The UCI fulfills its threats and approves a series of measures to "protect" the CX World Cup
The controversy continues in cyclocross due to the irregular participation of the best cyclists in the CX World Cup, whose overall classification is disregarded by most due to the extensive competition that spans from mid-October to late January after the UCI's decision to internationalize it. Now, the UCI is taking a series of measures to encourage more cyclists to participate in this competition.
New UCI measures to promote participation in the CX World Cup
A few months ago, when we were in the midst of the CX season frenzy, the UCI announced that it was studying a series of measures to enhance the CX World Cup that very few cyclists complete in its entirety due to its duration of more than three months. This has benefited other circuits that are more concentrated in time, such as the Superprestigio or the X2O.
In an effort to regain prominence, the UCI has finally announced what these measures will be and they will come into effect on March 1. These new rules are sure to stir up controversy, starting with the prohibition for all cyclists within the Top 20 of the UCI ranking to participate in national category races so that they are forced to compete in UCI category events.
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Another change that may not be well received by everyone is that when setting up the starting grids for each race, only the overall classification of that championship will be taken into account, reserving the first two rows for the top-ranked riders of the championship and not the UCI ranking as before. This will make it very difficult for cyclists who only participate in a limited cyclocross season like Pidcock, Van Aert, or Van der Poel to start from the front lines in any race, and on the other hand, it will make being well ranked in that specific championship the only way to start from the top positions, encouraging more attention to the overall standings.
Additionally, the UCI has created the "protected event" label which will be granted to a maximum of 50% of the CX World Cup events, only to those of special importance for the competition. This protection means that the UCI can veto the holding of any other race that takes place the day before or on the same day as one of these protected events.
The cycling governing body concludes with a final rule that requires all UCI category teams to present at least one cyclist in at least five of the races that make up the CX World Cup. On the other hand, UCI Professional teams must be present in all races that make up the CX World Cup with at least three riders. This measure aims to address cases like the start in the United States, which is often overlooked by many cyclists and teams.