Brian Cookson, President of the World Cycling Union UCI, has spoken out against the creation of a World Cycling Series (WCS). The plans to found the WCS are based on the considerations of some WorldTour team managers to found an independent racing series that should unite competitions around the world and to trust less in the marketing influence of the UCI. Instead, the focus should be on TV broadcasts.
"We have to find ways to offer the teams better economic conditions."
Following the deliberations, the WCS should include a total of ten new 4-day races, the three major state tours and some of the classics. "This is not the right step into the future", Cookson will do so on the Online Platform Velonation.com quoted. The Brit justified his statement with the assumption that already established races could disappear in the course of the creation of the WCS. “Cycling heritage matters”, Cookson continues, "so there might be a Paris-Lyon race, but that wouldn't be the same as Paris-Roubaix."
In the course of his statements, however, Cookson confirmed that the UCI is in contact with BSkyB, the parent company of the TV broadcaster Sky, to discuss new transmission routes and options. “We have to find ways to offer the teams better economic conditions. Otherwise, more and more teams will disappear,” said the Briton, with a view to the end of the WorldTour teams Euskaltel-Euskadi and Vacansoleil-DCM as well as the ProConti team Sojasun. Although all three teams took part in the Tour de France this year and were therefore able to enjoy TV time worldwide, they were unable to secure the financial basis for continued existence beyond this season.