Until recently it looked like the UCI’s decision to cut the number of WorldTour teams from 18 to 17 for the 2017 season would have little impact on the peloton. The demise of the Tinkoff and IAM Cycling teams was set to leave a hole in the WorldTour and no real competition for the 17 places in the sport's highest division.
However, the recent news that Lampre-Merida was bought by Chinese company TJ Sport Consultation and intends to stay in the WorldTour, has sparked a bidding war that has seen prices rocket. Riders such as Ben Swift, Enrico Gasparotto and even Joaquim Rodriguez have seen their contract value skyrocket as teams fight for riders with points to ensure they have one of the 17 places in the 2017 WorldTour.
Survival in the WorldTour has become more about money than results, ridiculing the UCI ideal that places in the WorldTour are based on sporting merit. The new rules for the 2017 WorldTour have not been made public by the UCI but Cyclingnews understands that the 16 highest-placed teams in the 2016 UCI WorldTour ranking will be considered to have automatically satisfied the sporting criterion for the 2017 season.
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The latest rankings, from August 28 – which don’t included points from the Vuelta a Espana, show that Cannondale-Drapac is ranked 16th, with IAM Cycling and Dimension Data below them in 17th and 18th place. The conclusion of the Vuelta on Sunday and the two Canadian WorldTour races will change the ranking points totals. Only the Eneco Tour and Il Lombardia will offer other points after this weekend with WorldTour teams set to skip the team time trial at the World Championships.
The two lowest placed WorldTour Teams at the end of the season will be given 2017 UCI WorldTour ‘candidate’ status. They will go up against what the UCI describes as “other teams existing in 2016 and newly-created teams aspiring to become a WorldTour Team in 2017.” The 2017 UCI WorldTour candidates will be evaluated and the final two places in the2017 WorldTour will be awarded based on the points of their five best riders of the 2016 or 2017 roster in the UCI WorldTour individual rankings.
A fight for the final WorldTour spots
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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