some of the top sprinters in the world, with the former in particular unmatched when on form. They do still rely on Van der Poel, who has hinted at his dislike of the Tour de France over the winter; unfortunate, when it’s the biggest race in the sport. The team have brought in four riders from their development team, including U23 CX world champion Tibor Del Grosso.
Bahrain Victorious
2024 WorldTour wins: 3
Team leader: Pello Bilbao
Team boss: Milan Eržen
Raison d'être: A mixed bag of a team, with solid riders for the Classics and stage races, but they might be lacking in star quality
Over half of Bahrain Victorious’s riders are 25 and below, as the team looks to reboot itself after a disappointing 2024. There are some solid operators in the squad, from Pello Bilbao to Matej Mohorič, via Santiago Buitrago and Antonio Tiberi, but there is not the star power of other teams. New signing Lenny Martinez is hopefully one for now as well as one for the future, with the young Frenchman winning six times last year. Bahrain will need some of its older hands to kick into gear as well if they are to impress again. Fred Wright leads a British trio at the team, alongside young riders Oli Stockwell and Finlay Pickering, with Wright in contract year at the squad he turned pro with.
Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale
2024 WorldTour wins: 7
Team leader: Benoît Cosnefroy
Team boss: Dominic Serieys
Raison d'être: Classics with Benoît Cosnefroy and Dorian Godon, sprints with Sam Bennett
The French team had a major rebrand last year, swapping the white and brown of AG2R Citroën for the fresher look of Decathlon. It was a rebirth that coincided with a renaissance for its major GC man Ben O'Connor, who put the team in the spotlight when he led the Vuelta a España. Unfortunately the Aussie has now moved on to Jayco-AlUla, with no obvious replacement having been made. Instead they will look to rely on the puncheur-grade strength of French riders Benoît Cosnefroy and Dorian Godon, who were both successful last season in races including two stages in the Tour de Romandie.
The team also retains Irish sprinter Sam Bennett, who clocked four stages and the overall in last year's Tour de Dunkerque.
Groupama FDJ
2024 WorldTour wins: 3
Team leader: David Gaudu, Stefan Küng
Team boss: Marc Madiot
Raison d'être: Can the team step up from its occasional big race stage win plateau?
The French team enjoyed a moderate level of success in 2024, much of it thanks to young climbing talent Lenny Martinez. The 21-year-old Frenchman – son of former Olympic mountain bike champion Miguel Martinez – took a third of the team's 15 wins in 2024. Unfortunately for Madiot and co, he has now departed for Bahrain Victorious – a significant dent in their firepower.
Also departed is young British talent Sam Watson, who will ride this season for Ineos Grenadiers. Groupama do still have big engine Stefan Küng to call on, as well as David Gaudu. Both riders are in their prime and capable of winning at the highest level, with potential Grand Tour stage wins in the offing.
EF Education-EasyPost
2024 WorldTour wins: 4
Team leader: Richard Carapaz, Kasper Asgreen
Team boss: Jonathan Vaughters
Raison d'être: Grand Tours with Richard Carapaz, Classics with Kasper Asgreen
The American team had plenty to shout about last year on a variety of stages, with Richard Carapaz's stage win and King of the Mountains victory in the Tour de France being a particular high point. This year – dressed in a shade of pink that is at least a dozen degrees hotter than last year's muted hues – they will hope to emulate Carapaz's success in the Classics via new Danish signing Kasper Asgreen, who has moved in from Soudal Quick-Step. The 2021 Tour of Flanders winner will give the team a capacity in the Classics that they did not have last season. Ecuadorian Carapaz also stays on board and will seek to back up his achievements in the three-week races.
Ineos Grenadiers
2024 WorldTour wins: 6
Team boss: John Allert
Team leader: Carlos Rodríguez
Raison d’être: Getting back to consistently winning at the highest level
Ineos Grenadiers endured their worst ever season in 2024 with Tom Pidcock’s victory at the Amstel Gold Race being the main highlight of an otherwise dour campaign. The second half of the year was then tarnished with the seemingly neverending saga surrounding Pidcock’s future at the team as speculation that he was bound for the exit door consistently swirled around the Jim Ratcliffe-backed squad. Pidcock eventually moved on, joining Q36.5 Pro Cycling, a whole level below Ineos, but appeared to depart on a relatively amicable note after a drawn-out divorce.
Team CEO John Allert recently told the press that the team was moving on from Pidcock’s departure, but for weeks it has been difficult to see how Ineos will fare in his absence. Along with Pidcock, the team lost Jhonatan Narváez during the winter as the Ecuadorian opted to move to UAE Team Emirates, while Ethan Hayter moved to Soudal Quick-Step. Several key staff members have also moved on - including Steve Cummings and Dan Bigham - after performance director Scott Drawer carried out a review of the team’s performance structure during the off-season.
After Pidcock’s departure, the team needed to make a statement signing to move the narrative on. All they could manage was the (very) late signing of Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan who could win a few small races for them. Ineos have never been known as a sprinters team, but with Ewan, and the likes of Filippo Ganna and new arrivals Sam Watson and Axel Laurance on board they could change that. Ineos do however know they need to be winning Grand Tours to justify their budget, not scrapping for stage wins. Their recent announcement of looking for a second sponsor suggests Ratcliffe’s attention is focused elsewhere.
Intermarché-Wanty
2024 WorldTour wins: 4
Team leader: Biniam Girmay
Team boss: Jean François Bourlart
Raison d'être: This Walloon team has gone from ProConti to punching above on the WorldTour in a few seasons. If Biniam Girmay fires, the team will be successful
Intermarché-Wanty created history in 2024 through Biniam Girmay, who became the first black African to win a Tour de France stage, and then the green jersey, all in the space of a dream few weeks. It was a bit of a change for a team who - while often punching above their weight - are rarely at the top of the bill. If Girmay can recreate his form from last summer, then the team can have another magical season. Beyond the 24-year-old, however, it’s a bit of a struggle to see where the wins could come from, although Georg Zimmerman and Gerben Thijssen have both shown promise. The return to full health of Taco van der Hoorn should also be welcomed.
Jayco-AlUla
2024 WorldTour wins: 4
Team leader: Ben O'Connor
Team boss: Matt White
Raison d'être: Explore a new lease of life in Grand Tours with Ben O'Connor
The Grand Tours are where the Aussie team earns its crust – in theory. But while it went hopefully to the Giro d'Italia, its once-reliable sprinter Caleb Ewan came away empty handed. This year the team has changed tack, with a rumoured but still not confirmed departure of Ewan and the welcoming on board of GC man Ben O'Connor.
The Aussie has had some promising outings in the three-week races, with last year's Vuelta a España his best yet. He led the Spanish race with Decathlon-AG2R for a total of 13 days, before a stage 20 capitulation to Primož Roglič. This year he will be fronting Jayco's GT push, and they will hope he can emulate his Vuelta performance, or get close.
Lidl-Trek
2024 WorldTour wins: 15
Team leader: Mads Pedersen
Team boss: Luca Guercilena
Raison d'être: Hard to dislike, festooned in their primary colour kits. Beneath the fun, this is a serious squad, capable of challenging with the best
2024 was the first full year of Lidl-Trek’s attempt at catching up with the super-teams, and it was largely a success, with 42 wins. They will hope for more this season however, particularly at the top level, with the aim of doing more than challenging at the Grand Tours and in the Monuments.
Mads Pedersen remains the focal point, with the former world champion a more than capable sprinter-cum-puncheur, who might be able to rival Mathieu van der Poel in the Classics. Elsewhere, Jonathan Milan, Mattias Skjelmose, Toms Skujinš and Thibau Nys will provide results again, as they did last year, while more will be hoped from Tao Geoghegan Hart and Quinn Simmons, among others. Watch out for new signings Albert Withen Philipsen and Lennard Kämna.
Picnic PostNL
2024 WorldTour wins: 3
Team leader: Romain Bardet
Team boss: Iwan Spekenbrink
Raison d'être: Developing younger riders and targeting stage wins in various stage races
Picnic PostNL come into the new season with their roster largely unchanged. There were just three low key additions over the winter - Colombian climber Juan Martinez from Q36.5 being one of them - and one outgoing rider, Latvian Emīls Liepinš who moved to join Tom Pidcock at Q36.5. Much of the year will be centred on Romain Bardet’s farewell to the peloton as he gets set to retire from the road.
Brits Oscar Onley and Max Poole will be hoping to step up to fill the great Frenchman’s shoes in Grand Tours and other week long stage races. Poole flourished at last year’s Vuelta a España and was regularly on the attack and recorded four top three finishes across several mountain stages.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
2024 WorldTour wins: 12
Team boss: Ralph Denk
Team leader: Primož Roglič
Raison d'être: Challenging for overall victory at the Tour de France with Primož Roglič
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe has gone through significant overhaul from a rider recruitment perspective ahead of the new season getting started. This time last year lead sports director Rolf Aldag spoke of the need for the team to recalibrate its goals after the acquisition of Primož Roglič. That process continued during the off-season with the aim of boosting the team around Roglič ahead of his return to the Tour in July. Nine riders have been brought in with five heading in the other direction, including Lennard Kämna who joined Lidl-Trek.
The most significant arrivals include Kiwi duo Laurence Pithie from Groupama FDJ and Finn Fisher-Black from UAE Team Emirates. Other key signings include Oier Lazkano from Movistar, Gianni Moscon from Soudal Quick-Step and Jan Tratnik from Visma-Lease a Bike. The latter three riders have been brought in with the Grand Tour setup in mind whereas the likes of Pithie add firepower to Red Bull’s Classics arm. The highly sought after Maxim van Gils was also brought in from Lotto Dstny in another clear sign that Red Bull are now one of the biggest players on the men’s WorldTour.
The team’s two biggest goals this season will be both overall victory in the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France as Roglič looks to go for the hallowed Grand Tour double. It was announced at the team’s winter training camp in Mallorca that Dani Martínez will play the role of Roglič’s lieutenant for the team as the Slovenian returns to Italy for the first time since taking overall victory in 2023. In the same press meeting Rolf Aldag confirmed that Roglič would not end the season at the Vuelta as normal, with Jai Hindley and Aleksandr Vlasov leading the team for the final Grand Tour of the year.
Soudal Quick-Step
2024 WorldTour wins: 13
Team leader: Remco Evenepoel
Team boss: Jurgen Foré
Raison d'être: Finish on the podium at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia through Remco Evenepoel and Mikel Landa
Soudal Quick-Step will look significantly different this year with a new man at the helm of the organisation after team CEO Patrick Lefevere stepped down from his role and was replaced by Jurgen Foré.
The team lost five riders during the winter transfer window with Julian Alaphilippe and former Tour of Flanders winner Kasper Asgreen being the two most significant outgoings. Alaphilippe has made the move to Tudor Pro Cycling and Asgreen joined EF Education-EasyPost. By its own admission the team is aiming to develop its younger riders in 2025, including new signing Ethan Hayter who arrived from Ineos Grenadiers to bolster the team’s Classics firepower.
Quick-Step will focus on the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia general classifications with Mikel Landa leading the team at the latter. Landa recorded a career-best third at the Giro back in 2015 and recently said he will be targeting both a stage win and a strong GC result in May.
“I am very happy that I will race the Giro, which holds a special place in my heart,” he said. “It’s the race that helped me make a name as a rider. Back in 2015 I won two stages there and finished third on the standings, and that stage I won over Mortirolo with the finish in Aprica is to this day one of my best memories.”
Evenepoel will lead their Tour de France team but is likely to make a cautious return to competition after being struck by a vehicle during a training ride in Belgium during the off season. The double Olympic champion required surgery after suffering an array of injuries which included several fractures. He is scheduled to return at Brabantse Pijl in April but recently confirmed that may be delayed to ensure he can recover fully for the Tour after doctors diagnosed him with nerve damage in his right shoulder as an extra problem to contend with.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG
2024 WorldTour wins: 37
Team leader: Tadej Pogačar
Team boss: Mauro Gianetti
Raison d'être: Victory and stage wins in the Grand Tours and the Classics with Tadej Pogačar, Juan Ayuso, Joāo Almeida and Adam Yates
The richest team in the WorldTour peloton, containing one of the most popular and precocious talents of recent generations, enjoyed a predictably superb year in 2024. Tadej Pogačar led the way with GC and stage wins at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, as well as an early-doors victory at Strade Bianche. But one of UAE's strengths is the deep fissure of talent running through it. Adam Yates and Joāo Almeida, for example, were fourth and sixth in the Tour de France, while Juan Ayuso won the Itzulia Basque Country and stages in Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of Luxembourg.
Pogačar is set to ride the Tour again this year, and likely the Vuelta a España too. Talented as he is, it's hard to ignore the fact that his biggest Tour rival, Jonas Vingegaard, had a massively compromised build-up to last year's race thanks to a nasty crash at the Itzulia Basque Country. Likewise Pogačar's second-biggest rival, Remco Evenepoel. The latter has also already crooked himself for a little while ahead this season after a training crash, but both Vingegaard and Evenpoel will be ready to rumble at the Tour in July.
As is the trend, what was known last season as simply UAE Team Emirates will now become a little more of a mouthful, thanks to the addition of sponsor XRG, a UAE energy company.
The team will wave goodbye to outgoing riders Marc Hirschi, Diego Ulissi and Finn Fisher-Black, all of whom won races last season. The team have sought to balance the scale, of course, drafting in Jhonatan Narvaez and Florian Vermeersch to fill the space, at least in part. Ecuadorian Narvaez moves in from Ineos Grenadiers where he is well proven as a superb domestique, while young Belgian Vermeersch boasts a second place at Paris-Roubaix from 2021 (and not loads since, though he was second in the Gravel World Championship last year) and already has the Tour of Flanders on his calendar.
The team is almost certain to find things harder this season if those rivals stay on the straight and narrow. But in Pogačar they have a talisman whose worth, at least for the time being, transcends results alone.
Visma-Lease a Bike
2024 WorldTour wins: 16
Team leader: Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert
Team boss: Richard Plugge
Raison d'être: Victory and stage wins in the Grand Tours with Vingegaard and Van Aert, plus Classics for Van Aert, sprint wins with Olav Kooij
Who is the strongest team in the peloton? The answer is not as simple as comparing Visma-Lease a Bike's 16 wins last year to UAE's considerably higher 37. The Dutch team, after all, had to spend much of 2024 licking its wounds with its two best riders out of action. Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard both suffered extensive injuries in separate early-season races, with the result being a pretty much non-existent Classics season and Tour de France build-up respectively.
This year though – the constant danger of crashing notwithstanding – we will hopefully see a far more balanced battle, with Visma setting about recouping some of the hay that UAE and Tadej Pogačar made while the rain fell on their rivals.
The team retains its biggest riders, but says goodbye to a number of others, including last year's Het Nieuwsblad winner Jan Tratnik, who leaves for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
This year Visma has gone big on imports from its development squad, with four young riders coming through including 19-year-old Brit Matthew Brennan. A stage winner at last year's U23 Giro d'Italia, he has already shown promise in his first ever WorldTour race – the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia, coming second on the first stage.
Also joining the team is Simon Yates, who has had a couple of quiet seasons at Jayco-AlUla by his standards, and 2024 Tour stage winner Victor Campanaerts – both could prove extremely useful to Vingegaard in the Tour this year.
The season ahead looks a straightforward one for the team, with Vingegaard targeting the Tour above all, but also the Vuelta a España and Paris-Nice in the early-season – a race which he says he's highly motivated to win for the first time.
For Van Aert, he will continue with what has become a long-term project to secure victory in the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix, or both. Despite establishing himself as a chronic high finisher, he has yet to win either.
XDS Astana, Movistar, Cofidis, Arkéa-B&B Hotels
In the big pond that is the men's WorldTour, these teams are the small fish – at least for the moment, who find themselves up against it. XDS Astana took one WT win last season, but it was a big one – Mark Cavendish's record 35th Tour de France stage. Cavendish is now retired, but the team has bought in a number of capable riders including climber Wout Poels and Sergio Higuita, and former yellow jersey Mike Teunissen.
Movistar were once near the top of the WorldTour tree but their star has waned, with only eight wins last year. One of those was a Giro d'Italia stage though courtesy of young Pelayo Sanchez, who could well do the same again this year.
Last year it was May before Cofidis notched up a win – this year it has already happened, with Bryan Cocquard winning stage four at the WorldTour-ranked Tour Down Under. The shape of things to come, perhaps? For Arkéa-B&B Hotels, with young TdF stage-winning all-rounder Kevin Vauquelin and old but still occasionally gold sprinter Arnaud Démare, a moderately successful year could well be on the horizon.
Wildcard Teams
While the WorldTour teams sit at the top of the tree, there are numerous ProTeams that mix it regularly in the biggest races. Belgian team Lotto has existed in various forms since 1985. It loses Tour stage winner Victor Campanaerts for 2025 but retains young talents Arnaud De Lie and Lennert van Eetvelt. This pair took 12 of the team's 24 wins last season. Q36.5 have enjoyed plenty of column inches lately with the signing of Tom Pidcock. They will look to him to help put them in line for promotion to the WorldTour for next year. Israel-Premier Tech were very successful last year with 29 wins – many of them thanks to British trio Stevie Williams, Ethan Vernon and Joe Blackmore, all of whom are retained for this season. Norwegian team Uno-X Mobility stand out not just for their yellow jerseys but their presence at the sharp end of races too, as well as the blond moustache of Magnus Cort and the powerful sprinting legs of Alexander Kristoff.
