Europcar and Project 1T4I, formerly known as Skil-Shimano, have been granted second-division Professional Continental status by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Both squads had originally filed for a top-level ProTeam licence but failed to meet the UCI's registration criteria.
Europcar and Project 1T4I were both named on the list of 22 2012 Professional Continental squads released by the UCI on Monday.
Unlike squads that hold a UCI ProTeam licence, Pro Continental teams are not assured a place in any of the UCI's WorldTour races, such as the spring classics or Grand Tours. However, they may still enter these events if the event organiser allocates them a wildcard place.
The full list of 2012 UCI Professional Continental squads is as follows:
Accent Jobs-Willems Verandas (Bel)
Acqua & Sapone (Ita)
Andalucia (Spa)
Androni Giocattoli (Ita)
Bretagne-Schuller (Fra)
Caja Rural (Spa)
Champion System (Chn)
Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne (Fra)
Colnago-CSF Inox (Irl)
Colombia-Coldeportes (Col)
Europcar (Fra)
Farnese Vini (GBr)
Landbouwkrediet (Bel)
Project 1T4I (Ned)
Rusvelo (Rus)
Saur-Sojasun (Fra)
Spidertech, Powered by C10 (Can)
Team NetApp (Ger)
Team Type 1-Sanofi (USA)
Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator (Bel)
United Healthcare (USA)
Utensilnord Named (Irl)
The list of 18 first-division ProTeam squads was released by the UCI at the beginning of December.
Related links
GreenEdge and RadioShack receive WorldTour status
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