UCI Reform
Comments
-
Theory. Yeah.
But in practice football and rugby are all year round sports, and cyclocross is a winter sport. Whether it's a winter sport in Olympic terms is another matter0 -
There will still be the same number of riders and teams in each of the races. But now a couple of the ones who don't want to be there and are too weak to compete are replaced by two that are ready to contribute.Crankbrother wrote:I agree about it being good for wildcard teams, but with fewer spots at the top table it makes it less certain for riders and sponsors that they'll get to the races they want to and that drives down sponsor investment and riders salaries ... Especially as it often comes down to politics and/or nationality for who gets the wildcard spots ...
Wildcards do come down to things like nationality and politics, but with more wildcard slots more are available on merit.
As for sponsor investments and salaries - it's not sustainable financially. The World Tour teams alone support over 500 riders at a minimum wage of 40K. That's too much. Golf and tennis attract far more money and can't support that. Sorry to sound like a heartless capitalist, but the sport's wage bill needs to be downsized.
I'm pretty certain the team size reduction isn't going to mean more wildcard invites. The race peloton will be smaller. Same number of teams, less riders per team0 -
[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19749323#p19749323]Richmond Racer 2[/url] wrote:
There will still be the same number of riders and teams in each of the races. But now a couple of the ones who don't want to be there and are too weak to compete are replaced by two that are ready to contribute.Crankbrother wrote:I agree about it being good for wildcard teams, but with fewer spots at the top table it makes it less certain for riders and sponsors that they'll get to the races they want to and that drives down sponsor investment and riders salaries ... Especially as it often comes down to politics and/or nationality for who gets the wildcard spots ...
Wildcards do come down to things like nationality and politics, but with more wildcard slots more are available on merit.
As for sponsor investments and salaries - it's not sustainable financially. The World Tour teams alone support over 500 riders at a minimum wage of 40K. That's too much. Golf and tennis attract far more money and can't support that. Sorry to sound like a heartless capitalist, but the sport's wage bill needs to be downsized.
I'm pretty certain the team size reduction isn't going to mean more wildcard invites. The race peloton will be smaller. Same number of teams, less riders per team
That was written eight months ago and it was in relation to the idea of the number of World Tour teams being cut, not the idea of the riders in a team being cut (of which I have long been a advocate).Twitter: @RichN950 -
UCI World Tour Reforms agreed... apparently they want to strengthen the pyramid.
Also:
Yes to three year WT licenses (2017-19) for a max of 18 teams (but with annual renewal)
New races in the WorldTour from 2017 (can be existing races that are elevated)
Coordinating group between riders, teams, organisers and UCI set up
A new WorldTour visual identity0
