Today we get our first taste of the new, confusing world order in the top flight of pro Cycling. CN publishes today the list of teams who will be asking the UCI for wildcard entries into Pro Tour races. These are teams not already holding a Pro Tour license but wishing to ride in the Pro Tour events (i.e., all the cool races like the Tour of Poland, Eneco Tour, Eindhoven TTT... all the best minus the grand tours, four monuments, and several other races).
The list of teams hoping for invites is:
The first thing to jump out at me is, where's LPR? How much money did they just spend this week... and no Pro Tour races?? This highlights not only Danilo DiLuca's presumed disdain for the UCI at this point, but the reduced relevance of their Tour. DiLuca no doubt wants to return to the Giro (assuming he doesn't harbor illusions of the Tour). He also would benefit from a return to Liege and Fleche Wallonne, and the Giro di Lombardia -- all RCS or ASO races, not Pro Tour. Off his list is Amstel Gold, but perhaps that's a small price to pay.
The point is, you don't need the Pro Tour if you're not a Pro Tour team, there are still plenty of openings at plenty of races for wildcard teams to plan around.
Another thought: presumably applying for wildcard status doesn't preclude you from getting full Pro Tour status, right Slipstream?