Following yesterday's announcement that Lotto Belisol and Argos-Shimano weren't on the initial list of ProTeams for the 2014 season that was released yesterday, the two teams have sent out messages to explain the reasons. While Lotto Belisol claims only to have fallen short due to two administrative formalities, Argos-Shimano has been refused a license due to problems with the paperwork related to their new main sponsor.

Yesterday the UCI issued the first ProTeams licenses for the 2014 season, granting 9 teams access to the highest level of the sport. From the list of current ProTeams who didn't need to go through the full renewal process, only Lotto Belisol and Argos-Shimano were missing from the list.

The UCI press release stated that the two teams had had their application referred to the Licensing Commission “on the grounds of certain irregularities which were still present in their respective file at the time of the drawing up of the UCI assessment.” Both team have reacted quickly to clarify the situation, both stating that only minor problems need to be solved.

The licenses are granted based on sporting, financial, ethical and administrative criteria and Lotto Belisol claims only to have fallen short in fulfilling the latter. The team has issued the following statement:

"The licenses are acknowledged based on sportive, ethical, financial and administrative criteria. The team got the green light concerning the sportive, ethical and financial criteria. UCI only asks Lotto Belisol to complete two administrative formalities in order to obtain a WorldTour license for 2014."

Last week Argos-Shimano revealed that they had signed a contract with a new main sponsor who will replace Argos and whose identity will be disclosed at a later date. The team claims that the failed license application is due to paperwork relating to this issue.

Yesterday the team sent out the following statement via its Twitter account:

"Due to the recently change in our main sponsor, we are not yet registered with the UCI World Tour. Some documents about the change in sponsorship need to be submitted.. so a little patience needed still!"

Like Astana Pro Team, Lampre-Merida, Movistar Team, Orica GreenEDGE, and Team Sky who are all seeking a renewal of their licenses, Trek Factory racing who have bought the license from the Radioshack team, and Team Europcar who are asking to be promoted from their current pro continental level, the two teams will have to appear before the Licensing Commission. On November 25, the UCI will issue an updated list of ProTeams based on the outcomes of the registration procedure.