UCI warns teams and races against participating in One Cycling
The governing body of bike racing has stepped up its fight against the embattled One Cycling project, with l'Equipe reporting that UCI president David Lappartient recently sent a letter to WorldTeams and WorldTour race organizers warning them of possible severe sanctions if they participate in the Saudi Arabia-backed reform project.
The UCI had already dealt One Cycling a serious blow last month with its tartly worded denial of One Cycling's proposal to be included in the 2026 WorldTour. The UCI has deemed One Cycling "incompatible with the governance and regulatory framework of the UCI as well as lacking sporting coherence."
But at the time, the UCI also appeared to extend an olive branch, with an invitation to continue talks directly between the UCI and One Cycling's backers. The latest signal is more mixed, with the UCI letter warning teams and organizers that conflict-of-interest rules prevent those stakeholders from being involved in One Cycling, and threatening a nuclear-level punishment of revoking their WorldTeam licenses or WorldTour calendar status. Whether that's a further attempt to isolate One Cycling into direct talks with the UCI or a more serious breakdown in relations altogether is unknown, but it casts further doubt on One Cycling ever coming to fruition. [l'Equipe]
