The best road bikes NOT in the 2025 World Tour peloton — bikes missing from cycling’s top tier featuring Scott, BMC, Orbea, Ridley, Basso + more

For many manufacturers, having their bikes and equipment used in the WorldTour by the best riders out there is the ultimate mark of success and a huge marketing opportunity. However, no amount of wins or success is a guarantee that it’ll last forever, and we’ve seen some big names stepping away from the highest level in recent years. Here’s a look at some of the best road bikes and bike brands that are sadly missing from the men’s and women’s WorldTour. 

> The bikes of the men’s WorldTour

WorldTour teams don’t choose their bike suppliers on sentiment, and that means that even some of the most iconic and historically significant racing brands can find themselves absent from the pro peloton. Sometimes it has nothing to do with how good their bikes are; supporting a pro team is expensive, and some smaller brands just can’t afford it. 

Taking all that into account, here are some of the best road bikes and brands that, for whatever reason, aren’t in the WorldTour in 2025. We’ve stuck to brands that we think have a realistic chance of being in the arena of pro team sponsorship, or who have dabbled in the past, as we appreciate for many bike brands and manufacturers, top-level team sponsorship isn’t on their radar and probably never will be. 

Let’s dive right in…

Bikes not in the men’s or women’s WorldTour

Scott

Having recently released its new lightweight climbing bike, Scott has left the WorldTour peloton this year. Team Picnic PostNL (formerly Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL) ended their three-year partnership with Scott, opting to switch to Lapierre as their new bike supplier. 

This doesn’t mean that we won’t be seeing Scott bikes at any of the top races, though. UCI ProTeam Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, which recently signed Tom Pidcock, will be riding on the new Scott Addict RC and Foil RC.

BMC

Last season, AG2R ended their long-term partnership with BMC in favor of Van Rysel bikes, a change that will continue into 2025.

BMC does still sponsor the up-and-coming development team Tudor Pro Cycling, which has bolstered its roster for this year with impressive signings, including Julian Alaphilippe, Marc Hirschi, and Marco Haller.

Argon 18

Since it split with Astana at the end of 2018, Argon 18 is another brand that doesn’t feature in the WorldTour. At the time Argon 18 said that it wanted to diversify its sponsorship contracts with a focus on track and triathlon. However, if it had remained as a sponsor to a WorldTour team, then we could have had the world’s best riding bikes such as the Argon 18 Sum (pictured above).

Bikes in the women’s WorldTour, but not in the men’s

Orbea 

> Have ‘climbing bikes’ had their day?

Orbea is one of three notable brands absent from the men’s WorldTour, but present in the women’s. The CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team races on Orbea bikes, including the Orca for climbing, the Orca Aero for flat, and the Ordu TT bike. 

Despite its absence in the men’s WorldTour, Orbea remains in professional cycling as it continues to sponsor the ProTeam Lotto squad (formerly Lotto Dstny). 

Ridley

Ridley exited the men’s WorldTour peloton last season following Lotto Dstny’s switch to Orbea. However, Ridley remains visible at the top level of racing through Uno-X Mobility, whose women’s WorldTour team will be riding Ridley bikes this year. The Uno-X Mobility men’s team will also compete on Ridley bikes, although they are registered as a UCI ProTeam rather than a WorldTour team.

This 10-year sponsorship deal has brought about the arrival of the third generation Noah Fast aero road bike, claiming to be the Belgian brands fastest bike ever. 

Factor

> Best aero road bikes

Factor is the third bike brand that is present in the women’s WorldTour peloton but not in the men’s. Riders from the Human Powered Health team compete on the Factor Ostro Vam and the O2 Vam. 

While absent from the men’s WorldTour, Factor continues its sponsorship of ProTeam Israel Premier Tech. 

Brands from yesteryear

In 2025, the WorldTour is once again devoid of some historic brands that were once absolute powerhouses of the sport. Peugeot, Concorde, Gazelle and Coppi are no longer in the bike business, Battaglin never progressed from steel, Raleigh is nowhere and Moser’s latest offering is an e-bike. That won’t be being used in a Grand Tour any time soon, unless some serious liberalisation occurs at the UCI… 

Eddy Merckx

> Eddy Merckx Bikes makes a comeback with ‘Retrosonic’ Limited Edition road bike

Some brands that hold records in the all-time wins list still make excellent racing bikes, though. For example, Eddy Merckx bikes were a staple of the peloton throughout the 1990s and 2000s, but it’s unlikely you’ll find the latest 525 adding any Grand Tour stage wins this year at least.

Time

Other brands with similarly enviable heritage are De Rosa and Time, the latter of which does feature in the WorldTour peloton, but only in the form of pedals. Most of Time’s success came in the Classics under a certain Tom Boonen, but in recent years, despite making some very light bikes and having a great reputation for its braided carbon frames made in France, the brand hasn’t been represented on the World’s biggest stage for many years.

De Rosa

Meanwhile, De Rosa does have more recent representation, featuring up until the end of 2021. Cofidis have now switched to Look bikes, though, which means that carbon machines such as the 70 and the Merak will have to wait before potentially getting a chance to add to the brand’s plethora of big stage wins.

Brands with bikes that we think could step up soon

Basso

Perhaps the bike brand most likely to be seen at the Giro in 2025 is Basso. The brand has just released the Basso SV (pictured above), an aero bike that is now lighter than before.

Basso sponsors several second-division men’s and women’s Italian teams, and it seems like the brand is on the up. Would you like to see another Italian manufacturer make a return to the peloton?

Focus

Focus is a brand that knows what it takes to supply the world’s best, and last did so in 2016 for the AG2R team. If Focus was to sponsor a WorldTour team again then it would undoubtedly be with the Izalco Max (shown above), the brand’s all-round race bike that it claims is “true essence of pace.”

Ribble and Handsling

Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com

Ribble and Handsling are two British brands that have yet to make the jump up to the WorldTour, but are two brands that have their foot in the door when it comes to racing. Both have sponsored British teams, and in the case of Handsling the women’s Pro Conti team Alba Development Road Team. 

Cinelli 

Our final pick is Cinelli, a brand with so much history we could make an entire other feature on it. Cinelli famously designed the super aerodynamic hour record-beating bike. 28 gold medals between the Olympic Games and World Championships have been won on Cinelli bikes. 

Which bike do you think most deserves a spot in the peloton, and which do you think we’re most likely to see in the World Tour soon? Let us know in the comments section below.