'I'm excited to continue this journey' - Tudor Pro Cycling extends with Larry Warbasse and Hannes Wilksch

This time last year, American Larry Warbasse feared that his career might come to a premature end after Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale opted not to extend his contract.

Now, the 35-year-old from Michigan will race for a further two years after a successful 2025 season with Tudor Pro Cycling.

Tudor announced on Friday that Warbasse and young German teammate Hannes Wilksch signed two-year contract extensions with the team.

Warbasse and Wilksch finished seventh and 15th, respectively, in the Maryland Cycling Classic and will toe the line in the GP de Québec on Friday and GP de Montréal on Sunday.

Tudor described Warbasse as their 'experienced mentor' and 'an American who has made France his adopted home, Larry has long been recognised as a climbing specialist and invaluable teammate in the mountains." 

"I am thankful to the team for the trust they've put in me for another two years," Warbasse said.

"My integration went really well - both in my role of sharing experience with younger riders and in supporting our leaders in big races.

"A highlight this season was the Tour de Suisse. That race holds a special place in my heart - not only because I won a stage in 2017, but because it's our home race and I shared it with a strong group of teammates. I'm excited to continue this journey and, personally, my dream will be to line up at the Tour de France someday."

Lining up at the 2026 Tour de France is almost a certainty for Tudor. While not meeting the top 18 in the three-year UCI Team Rankings required to be promoted to the WorldTour, Tudor are the third-best ranked ProTeam of 2025.

Israel-Premier Tech, who are the second-best, are in line for promotion to the WorldTour, which would leave Tudor in second, which would earn the team an automatic invitation to the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Vuelta a España as well as all WorldTour one-day races and stage races.

Wilksch, 23, has been with the team since being brought up from their under-23 development programme in 2023.

He said: "I'm really happy to have the trust of the team for two more years. The team is growing, and I feel I'm growing alongside it - not just as a rider, but as a person. My past seasons have been about development: I've made physical steps forward and feel stronger month by month.

"Racing some of the sport's biggest events alongside champions like Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi is an incredible learning experience. Looking ahead, my goals are clear: to make my debut in a Grand Tour, to help my teammates win the biggest races, and to continue stepping up."