Three French teams and one Belgian squad will join the 18 WorldTour squads in the 2018 Tour de France.
French teams Cofidis, Direct Energie and Fortuneo-Samsic have been awarded places in the 105th edition of the race, along with Wanty-Groupe Gobert.
Despite Bryan Coquard’s plea to the organisation of the Tour de France to give his new team Vital Concept the chance to take part in the race, ASO has instead favoured the Belgian team.
The race starts in the Vendée region on 7 July with a flat 189-kilometre stage from Noirmoutier-en-l’Île to Fontenay-le-Comte.
ASO also announced the wildcard teams for Paris-Nice (March 4-11) and Critérium du Dauphiné. Both of these week-long stage races are also within the UCI’s top-level WorldTour calendar, with automatic entry for all 18 WorldTeams.
Cofidis, Direct Energie and Fortuneo-Samsic will join French team Delko Marseille Provence KTM at Paris-Nice, with Cofidis, Fortuneo-Samsic, Vital Concept and Wanty-Groupe Gobert attending the Critérium du Dauphiné.
