Europcar has been granted a Professional Continental licence for the 2015 season, with the UCI saying the French outfit has now satisfied the necessary financial criteria.

The team, whose roster includes Thomas Voeckler and Pierre Rolland, lost its top-flight status in December when the UCI's licence commission said it had fauled to meet registration requirements.

Jean-René Bernaudeau's outfit will now have to rely on wild card entries to WorldTourraces including the Tour de France.

With the car-hire firm that sponsors it already confirmed to be withdrawing its backing at the end of this year, teh French team's longer-term future is far from secure.

In a press release, world cycling's governing body said:

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) today announced that it has registered Team Europcar as a UCI Professional Continental Team for the 2015 season.

The UCI Licence Commission had denied the Team Europcar the status of UCI WorldTeam for the 2015 season, considering that the team had not fulfilled the necessary financial criteria. The UCI Licence Commission left the UCI to reassess the team’s file with a view to registering it as a UCI Professional Continental Team.

On the basis of the new file provided, the UCI considers that Team Europcar has secured sufficient financial guarantees as required by UCI regulations.