Belgian Women's Continental squad Plantur-Pura are in pole position to take the final Women's WorldTeam spot for 2023.
The team have confirmed to Cyclingnews they have applied to be the 15th top-tier team and, as the top-ranked Continental team in the running, believe they should have the spot among the sport's elite.
"We applied for it, and we have the opportunity; the standings and the points are looking good," Sports Director Kris Wouters told Cyclingnews at the recent Tour de Romandie Féminin.
"After Valcar, we are the first non-WorldTour there, so everything looks good. We are here to gather more points because we want to have as many points as possible because the licence is for one year, and next year the points of 2022 and 2023 will count."
With the season all but over, the Belgian squad are ranked 12th in the UCI's latest world rankings after the Swiss race, where they bagged three stage top 10s, and Yara Kastelijn finished seventh overall.
The team boasts a host of young talent who combines road and cyclo-cross, including former 'cross world champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Julie De Wilde, Puck Pieterse, and Inge van der Heijden.
Though there are currently 14 top-level teams, some of those are below many of the Continental squads in the UCI's world rankings. Of those second-tier outfits Valcar-Travel & Service are the top performers, currently standing seventh. However, they have indicated to Cyclingnews they may not apply to become a WorldTeam, with departing director Davide Arzeni saying he hoped the team would become a development programme for a Women's WorldTeam in future.
Over the years, the Italian team have nurtured the likes of 2021 world champion Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo), Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope) to the top of the sport and have retained some highly successful riders themselves.
Silvia Persico was third at both road and cyclo-cross Worlds this year and finished fifth at the Tour de France Femmes and seventh at the Giro Donne, while Chiara Consonni won the final stage of her home tour, and others have also bagged top results.
However, the Italian squad have struggled to gain sufficient funding to retain their best riders, and both riders are among four key talents leaving for UAE Team ADQ, meaning Valcar will have to start again from scratch.
Another top Continental squad not applying to make the leap is 16th-ranked Parkhotel Valkenburg. The Dutch squad discovered the likes of Demi Vollering (SD Worx) and Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) but instead chose to retain their role as a development team. Indeed, next year both Mischa Bredewold and Femke Markus will move to SD Worx.
One place ahead of the Dutch squad are Le Col-Wahoo, but the British registered team have also confirmed to Cyclingnews they will not be applying for the top tier in 2023.
Another team to have confirmed their application for the WorldTeam status is AG Insurance-NXTG. Expanding from their roots as a development squad, the Dutch-registered team have recruited heavily for next year.
New arrivals will include Maaike Boogaard from UAE Team ADQ, Romy Casper from Jumbo-Visma, the returning Lotta Henttala after time off to have a baby, and, most notably, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio from SDWorx.
Despite their relative youth, the team have scored some impressive results this year and their development is sure to be aided by their close relationship with QuickStep-AlphaVinyl, which, according to sources, will see the team riding Specialized bikes next year. However, they are only ranked 18th, way behind Plantur-Pura.
The UCI recently announced a regulation change, removing the requirement for applications to the top tier to be based on a team's position in the world ranking. However, that does not come into force until 2024, putting Plantur-Pura in the box seat for selection.
