Two lines at the bottom of the UCI's latest press release seemed to raise the possibility of Mathieu van der Pol competing in the 2020 Tour de France, but unlike the Belgian and Dutch reports, Cycling News understands that his team, Alpecin Phoenix We understand that neither he nor any other team will be given an additional wildcard slot in this year's Grand Boucle.

If the Tour de France is held from August 29 to September 20, it will be contested by 22 teams of eight riders who have already qualified, leaving no room for additional teams. Cycling News understands that some one-day classics reduce the number of teams from seven to six to support smaller professional teams, but this will not happen in the Grand Tour.

Van der Pol and Alpecin Phoenix have been pushing for more slots for several weeks, and race organizer ASO seems eager to add them to the peloton; when the UCI releases its revised men's and women's World Tour calendar on May 5, it will include "Team participation rules" and "rules regarding the number of riders per team at the start of a race" when the UCI announced its revised men's and women's WorldTour calendars on May 5, their hopes were further heightened.

According to some reports, the UCI was prepared to reduce the number of Grand Tour teams from eight to seven, giving race organizers the chance to give additional wild cards to complete the peloton. This allowed ASO to add three more wild cards, giving Mathieu Van der Pol a chance to make his Tour de France debut.

However, two reliable sources told Cycling News that the team size for the three Grand Tours will remain at eight riders and that no additional wildcards will be awarded to the pro teams.

Last year, 22 teams of eight riders participated in the Tour de France, for a total of 176 riders. If the number of riders per team were reduced from eight to seven, the peloton would be reduced to 147 riders, leaving 21 or three team slots open. However, the leading teams on the World Tour would oppose reducing the number of teams to seven.

All 19 men's WorldTour teams will be automatically invited to all WorldTour races, including the three Grand Tours. Total Direct Energie earned selection to the 2020 Tour de France as the top UCI ProTeam starting in the 2019 season, and ASO granted discretionary invitations to Alcare Samsic and Vital Concepts B&B Hotels.

Alpecin Felix consists of 27 riders, and team manager Philippe Rudhoeft admitted that he was interested in competing in the Tour de France, but admitted that there was no certainty of a place.

With no Grand Tour, Alpecin Felix and Van der Pol will have to concentrate on the one-day classics and other stage races to which they have already been invited.