Euskaltel-Euskadi's Taiwan Gold Rush: A Perfect Expedition for 127 UCI Points

From Bilbao to Taipei: A 10,000-Kilometer Points Journey

You might be wondering: why would a Spanish cycling team from the Basque Country fly all the way to Taiwan to race?

The answer is simple: UCI points.

A Points Crisis

Euskaltel-Euskadi finished the 2025 season ranked just 49th in the UCI team standings. To maintain eligibility for invitations to the three Grand Tours—the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España—they needed to break into the top 30.

For a team whose brand identity is built on Basque cultural pride, losing Grand Tour participation would be like losing its soul.

The Taiwan Mission

As a UCI 2.1-ranked Asian Tour event, the Tour de Taiwan offers points that aren’t as generous as Europe’s top-tier races, but the level of competition is relatively lower—making it a highly cost-effective “points hunting ground.”

And Euskaltel’s performance was nothing short of perfect:

127 points! That’s nearly equivalent to their entire points output for the 2025 season.

Return on Investment

Let’s do the math:

• Flights: Bilbao → Taipei, round trip approximately €800–1,000 per person
• Accommodation: Five race days plus acclimatization, roughly 7–10 days
• Logistics: Equipment shipping, mechanics, team cars, etc.
• Total Investment: Estimated tens of thousands of euros

To earn the same 127 UCI points in European races, they would likely need standout performances across multiple far more competitive events.

From this perspective, the Taiwan trip’s return on investment could be called “the best business case in Tour de Taiwan history.”

Jordi Lopez’s Consistent Output

The team’s GC hope, Jordi Lopez Caravaca, delivered a steady performance throughout the race:

• Stage 1: Scored sprint points
• Stage 2: Held on with the climbing group
• Stage 3: Won the first intermediate sprint
• Final result: 3rd overall, just 6 seconds behind the yellow jersey

The 6-second gap is a heartbreaker, but the points from a bronze overall finish are still substantial.

Hennequin’s Personal Breakthrough

For 23-year-old Paul Hennequin, this Taiwan trip was a turning point in his career:

• First Sprint King green jersey
• First Tour de Taiwan stage win
• Consistent top-three finishes across multiple stages

These results aren’t just points—they’re the best possible résumé to prove his value to team management.

Lessons for Other Teams

Euskaltel’s Taiwan strategy provides a template for other European professional teams:

1. Assess points needs: Know exactly how many points you need
2. Choose cost-effective races: Asian UCI events typically have lower competition levels than European ones
3. Send a competitive roster: You’re not there on vacation; you’re there to score points
4. Fight on multiple fronts: Compete for stage wins, overall classification, secondary jerseys, and team classification simultaneously

At the 2026 Tour de Taiwan, Euskaltel-Euskadi may well be the biggest winner—not because they took home the most trophies, but because they most precisely achieved their goal for coming to Taiwan.

Related Reading

• 34 Countries, 21 Teams, 177 Riders: Analysis of the Most Star-Studded International Field in Tour de Taiwan History
• Tour de Taiwan Team Classification Decoded: How Euskaltel Beat KINAN by 10 Seconds
• UCI World Ranking System Explained: How Individual and Team Points Are Calculated and Their Strategic Impact
• Tour de Taiwan’s Position in the UCI: Analysis of the International Standing of Asian Regional Races