The International Cycling Union UCI has announced the list of teams that have applied for WorldTour and pro continental licenses for the 2017 season.

Teams wishing to be registered in first or second division for the 2017 road season are required to submit a registration file to the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The UCI, in association with the appointed-auditor EY, evaluates whether the teams are in compliance with the UCI Regulations.

In accordance with its regulations the UCI is today publishing the list of teams that have submitted a registration file as per Articles 2.15.069 bis and 2.16.014 bis.

As expected, 16 of the current 18 teams have all applied. Only IAM and Tinkoff that will fold at the end of 2016, are absent from the list. Furthermore, the new Bahrain-Merida team of Vincenzo Nibali and Bora-hansgrohe which has signed Peter Sagan have sent an application.

According to an agreement between the main stakeholders of cycling, the number of WorldTour teams will be reduced to 17 in 2017. As 18 teams have applied for a license, one is going to miss out.

The rules stipulate that the top 16 teams in the UCI WorldTour ranking have satisfied the sporting criteria. IAM and Dimension Data finished at the bottom of the ranking and so are offically known as candidate teams for the WorldTour. As IAM will fold, Dimension Data will be battling with Bora-hansgrohe and Bahrain-Merida for the final spot and the three teams will be evaluated based on the WorldTour points obtained by their best five riders for the 2017 season. Initial calculations suggest that Dimension Data is likely to lose the battle.

The UCI also announced the list of applicants for a pro continental license. It includes the new Irish Aqua Blue team which has signed current WorldTour riders Lars Petter Nordhaug and Matt Brammeier, and current continental teams Manzana Postobon from Colombia and Wallonie-Bruxelles from Belgium. Veranda's Willems that had also indicated their intention to step up to the higher level is missing from the list.

From the current group of pro continental teams, Drapac, Verva-ActiveJet, Funvic, Team Stölting and Roth are all missing from the list. The latter two have both announced their intention to step down to continental and U23 level respectively while the former has merged with the Cannondale team.

Teams applying for registration as a UCI WorldTeam (1st division):

AG2R LA MONDIALE
ASTANA PRO TEAM
BMC RACING TEAM
CANNONDALE DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM
TEAM DIMENSION DATA
ETIXX – QUICK STEP
FDJ
LOTTO SOUDAL
MOVISTAR TEAM
ORICA BIKE EXCHANGE
TEAM SUNWEB
TEAM KATUSHA
TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO
TEAM SKY
TJ SPORT
TREK SEGAFREDO

BAHRAIN-MERIDA (NEW)
BORA-HANSGROHE (NEW)

Teams applying for registration as a UCI Professional Continental Team (2nd division):

ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI
BARDIANI CSF
CAJA RURAL – SEGUROS RGA
CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE
COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
DELKO MARSEILLE PROVENCE KTM
DIRECT ENERGIE
FORTUNEO - VITAL CONCEPT
GAZPROM – RUSVELO
NIPPO - VINI FANTINI
ONE PRO CYCLING
ROOMPOT - ORANJE PELOTON
TEAM NOVO NORDISK
SPORT VLAANDEREN - BALOISE
UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM
WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT
WILIER TRIESTINA

AQUA BLUE SPORT (NEW)
MANZANA POSTOBON TEAM (NEW)
WALLONIE BRUXELLES (NEW)