For the first time in the history of the UCI, the world cycling association, the newly established Professional Cycling Council (PCC) has met in the past few days to discuss reforms. Under the direction of David Lappartient, the committee in Montreux decided on far-reaching changes.
So there should be a two-part WorldTour from the coming season. In the future, the team strength should only amount to 22 drivers, with each team also having to maintain a junior team with a maximum of ten drivers.
The division of the WorldTour is to be regulated in two series with different race days. The top series includes sixteen teams, the bottom eight. The race days of both series were also named. Accordingly, the 16 teams have to be at the start for a total of 120 racing days, the eight remaining teams will only have 50 racing days. The 120 days of racing include the well-known classics, the big tours and other current WorldTour tours.
After a test phase of two years, the mandatory implementation of the reforms is planned for 2017. However, the committee does not see any changes for teams in the previous ProConti and Continental ranks.
The UCI decides on admission to the upper division of the WorldTour. In addition to the sporting, financial and ethical arguments, support programs and further training measures for drivers and employees of the teams should also be included in the decision. For the time being, ten teams are free to undergo this test as part of the first test phase. At the end of next year, the review will be mandatory for all WorldTour teams.
Licenses will be distributed to the top 16 WorldTour teams for the next two years. In addition, two other teams will have the opportunity to acquire a corresponding license. As in the past, the point system for the team riders will be decisive for this.