Dylan Groenewegen has been banned for 9 months after he caused Fabio Jakobsen to crash in the opening stage of the Tour de Pologne. This is a record ban for an in-race incident and we actually don’t know why he’s got such a long ban. You might have a view but that’s not the point.
UCI
Full Gas In Turkmenistan
Several years ago this blog looked at the award of the track world championships to Belarus, Europe’s last dictatorship. It was a decision taken with input from a senior UCI official with a significant financial interest in a giant construction project in the capital, Minsk. Whether coincidental or not, the awarding of the worlds served to highlight the substantial conflict of interest between the UCI’s sporting interests and the business activities of Igor Makarov, the Russian oligarch behind the now-defunct Katusha team who sits at the UCI’s top table, the Management Committee. Following that another blog post looked at Turkmenistan and how Makarov had extensive business interests there and noted the UCI was often visiting too.
It’s time to review this Turkmenistan angle because it is continuing today. Having pointed out issues in a tweet the other day, here’s a blog post to explore the issues in detail…
A Guarantee of Sorts
With reports of pay cuts and unpaid wages among World Tour teams, a quick look at the bank guarantee that pro teams post with the UCI, how it works and what it can and can’t do. It’s a dry topic on the best of days but several readers have asked about it of late…
Astana Again
Yesterday Danish and Norwegian media made allegations that Jakob Fuglsang of the Astana team was in contact with banned doctor Michele Ferrari. It’s all been denied and makes for a strange story with a political tone.
UCI Points and Rankings Explainer
Richie Porte has just won the Tour Down Under and collects 500 UCI points, as many if he’d won Paris-Nice or the Tour de Suisse. A rankings system in pro cycling often seems pointless, it’s a synthetic means to compare stage racers, sprinters and others who often only compete indirectly with each other. But UCI points can be a currency and the quest for points is a tactical fact. So here’s a look at the points per race and more.
Friday Shorts
The big story right now is one that’s not public. The end of the season is looming and several teams are getting nervous about their points haul with World Tour places in jeopardy, notably Dimension Data
2020 World Tour Teams
Over the weekend the UCI announced 20 men’s teams had applied for a spot in the UCI World Tour. With the existing 18 teams and Cofidis as the 19th there’s been a small surprise with Arkéa-Samsic joining the applicants. Here’s a quick look at how the system works and some of the questions and issues around it.
Outside is Free, Indoors is Valuable
This week Peloton, a US business has launched on the NASDAQ and is worth billions and the UCI has announced a new “e-sports world championships” for next year which will be run on Zwift. Outside is free… but cycling indoor is suddenly becoming very valuable.
Back Stories
There’s plenty of racing on at the moment, Friday will see five different international pro races happening plus the Tour de l’Avenir starts. Rider transfers announcements make the news too at the moment too. But what if the biggest stories were behind the scenes?
UCI Financial Report and Accounts
The annual look at the UCI’s finances, a chance to follow the money behind the governing body. You can download the full report from the UCI website or scan the summary below. The UCI published the report in July but amid a thrilling Tour de France it wasn’t required reading. It’s not fascinating today either but as ever its worth checking in on the sport’s administration and more.