Norwegian professional team "Uno-X" has announced that it is seeking a wildcard invitation to this year's Tour de France.

The team, which has been in the second professional cycling team division for the past two years, has big ambitions in the sport, and the team has already announced its intention to apply for a World Tour berth in 2023.

The women's Uno X team, which will compete in its debut season in 2022, is already part of the Women's World Tour and will compete in the first Tour de France Femme. However, the men's team, made up of 21 Norwegians and eight Danes, faces the daunting task of getting to the start line of the race, which kicks off in Copenhagen in July.

The 18 World Tour teams, along with Alpecin Phoenix and Arkea Samsic (the top two teams in the 2021 ProTeam rankings), will be automatically invited, leaving just two wild cards. France's Total Energy and B&B Hotels p/b KTM, who were invited last July, are the overwhelming favorites to fill those slots.

"We have a dream of being on the starting line in Copenhagen," said general manager Jens Haugland in an interview with Feltet.dk. (open in new tab) "I don't have high hopes because the possibilities are not that great.

"But we think we've earned it. All cycling-mad Norwegians and Danes want to see as many of their compatriots as possible on the starting line in Denmark. For example, a rider like Lasse Norman Hansen would deserve to run the prologue in Copenhagen."

The Uno-X team evolved from the Lingarics Kraft Continental team, serving as a development team in the process, and was promoted to the professional team level in 2020. In recent seasons, several riders have been promoted to the World Tour, including Tobias Foss (Jumbo Visma), who finished ninth in the 2021 Giro d'Italia, and the highly regarded Andreas Leknesund (Team DSM).

This year, the team will be joined by Marcus Hoelgaard (Trek-Segafredo), Julius Johansen (Intermarke Wantigover), Frederik Rodenberg and Jonas Hvideberg (both DSM), and U23 World Time Trial Champion Johan Price= Peitersen (Bahrain Victorious) also stepped up.

Uno X has expanded its team to 29 members following an impressive 2021 campaign. Three Danes, Hansen, Niklas Egg and Jonas Gregaard, were recruited from the World Tour, and the Johannessen twins from Norway, including Tour de Laveneil champion Tobias, were promoted from Uno-X's new development team.