UCI WorldTeam

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UCI WorldTeams (until 2014: UCI ProTeams ) are professional cycling teams that take part in the road bike races of the UCI WorldTour (until 2010: UCI ProTour ), the races of the UCI ProSeries and the UCI Category 1 of the UCI Continental Circuits ( UCI Africa Tour , UCI America Tour , UCI Asia Tour , UCI Europe Tour , UCI Oceania Tour ).

Participation in the races of the UCI WorldTour - with the exception of races that received WorldTour status for the first time after 2017 - is mandatory for the WorldTeams. The organizers of the UCI WorldTour must also approve the UCI WorldTeams. The UCI WorldTeams thus form the first category of road cycling teams registered by the UCI World Cycling Association , ahead of the UCI ProTeams (until: 2019: UCI Professional Continental Teams ) and the UCI Continental Teams .

The team category ProTeam was created in 2005 as part of the introduction of the UCI ProTour and corresponds roughly to the previous category GS1 or TT1 (Groupe Sportif 1 or Trade Team 1).

Identity, name and nationality

A UCI WorldTeam consists of the team operator paying agent , the sponsors , the racing cyclists and the other employees of the team (manager, trainer , team doctor , soigneur , mechanic etc.). Up to three sponsors have the status of main partner. One or more of these persons or organizations is the owner of the UCI WorldTour team license , which, in addition to the team operator, defines the identity of the team, while the name and sponsors of the team can change. In principle, none of these persons or organizations are allowed to have connections with any other UCI WorldTeam, UCI Professional Continental Team or the organizer of a World Tour race; The UCI can approve exceptions if an impairment of sporting fairness is not regarded as a given. The paying agent and the main sponsors, on the other hand, are allowed to run Continental teams or junior teams ; however, these teams are not allowed to start together in international races.

The name of a UCI WorldTeam is basically the name or brand of one or more main partners, or the name of the paying agent . Exceptionally, the team can be licensed under a different name associated with the project.

The nationality of a UCI WorldTeam is determined either by the seat of the team operator, the license holder or the country in which the advertised product, service or brand is traded, and has no practical significance.

UCI WorldTour team license

Since the UCI WorldTour was launched in 2011, the UCI has issued up to 18 UCI WorldTour Team licenses of up to four years on the basis of sporting, ethical, financial, administrative and, since 2017, organizational criteria. The licensed teams are called UCI WorldTeams and have to be re-registered every year. The license can expire if these criteria are not met.

The sporting criterion was considered fulfilled from 2011 to 2014 with a placement among the first 15 of an "internal" ranking. Teams between 16th and 20th on this ranking list could be registered. This ranking, which was unpublished until the 2013 season, was based on a two-year evaluation of the top 15 drivers who were obliged to sign up for the next season. At the beginning of the 2013 season, the UCI published the calculation of the ranking for the licensing of 2014: It was calculated from the successes of the team in the current year and the ten best drivers in a two-year ranking, which is calculated from final placements in the UCI WorldTour and the UCI Continental Circuits as well as podium placements in major races and world championship victories in endurance disciplines also outside of road cycling. If a driver changed teams, 20% of the points he scored would remain with his former team. For the 2015 season, the criterion was changed so that the first 16 teams in the World Tour team ranking of the previous year meet the criterion. All other teams qualify on the basis of the points of the five most successful drivers committed for the next season. From 2017, the sporting criterion followed the changed team ranking of the UCI WorldTour in the course of a reduction in licenses from 2017, with the stipulation that only the races licensed in 2016 count for the relegation regulation.

The ethical criterion relates in particular to the question of doping . Participation in the " Biological Passport " program is mandatory for WorldTeams.

The organizational criterion relates in particular to the support provided by doctors and trainers as well as the limitation of racing days per driver to 85.

Of the other criteria, the UCI minimum requirements for driver contracts and the bank guarantee for salaries must be observed.

Applicants for a UCI WorldTour Team license who fail to meet the sporting criteria but meet the other criteria will be registered as UCI Professional Continental Teams.

The licensing criteria in the years of the UCI ProTour 2005-2010 were comparable. A significant difference to the current licensing conditions, however, was that the sporting criterion was not checked on the basis of a point assessment and the registration of already licensed teams for the following year was made regardless of the sporting value of the team, i.e. a sporting decline was excluded. In addition, up to 20 ProTour licenses were issued so that the organizers were able to invite fewer UCI Professional Continental teams.

driver

The riders of the UCI WorldTeams are professional cyclists . Your minimum working conditions are regulated by UCI regulations and an agreement similar to a collective agreement between the Association Internationale des Groupes Cyclistes Professionnels (AIGCP) and the "Drivers Union " Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA). The minimum annual salary for a Neoprofi is € 29,370, for other drivers € 36,300; but at least the statutory minimum wage that applies in the country whose nationality the UCI WorldTeam has. These amounts must be increased by 50% if the driver does not drive as an employee but as a freelancer for the operating company. In addition there are u. a. the prize money, which is usually shared between the drivers and the other staff.

The minimum number of riders per team is 27. The maximum number of riders per UCI WorldTeam is 28 without Neoprofis, 29 with one Neoprofi and 30. With at least two Neoprofis, a UCI WorldTeam may not employ more than five Neoprofis.

Drivers of a development team affiliated with the WorldTeam can take part in races of the UCI ProSeries and the 1st UCI category of the UCI Continental Circuits for the WorldTeam ; WorldTeam drivers can also compete in Continental Circuits races for the Development Team.

In addition, a UCI WorldTeam can contract up to three drivers as trainees to participate in races of the UCI Continental Circuits from August 1st of each year .

meaning

The UCI WorldTeams represent the elite of the teams registered by the UCI. The corresponding licenses ensure participation in the most important races in cycling, the UCI WorldTour and, as part of them, in particular the Tour de France . These licenses guarantee a corresponding public perception.

The current set of rules partly takes into account the concerns of the race organizers who were previously opposed to ProTour ( Amaury Sport Organization , RCS MediaGroup and Unipublic ) against the former UCI ProTour , in particular by reducing the number of ProTeams from 20 to 18 and the possibility of license expiry if the sporting licensing criterion. In some cases, the licensing criteria are criticized as unclear, especially the "internal" and thus not very transparent ranking for determining the sporting criterion.

Development teams

With the beginning of the 2020 season, team operators of a WorldTeam who operate a Continental team can register it with the UCI as a development team (“ farm team ”). A maximum of two drivers from such a development team can participate in a UCI ProSeries race for the connected WorldTeam, and a maximum of four in a race in the first UCI category . Conversely, a maximum of one driver of the WorldTeam for the Continental Team can take part in races in the first category and one driver in races in the second category.

See also

Web links

References and comments

  1. ↑ UCI regulations for road cycling, there 2.2.001 (English / French), accessed on July 20, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b New WorldTour races could suffer under revamped UCI rules. cycling-news.com, January 12, 2017, accessed January 14, 2017 .
  3. ↑ cf. on the ranking for 2012: cyclingnews.com of April 27, 2011: UCI ProTeam ranking system revealed .
  4. ↑ Sporting criterion- calculation of teams' sporting value on uci.ch ( Memento from September 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ UCI regulations for road cycling, there 2.15.011a and 2.15.011b (PDF) accessed on July 20, 2019.
  6. ↑ cf. UCI FAQ on the meaning of the "Biological Passport" , as of February 9, 2011.
  7. ↑ Organizational specifications for teams. (PDF) uci.ch, accessed on January 17, 2017 (English).
  8. ^ "Joint Agreements 2013" between CPA and AIGCP accessed on October 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ UCI regulations for road cycling, there 2.15.115 to and 2.15.139 (English / French), accessed on July 20, 2019.
  10. ↑ Hedwig Kröner: ProTeam points system not perfect, says Madiot. In: cyclingnews.com. November 12, 2010, accessed December 23, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Jean-François QUENET: Eisel bemoans lack of clarity and promotion of UCI World Tour calendar. In: cyclingnews.com. January 20, 2011, accessed December 23, 2019 .