> UCI President David Lappartient is calling for radical changes in cycling. At a meeting organized by Warner Bros. Discovery, owner of Eurosport among others, the Frenchman proposed, among other things, a budget cap and smaller teams in the Tour de France.
> According to Lappartient, limiting team budgets is necessary to keep cycling competitive. “To keep the sport attractive and balanced, it is essential to prevent the best athletes from becoming concentrated in the same team,” said the sports executive, whose earlier proposal for a budget cap failed due to resistance from the teams.
> “The budget cap system was ready for implementation, but at the time the teams spoke out against it. We were very surprised that it was precisely the smaller teams that voted against it. Without a budget cap, the richest teams will continue to increase their revenues, making it even harder for smaller teams to survive,” said Lappartient, who still intends to pursue the matter. “Although the final mechanism has yet to be established, the work carried out two years ago provides an excellent basis.”
> To illustrate the problem, Lappartient spoke about a conversation he had with the president of Arkéa, which decided to stop sponsoring Arkéa-B&B Hotels. “The company had to increase its financial investments every year, while sporting results and rankings deteriorated. Without a budget cap, the financial efforts required to remain competitive become unsustainable,” he said.
> Lappartient is also considering reducing the size of the teams in the Tour de France to keep the sport interesting. “The strongest teams often manage to dominate the race for the entire duration of the race. Wouldn't it be better to switch to 25 teams with only six riders each? Such a change would make the races less predictable, more unpredictable, and decidedly more spectacular,” he said.