UCI

The CPA Pro Cyclists Union: Ride to 2016

Guest piece by Frank Kwanten

The sport is changing. Teams want a new model and some have united under the “Avignon Accord“. The UCI and the races are changing with calendar reform, a points overhaul and more. ASO buys the Vuelta, even leaving Hein Verbruggen in awe.

But what of the riders? Too often they’re not represented and when they are, it often doesn’t satisfy with concerns about everything from safety to late payment of prize money. “Ride to 2016” is an initiative by Dutch rider Reinier Honig who is a strong advocate of better protection for the riders. He found himself without a team after the Crelan team pulled the plug late in 2013. While still training and racing (he won a race a few days ago) Honig wants to contribute to a bright future for young cyclists. Reinier took the initiative together with Frank Kwanten who, after a career at Vacansoleil-DCM, now works as a Rider Agent and does some consultancy in the world of pro cycling. Frank is the owner of First Echelon and strongly believes that for a clean and bright future the riders need to take a stand and organize themselves.

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Thursday Shorts

Stick to the road – New UCI TV show – Coaches – No Bruyneel verdict – Classics Countdown
The UCI’s quietly issued an update to its “stick to the road rule” but the new wording is even more confusing than the original.

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Questions over Sergio Henao’s Case

Team Sky have announced that Sergio Henao has been “taken off Team Sky’s race schedule” following “out-of-competition control tests”. The story first appeared in La Gazzetta Dello Sport where British journalist Daniel Friebe picked up on it. Within minutes Team Sky put out a press release.

Little is known and it leaves many scratching their heads while others are happier to fill the vacuum with speculation and more. But at the risk of thinking out aloud, let’s try to review some of this.

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Stick to the Road?

Sunday’s Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne race had a decisive moment when the Belkin and Omega Pharma-Quick Step teams drove the pace on an exposed section. The bunch split in the crosswinds and as the two teams, plus Yves Lampaert (Topsport Vlaanderen), Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Sharp) and briefly Michael Vingerling (Team 3M) rode away.

Then came a moment when the leaders entered a cobbled road and hopped across to the dirt path beside the road. Some seemed to hesitate, others didn’t – perhaps it was hard to find a suitable point to cross from the road to the path? But this switch was in breach of a new UCI rule and the whole group should have been disqualified from the race.

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UCI Witness Appeal

CAN YOU HELP? From 1998-2013 a series of anti-doping offences were committed. Did you see or hear anything? If so, contact the UCI.

The UCI announced that its Lausanne-based Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) is now seeking witness testimony from people in the cycling world. Here’s hoping it works but the incentives to come forward look slimmer than Michael Rasmussen from July 2007. All the same the CIRC is an attempt to understand and even document the past.

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Forbidden Races


The years go by and the story remains the same. Loyal readers will remember the subject of “forbidden races” from before, namely events run outside of the remit of the UCI and its member national federations. Such events include many US mountain bike events, French road race, English time trials and more. Under the UCI rules anyone caught taking part in one of these events gets a ban and a fine.

The rule had existed for years but like too many sections of the UCI rulebook, it was ignored. Until this time last year when the UCI ordered national federations to start enforcing it only to get pushback, especially from the US when it was pointed just how many cyclists it would annoy. Within weeks it was decided that instead of enforcing the rule, the rule would be suspended. Now the UCI has quietly confirmed the suspension continues into 2014. It’s good news but still bizarre to see the UCI announce it won’t enforce its own rules.

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Tour Down Under vs Tour de San Luis

Imagine holding a party, you invite lots of people only to discover someone else in your social circle is holding their own party on the very same day. Some friends and locals show up but most of your friends are partying on the other side of town. Awkward.

Only the Tour Down Under isn’t a social occasion, it’s the first event on the UCI World Tour. It might have the top-18 teams but it looks like the star riders are to be found in Argentina at the Tour de San Luis.

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Who understands the UCI World Tour?

What’s the difference between a team riding the UCI World Tour and a UCI ProTeam? Why do the three grand tours award wildcard invitations but other races don’t? If the first division World Tour is capped at 18 teams, what is the maximum size of the second tier Pro Continental bracket?

All these are trick questions. Cycling’s prime calendar and its top teams are in system that takes a lot of time to understand and if you want to find the info, it’s hidden inside a dated website. Does it have to be so complicated?

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