Tour de France 2026 teams and wildcards unveiled, with Spanish team picked for debut over popular Unibet Rose Rockets

The teams for the 2026 Tour de France have been revealed, with TotalEnergies and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA being invited as wildcards. Fan-favourites Unibet Rose Rockets had been expected as a wildcard entry to the Tour, but race organisers ASO have opted to go with the Spanish ProTeam instead.

Tudor Pro Cycling, Pinarello-Q36.5 and Cofidis earned direct qualification to the Tour thanks to finishing as the top three highest-ranked ProTeams in 2025, and will start alongside all 18 WorldTour teams.

There will once again be 23 teams on the start line in Barcelona on July 4, after the UCI changed the rules last season to allow for a larger peloton.

Caja Rural, as a sponsor, has been to the Tour before, last seen in 1988 as the Caja Rural-Orbea team, but that was a different setup from the Spanish team of today, which was founded in 2000.

"For the entire team, it’s an honor and a thrill that’s hard to describe to make our debut in the Tour de France," said Caja Rural-Seguros RGA sports director José Miguel Fernández.

"We are very aware of what this race represents worldwide and the enormous effort it takes to be at the start of the most important race on the calendar. Getting here is the result of many years of work, perseverance, and growth as a team, and we deeply value this opportunity that ASO has given us.

"We will prepare for the Tour with the utmost respect and meticulous attention to every detail. We know the level of competition will be extremely high and that each day will present a challenge, so we will assemble a well-balanced team with riders capable of performing on all terrains."

Caja Rural-Seguros RGA only managed seven victories in 2025, but set ambitious goals for their debut at the Tour, which starts in their home nation in Spain.

"Our goal will be ambitious but realistic: to try and fight for a stage win and make our mark in the most followed race in the world," added Fernández.

"We are fully aware that three extremely tough weeks await us, against the best teams and riders in the world, but we arrive prepared, motivated, and eager to seize this historic opportunity. We will give everything we have to proudly represent the colors of Caja Rural and Seguros RGA in the Tour de France."

In terms of rankings, though, there wasn't much separating them and Unibet, with the Spanish side finishing one spot and just under 700 UCI points above the French-registered team in 2025.

Unibet Rose Rockets team owner Bas Tietema also released a statement following the wildcard announcement, which came after they had already been invited to races such as the Tour of Flanders and Amstel Gold Race.

"The most asked question we’ve been getting over the past few months has been:

'Will the Rockets be at the Tour de France in 2026?' So here is the answer to that frequently asked question: No, we won’t be at the Tour de France in 2026," said Tietema.

"Today we got the news that we did not receive a wildcard. 2026 is still going to be an incredible year, and we’ll do everything we can to keep improving ourselves.

"The Tour de France is and always will be our dream race. So please, keep dreaming with us. Because there is still so much coming our way. Not only this year, but also the years to come."

Tour de France 2026 teams

• Alpecin-Premier Tech (WT)
• Bahrain Victorious (WT)
• Decathlon CMA CGM (WT)
• EF Education-EasyPost (WT)
• Groupama-FDJ United (WT)
• Ineos Grenadiers (WT)
• Lidl-Trek (WT)
• Lotto Intermarché (WT)
• Movistar (WT)
• NSN Cycling (WT)
• Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe (WT)
• Soudal-QuickStep (WT)
• Jayco AlUla (WT)
• Picnic PostNL (WT)
• Visma-Lease a Bike (WT)
• UAE Team Emirates-XRG (WT)
• Uno-X Mobility (WT)
• XDS Astana (WT)
• Caja Rural-Seguros RGA (PRT) – wildcard invitation
• Cofidis (PRT) – automatic invitation
• Pinarello-Q36.5 (PRT) – automatic invitation
• TotalEnergies (PRT) – wildcard invitation
• Tudor Pro Cycling (PRT) – automatic invitation