Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme has announced he has long been considering an increase in the size of the Peloton for the 2010 event.  Effectively the increase would come from the Tour wild card entries handed out during the season, Prudhomme admitted that up to 26 teams could be selected but with the number more likely to be around 22.

"I can't say anything now, but we are certainly considering an expansion to 22 teams," Prudhomme revealed. "Sixteen teams are guaranteed participation, but the choice of four or six wild cards is extremely difficult. We will first wait for the final composition of the teams and their performance in the year before we announce our selection."

The recent Pro Tour cullings of French outfits Bbox Bouygues Telecom and Cofidis look to almost certainly take two of the spots up for grabs with the remainder expected to go to the new high powered teams like SKY TV and the Cadel Evans-led BMC racing team, Dutch teams Skil-Shimano and Vacansoleil, and emerging French team Saur-Sojasun battling for the other wild card places.