ASO have announced the wildcards for all their major classics, Paris-Roubaix, Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Four teams, IAM, Wanty, Topsport Vlaanderen, and Cofidis will be present in all three races while MTN-Qhukbeka and Colombia will do the two races in the Ardennes.
ASO have finalized the line-ups for the spring classics by announcing 7 wildcards for each of the Paris-Roubaix, Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Those 7 pro continental teams will join the 18 ProTeams to form fields of 25 squads.
Four teams have got the nod to all three races.
Unsurprisingly, the reinforced IAM team will be present in all events. With Sylvain Chavanel and Heinrich Haussler on the roster, the team is expected to be a protagonist in Paris-Roubaix while climbers like Mathias Frank, Thomas Löfkvist, Johann Tschopp, Marcel Wyss, and Stefan Denifl will allow them to shine in the Ardennes.
The Belgian teams Topsport Vlaanderen and Wanty have also been invited to the three classics, with the latter team fielding Bjorn Leukemans who has finished in the top 10 in most cobbled and Ardennes classics. The Cofidis team continues its strong links with ASO and has also made it a clean sweep of invitations for the one-day races.
UnitedHealthCare continue their steady progression in the first season where they have targeted wildcards for WorldTour races, earning invitations for the cobbles in Roubaix and the Mur de Huy in Fleche Wallonne. Team NetApp-Endura have received invites for Roubaix and Liege but will miss out on Fleche Wallonne.
The Colombia team has been invited to the Fleche Wallonne twice in a row and this year they will again be at the start of the semi-classic. For the first time, they have also been granted an invitation to the Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Finally, MTN-Qhubeka have received their first major ASO invitations as they will be present in both Ardennes races while Bretagne will be present at the only race in France, Paris-Roubaix.
ProTeams:
AG2R La Mondiale (Fra)
Astana Pro Team (Kaz)
Belkin-Pro Cycling Team (Ned)
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Cannondale (Ita)
FDJ.fr (Fra)
Garmin Sharp (USA)
Lampre-Merida (Ita)
Lotto Belisol (Bel)
Movistar Team (Esp)
Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team (Bel)
Orica GreenEDGE (Aus)
Team Europcar (Fra)
Team Giant – Shimano (Ned)
Team Katusha (Rus)
Team Sky (Gbr)
Tinkoff-Saxo (Rus)
Trek Factory Racing (USA)
Wildcards for Paris-Roubaix:
Bretagne – Séché Environnement (Fra)
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits (Fra)
IAM Cycling (Sui)
Team NetApp – Endura (Ger)
Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise (Bel)
Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team (USA)
Wanty – Groupe Gobert (Bel)
Wildcards for Fleche Wallonne:
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits (Fra)
Colombia (Col)
IAM Cycling (Sui)
MTN – Qhubeka (RSA)
Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise (Bel)
Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team (USA)
Wanty – Groupe Gobert (Bel)
Wildcards for Liege-Bastogne-Liege:
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits (Fra)
Colombia (Col)
IAM Cycling (Sui)
MTN – Qhubeka (RSA)
Team NetApp – Endura (Ger)
Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise (Bel)
Wanty – Groupe Gobert (Bel)
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