In the midst of heated discussions between the UCI, teams and race organisers about the WorldTour reforms, Christian Prudhomme has expressed his support for reducing the number of riders per team in Grand Tours. In an interview with Velonews’ Andy Hood, Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, says that allowing eight riders per team, instead of nine, will help improve rider safety.
“Concerning the question of reducing the number of riders per team, above all, we want to preserve the security,” Prudhomme told Velonews. “It’s a fundamental question that should be considered a priority before everything else. Before thinking about the number of teams in a race, we want to consider the question of security before anything else.”
The UCI announced that it had approved the key principles of the WorldTour reforms, in a vote by the UCI’s Professional Cycling Council and the UCI Management Committee. The announcement was made at the World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, in September. At Worlds, Cookson also spoke with Cyclingnews about some of the difficulties in balancing the needs of the promoters, teams and other stakeholders when it came to the WorldTour reforms.
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However, in November, the International Association of Cycling Race Organizers (AIOCC) voted to reject the proposed WorldTour reforms by an overwhelming majority. At that meeting the AIOCC also voted unanimously to reduce the number of riders per team to eight at the Grand Tours, and down to seven at other major stage races.
The Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), which represents the riders, and some teams do not agree with reducing the number of riders per team at these events.
Key stakeholders gather in Barcelona today for a two-day seminar to again discuss the details of the UCI WorldTour reforms due to be introduced in 2017, and the number of riders per team is just one of many concerns that will be addressed.
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