How to squeeze more out of the goose that lays the golden eggs? How can we be more like the highest paying sports?
As reported cyclingnewsthese problems can end up leading to the creation of a Cycling Champions League.
If before it was a new UCI scoring system to tie teams to the most prestigious races (more €), now, as reported by the UCI sporting director, Peter Van de Abeel, between the reforms for 2026 (when the cycle ends and new WorldTour licenses are granted), one would find the culmination of the “One Cycling” project or what is the same, fewer rides and more exclusives.
Starting with the WorldTour calendar, this new company/organization/calendar named Champions League would include the big three (Tour, Giro and Vuelta) and a smaller, select calendar of single-day races. According to Lapparent: “within the WorldTour, we would have several races each year, maybe 15 one-day races and four to six stage races. It would finally be a kind of UCI Champions League“
In this UCI Champions League of cycling nobody would step on the calendar and its television rights would be the big cake to distribute, And certainly the reason for all this hubbub that the UCI is proposing.
UCI Road Champions League and WorldTour 2026 reform plans emerge
“We will not allow more overlaps and there will be fewer races,” says UCI sporting director Van den Abeelehttps://t.co/wRlCGRoomQ
— Cycling News (@Cyclingnewsfeed) January 1, 2023
As if it were Game of Thrones, an interesting power battle unfolds in cycling where you may want to rule the power of the Tour de France, although its strongman, Christian Prudhomme will participate in the same reforms, no longer as ASO but as president of the International Cycling Association (AIOC). In addition, equipment such as Jumbo-Visma and QuickStep participated in the conversations.
Track cycling has already embraced a similar model, with the Champions League on the UCI track, that the second edition consisting of five days/mands took place in 2022, in the velodromes of Mallorca, Berlin, London and Paris. Short duration, pure entertainment and television rights is the sports formula.
Cover photo: www.uci.org
