Seven wildcard teams announced for 2019 Paris-Roubaix
21 January 2019 01:00
Paris-Roubaix organiser ASO have awarded seven invitations to the 2019 edition of the race, which takes place on April 14. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) won Paris-Roubaix in 2018, his second monument victory. All five French Pro Continental teams have been assigned wildcards. Cofidis, already invited to the 2019 Tour de France, will be joined at the start of Paris-Roubaix by Delko Marseille Provence, Direct Energie, Team Arkea-Samsic and Vital Concept – B&B Hotels. ASO opted to also invite the five French teams to Paris-Nice. The two remaining wildcard berths have been awarded to Wanty-Gobert Cycling and the revamped Roompot-Charles team, formed following the Dutch squad’s merger with Veranda’s Willems-Crelan during the off-season. ADVERTISEMENT All 18 WorldTour teams will also be on the start line in Compiègne and, as was the case in 2018, all teams will field 7 riders. With the UCI set to roll out reforms of the WorldTour structure in 2020, this season marks the final year in which race organisers are free to choose all of their wildcards. From 2020, the three best-ranked Professional Continental teams will have the right – though not the obligation – to participate in the Classics, while the top two teams will earn the right to a wildcard to the Grand Tours. ASO has already implemented the new system for the 2019 Tour de France. Cofidis and Wanty-Groupe Gobert – the top-ranked Pro Continental teams of 2018 – have been awarded wildcards to La Grande Boucle. The remaining two invitations will be designated at ASO’s discretion some time after Paris-Nice.
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