The UCI just dropped a bomb on professional cycling. New rules taking effect in 2026 will ban a controversial gas, force teams to show up to races they’d rather skip, and guarantee spots for smaller teams at the sport’s biggest events.
Oh, and one historic team went bankrupt. Another is drowning in debt. The transfer market descended into chaos.
Here’s everything that changed—and why it matters.
Carbon Monoxide Is Now a Banned Substance
Yes, you read that right. As of January 1, 2026, carbon monoxide inhalation is officially on WADA’s Prohibited List.
For years, teams have used CO inhalation to measure total hemoglobin mass and blood volume. It’s a legitimate sports science tool. But “repeated inhalation” comes with serious side effects: headaches, nausea, dizziness, confusion. In extreme cases, heart arrhythmias, seizures, and loss of consciousness.
The UCI had already banned the practice in February 2025, but WADA’s addition to the Prohibited List makes it official worldwide. Any rider caught using CO for performance purposes now faces the same penalties as blood doping.
WorldTour and ProTeam riders can still use CO for medical testing—but every session must be documented in their official medical file. The days of unmonitored inhalation sessions are over.
Three Teams Just Got Guaranteed Grand Tour Spots
This is huge for smaller teams.
Starting in 2026, the top three ProTeams from the previous season’s rankings automatically receive invitations to every WorldTour stage race. That includes the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España.
For 2026, that means Tudor, Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, and Cofidis are in—no begging race organizers for wildcard spots, no anxious waiting to see if they made the cut.
Race organizers still control two wildcard invitations. But the math now guarantees 23 teams at cycling’s biggest events: 18 WorldTour squads, 3 automatic ProTeams, and 2 wildcards.
Why does this matter? Because smaller teams can now plan their seasons with certainty. Sponsors can count on Tour de France exposure. Riders don’t have to jump ship to bigger teams just for Grand Tour access.
WorldTour Teams Can No Longer Skip Races
The UCI closed another loophole that wealthy teams exploited for years.
New rules limit how many WorldTour teams can skip any given event. No more than four teams can be absent from the same race. And teams cannot skip the same event more than once during the entire 2026-2028 registration cycle.
Translation: If UAE Team Emirates skips the Tour of Flanders in 2026, they must show up in 2027 and 2028. Period.
Any vacant WorldTour spot gets offered to a ProTeam by invitation. The UCI is done watching top teams cherry-pick their calendars while race organizers scramble to fill start lists.
One Team Went Bankrupt. Another Is Buried in Debt.
The 2026 season arrives with a body count.
Arkéa-B&B Hotels is gone. The French team failed to secure a new title sponsor after relegation from the WorldTour became inevitable. Their entire roster—roughly 25 riders—flooded the transfer market looking for contracts.
Intermarché-Wanty technically survived, but only through a messy merger with Lotto. The combined “Lotto-Intermarché” squad entered 2026 carrying €2.5 million in reported debt from the Intermarché side. The merger forced roughly a dozen Intermarché-Wanty riders out of work with almost no warning.
One affected rider called himself “a collateral victim.” Several others retired rather than scramble for last-minute contracts.
Cofidis also dropped from WorldTour to ProTeam status. But their automatic Grand Tour invitations under the new rules soften the blow considerably.
The New WorldTour Looks Different
Three teams are out. Three teams are in.
Gone: Arkéa-B&B Hotels (bankrupt), Cofidis (relegated), Intermarché-Wanty (merged)
Promoted: Uno-X Mobility, NSN Cycling Team (formerly Israel-Premier Tech), Lotto-Intermarché
The Norwegian Uno-X squad finally reaches cycling’s top tier after years of steady growth. NSN Cycling arrives with a rebrand and renewed ambitions. Lotto-Intermarché enters with baggage—but also with the combined talent of two historic Belgian programs.
Multi-Discipline Points Are Coming
Here’s a change that won’t hit until late 2026, but it’s worth watching.
Starting October 19, 2026, the UCI will factor points from other disciplines into team rankings. Track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, and gravel results will count—but only for riders already in a team’s top 20.
The move rewards versatility and could shift how teams build their rosters. A cyclo-cross world champion who also races road? Suddenly more valuable. A pure road specialist with no off-road credentials? Slightly less so.
The Transfer Market Was Absolute Chaos
With Arkéa folding, Intermarché-Lotto merging, and Cofidis dropping, the 2025-2026 transfer window became one of the most chaotic in cycling history.
Dozens of professional riders entered the market simultaneously. Some found homes quickly. Others waited months for answers that never came. Several veterans simply retired rather than accept diminished roles on lesser teams.
One agent described the market as “both flooded and in limbo”—too many riders chasing too few spots, with uncertainty paralyzing decision-making across the sport.
The carnage extended beyond riders. Intermarché-Wanty laid off mechanics, then awkwardly asked some to return when the merged team realized they needed experienced staff. A team bus went up for sale.
What This Means for 2026
Professional cycling enters its new season with clearer rules, guaranteed opportunities for smaller teams, and fresh faces at the WorldTour level.
But the cost was significant. Careers ended prematurely. Teams vanished. Debt lingers. The sport’s financial fragility remains exposed.
The UCI’s reforms address real problems—teams skipping races, ProTeams locked out of Grand Tours, unregulated medical practices. Whether they’re enough to stabilize a sport perpetually on the edge of crisis remains to be seen.
For now, the peloton moves forward. 2026 racing begins with 18 WorldTour teams, a reformed rulebook, and the hope that this year’s changes stick.
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