Australian WorldTour teams saved after 'paperwork issues' delay UCI registration
Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco are expected to remain WorldTour teams next season
 
 
Australian men’s team Jayco AlUla and its women’s equivalent Liv AlUla Jayco are expected to continue on the WorldTour in 2026 after “paperwork issues” led to delayed registration.
The two teams were absent from a UCI press release earlier this month which confirmed the men’s and women’s WorldTour licence applicants for 2026-2028. Teams were given a deadline of 15 October to submit their registration documents, which included ethical, financial and administrative files.
According to Escape Collective, Jayco AlUla founder Gerry Ryan failed to present a bank guarantee to the UCI by the initial deadline.
A team spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that issues have now been resolved.
"We are pleased to confirm that the paperwork issues have been resolved and the relevant documents have been submitted to the UCI. We look forward to a prosperous 2026 season," the spokesperson said in a statement to Cyclingnews.
According to reports, the teams have now been issued a new deadline for their documents to be processed.
Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco were founded in 2020 as Orica GreenEDGE and Orica-AIS. The teams have since gone under different names, including Mitchelton-Scott and Team BikeExchange, but always remained under the ownership of Australian businessman Ryan.
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To guarantee a place on the WorldTour for the upcoming three-year cycle, the men’s Jayco AlUla needed to rank within the top 18 teams of the 2023-2025 UCI rankings; the team placed 16th.
The women’s Liv AlUla Jayco finished the season eighth, comfortably within the top-15 places needed to secure Women’s WorldTour status for 2026.
As well as meeting the sporting criteria, team bosses must disclose their budgets and sponsor contracts signed for the upcoming season. The UCI asks that teams provide a bank guarantee equivalent to “one quarter of all the gross sums due for payment by the UCI WorldTeam to riders and persons under contract for the operation of the team during the registration year”, plus CHF 15,000 (£14,240/$18,700).
This figure must meet a minimum of CHF 975,000 (£925,600/$1.2m) for men’s WorldTour teams, and CHF 130,000 (£123,400/$162,000) for women’s WorldTour teams.
In its list of candidate teams posted on 20 October, in which Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco were absent, the UCI said teams not included “still have the possibility to rectify their situation before the end of the registration process, which would enable them to be registered for the 2026 season.”
The UCI is expected to publish the final list of team registrations on 10 December.

Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism. Since 2020, he has been the host of The TT Podcast, offering race analysis and rider interviews.
An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.
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