With just one month left of the 2025 road season, it's relegation watch time - the teams hoping to remain or be promoted to the men's WorldTour for the next three years are running out of time to score points. Only the teams in the top 18 of the combined points from the 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons will make the cut, and this week, Uno-X Mobility are one step closer to meeting that goal.
The Norwegian team surpassed Cofidis over the past few weeks and are now 140 points ahead and gaining momentum. However, because they are in 19th place and 1,104 points behind 18th, they are still heavily dependent on the proposed Intermarché-Wanty merger with Lotto to have a hope of reaching the WorldTour.
If the merger doesn't go through, Intermarché appear to be relatively safe against relegation with only four weeks of racing to go. Cofidis has averaged less than 200 points per week for most of the year, while Uno-X Mobility have averaged 260 points per week to Intermarché's 160.
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Uno-X had a hugely successful August and September so far, winning the Deutschland Tour and two stages with Søren Wærenskjold, plus the Circuit Franco Belge and Muur Classic Geraardsbergen with Jonas Abrahamsen. Abrahamsen also landed on the podium in the Maryland Cycling Classic. Andreas Leknessund's sixth place in the UCI Road World Championships time trial netted the team 130 points, too.
That momentum will come in handy in their upcoming races which include the World Championships, three 1.1-ranked one-day races (125 points for the win), four 1.Pro races and the 2.Pro Tour de Langkawi (200 points for the win) and Il Lombardia (275 points for the win).
They'll need every result, because Cofidis have two WorldTour races - Il Lombardia and the Tour of Guangxi - five 1.1, six 1.Pro and the 2.Pro Tour of Taihu Lake for superior points-scoring opportunities.
Even if Uno-X Mobility remain as a ProTeam, their prospects are still good. After Lotto and Israel-Premier Tech were relegated in 2022, they benefited from the UCI's rule that requires the top ProTeams to be invited to WorldTour races. Both teams are sitting comfortably in 12th and 13th overall in the three-year rankings this time around.
Uno-X Mobility are solidly the top ProTeam of 2025 in 11th in the 2025 UCI Team Rankings, but the team's sporting director Gabriel Rasch explained to Cyclingnews that being a WorldTour team would allow them to give more opportunities to younger riders rather than having to fight for points in every race.
Cofidis have been making Uno-X work hard to keep their position as next in line for the WorldTour, given they're only 140 points behind Uno-X Mobility - that's easily accomplished with a win in a UCI 1.1 race (125 points) plus a few minor placings or even a second place in a ProSeries race like the Coppa Sabatini, where Benjamin Thomas recently scored 150 points.
It cannot be emphasised enough that getting ahead of Uno-X is extremely important for the French team's future. They're 1,244 points behind 18th-placed Intermarché, and even if the merger goes through, they would still be out of luck and get relegated if they can't get ahead of their Norwegian rivals.
For Cofidis, the picture isn't as bright. They've had a fairly dismal season compared to the other WorldTour teams. They're 21st in the 2025 UCI Team Rankings, with only 24th-placed Intermarché-Wanty having a worse year as a WorldTour team.
If they're forced to drop to ProTeam status, they likely will not benefit from the top ProTeam rule, even after the UCI increased the automatic WorldTour invites to the top three teams. Cofidis are behind Uno-X, Israel-Premier Tech (being promoted), Tudor, and Q36.5 this year. They're also behind Arkéa-B&B Hotels, whose future is quite uncertain as they are losing their sponsors and have until October 1 to sign a deal.
In the scenario where Lotto merges with Intermarché and Uno-X Mobility get promoted to the WorldTour, Cofidis would still be fourth unless Arkéa-B&B Hotels fold. If Arkéa fold, then Cofidis would be able to compete in a full WorldTour calendar with automatic invitations.
So Cofidis have a lot to worry about. All Uno-X Mobility have to do is stay ahead of Cofidis and hope the Intermarché-Lotto merger goes through and their WorldTour dreams will be a reality. Intermarché aren't out of reach, either, but gaining over 1,000 points in four weeks is a tall order, even if Uno-X added the Tour de Langkawi to their schedule.
The 2025 UCI Team Rankings are great news for Tudor and Q36.5, too. They will be assured of invitations to all of the Grand Tours, WorldTour stage races, and WorldTour one-day races, which will give them a massive advantage toward the next promotion/relegation cycle.
Unfortunately for TotalEnergies, the situation is not as promising. They're behind Cofidis and even further from the obligatory WorldTour invitations.
At the other end of the team rankings, the UCI will require any wildcard invitations to be extended only to teams in the top 30 of the previous year's standings. Currently, VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizané are on the cusp of being overtaken by Solution Tech Vini Fantini, who are only 70 points behind.
Keep an eye on the two teams in the upcoming Italian one-day races as they battle to stay in contention for the Giro d'Italia wildcards.
