While the UCI's announcement regarding the 2022 WorldTour license was heartbreaking for Qhubeka NextHash officials, it was a celebration for Arkea Samsic, which will enjoy the freedom of a top-class racing calendar next season.

With Qhubeka NextHash being denied a license due to lack of sponsorship, only 18 teams will be on the World Tour in 2022, confirming more space in the larger races for second division professional teams.

This year, Alpecin Phoenix became the highest ranked pro team in the 2020 UCI World Ranking and was automatically invited to all WorldTour races. With one less WorldTour team, that privilege was extended to two more pro teams, with Arkea-Samsic the second best team in the 2021 ranking.

French teams, which had already competed in all WorldTour one-day races this year, now have a choice of top-class stage races, including three Grand Tours. The wildcard invitation makes them regulars in the Tour de France since 2014, but riders like Nairo Quintana and Warren Barguil will also be able to think about the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España.

"How much we have progressed over the last few years! We will gradually step up and in 2022 we will be at the top of the World Tour," said team manager Emmanuel Hubert.

"I am excited by the idea of a new era for our riders and staff. According to my vision for cycling, it's the only way."

The team will be the first to compete in the World Tour in 2022, and the first to compete in the World Tour in 2022.

The team started as a continental-level organization in 2005, with the Brittany region in northwestern France making its name for the first decade, along with various co-sponsors; in 2011, the team joined the current second division, and in 2014 made its Tour de France debut The team has also won the Tour de France in 2014.

The team has been title sponsored by Fortuñeo since 2016, with Samsic joining in 2018 at a time of great ambition, anchored by a major deal with Warren Barguil; from 2019 the team will be Arkéa-Samsic, and in 2020, former Giro and Vuelta champion He showed further intent by signing Nairo Quintana, helping to establish the team as one of the major professional teams.

"With the valuable support of my title sponsors, Arkea and Samsic, I was able to gradually build this group and get closer to a World Tour team every year, both statistically and in terms of the quality of the riders and staff," Hubert said.

"I'm very happy with the results," Hubert said.

Quintana is probably more excited about this news than anyone else. Even last year, he had expressed a desire to ride the Giro, but no wild card was offered. Now, the Colombian climber has a chance to return to the race he won in 2014, which will be even more appealing since there are fewer time trials in the 2022 event. [Likewise, Barguil would welcome the opportunity to run two Grand Tours, and the team could look for stage wins in all three, along with sprinters such as Nacer Bouhanni and Dan McRae, and up-and-coming riders such as Elie Gesbert and Connie Swift.

The team is also looking forward to the next stage.

The team has the luxury of being able to participate in all of the races without any obligation to take part in any of them, but Hubert is not going to enjoy that for long, as he hopes to become a full-fledged World Tour member in 2023.

According to reforms agreed to a few years ago, the World Tour will fall back to 18 teams in 2023, and if both Arkea Samsic and the current 18 teams, along with more professional teams, apply, the battle for ranking points next season could intensify.

"The upcoming 2022 season is both a year of discovery and a year of performance necessary to be selected for the 18 professional teams that will form the World Tour in 2023. The common goal of Arkea Samsic is to establish that level of competitiveness over the long term."