UCI World Tour reforms unanimously rejected by International Association of Cycling Race Organizers

The UCI's World Tour reforms have been unanimously rejected by the International Association of Cycling Race Organizers ©Getty Images

The International Cycling Union’s (UCI) World Tour reforms have been unanimously rejected by the International Association of Cycling Race Organizers (AIOCC), with 77 voting against the process at a meeting in Hamburg.

As a result of the widespread changes to the World Tour, which come into effect in 2017, AIOCC will set up working groups to draw up proposed "corrective measures”, according to L’Equipe.

The reforms include teams being awarded three-year licences rather than the having to apply on an annual basis as well as having to meet 10 operational requirements ranging from anti-doping to financial and sporting criteria and have caused controversy within the sport.

The AIOCC, led by Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme, has, however, passed the motion to limit the amount of the number of riders per team in Grand Tours to eight, and seven for other major stage races in an attempt to prevent crashes.

The news comes as a blow to the UCI and its President Brian Cookson, the brainchild of the reforms, and could cause division in the sport with the AIOCC on one side and cycling’s governing body, along with riders and sponsors, on the other.

It follows the Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), who organise the Tour de France, threatening to withdraw their races from next year’s World Tour calendar if the changes were passed.

The AIOCC, of which the ASO have an almost majority position, are growing in power in the sport and their decision could provide concern for riders, who may worry about the future of professional cycling.

The news will come as a blow to UCI President Brian Cookson as the reforms were part of changes he promised when he was elected in 2013 ©Getty Images

The reforms, which were approved by the UCI’s management committee at a meeting of the Professional Cycling Council during the Road World Championships in the United States in September, are part of the governance changes promised by Cookson following his election in 2013.

In addition to the alterations to teams, a limited number of new races are also set to be added onto the WorldTour calendar from 2017, following an assessment of the strengths of the existing season, with the aim that further high quality events will reinforce its position as the sport’s elite level competition.

The UCI have stated that an application process is set to open later this year with both new and existing races which apply set to be assessed against strict standards to ensure the calendar has a stronger structure.

Despite the changes, one of the more radical suggestions regarding the reform of the calendar, the reduction in length of the three Grand Tours, is not part of the reforms with the stage races set to remain at three weeks long.

insidethegames has requested a comment from the UCI.