Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi was a surprise addition to the list of 16 teams that have applied to secure one of the 15 Women’s WorldTour licences available for the upcoming 2024 and 2025 seasons. The team has made steps to strengthen their roster with the addition of Ane Santesteban on a three-year contract through 2026.
“Effectively, the team has requested the Women’s WorldTour license for the 2024 and 2025 years,” a representative of Laboral Kutxa told Cyclingnews.
“Last year, we said that it was one of our goals, both for what it represents at a sporting level and for our goal, that the team be a reference for women’s sports in Basque Country and for that, what better way than by [expanding] our women’s team to take part in the best races of the world.”
Last year, team manager Aitor Galdos confirmed in an interview with Cyclingnews that it was set to expand with a €1.8 million budget, and at that time, expressed their intent to apply for a Women’s WorldTour licence in 2024.
The Basque-based team have built their women’s programme to follow in the footsteps of the men’s Euskaltel-Euskadi and continue to develop riders from the Basque Country, thanks to the long-term commitments from sponsors Laboral Kutxa, Orbea and Etxeondo. Laboral Kutxa have extended their partnership with the team through to 2029.
In the application process for the Women’s WorldTour licence, teams must show that they meet five required criteria. They are administrative, ethical, financial, organisational – and new this year – sporting, which combines the total number of UCI points secured across the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
“Obviously, if we have made the application, it is because we believe that we meet all the requirements. In any case, that must be evaluated by the UCI,” a representative of the team told Cyclingnews.
“As far as sports points are concerned, we are aware that we have less than the rest of the applicants, but we trust that if we achieve everything else, there is some chance to get a place.
“The team will also grow at the budget level and, therefore, at the sport, organisation and resource levels in any of the cases. Although, of course, these steps will be even bigger if the team gets a Women’s WorldTour licence.”
The future of Laboral Kutxa on the Women’s WorldTour won’t be confirmed until mid-December by the Licence Commission after evaluating the candidate teams’ applications.
“Whether or not the objective is met, we will continue with our roadmap of being…
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