A reform in the making? UCI points system overhaul proposed according to recent report

Professional cycling is increasingly shaped by the structural distortions of the UCI points system, a mechanism intended to organise the competitive hierarchy in theory, but which has gradually pushed the sport towards a one-day-race-dominated model. A change is needed, and a reform proposal is being drafted.

At present, the system heavily favors one-day events. A 1.1 race (one day race - third division) grants 607 points, almost matching the 735 points distributed across five days in a 2.1 (stage race - third division).

At the ProSeries level (second division), the gap persists: a 1.Pro event offers 1,120 points, whereas a five-day .Pro stage race yields only 1,405 (around 281 per day). At the World Tour the situation remains the same. A Tour de France stage win awards 210 points, while winning a one day WT race like the ADAC Cyclassics Hamburg gives 400 points to the winner, and monuments are even more profitable (800 points).

In response, according to Marca, various stakeholders in professional cycling (undisclosed who they are exactly) have drafted a reform proposal designed to correct these distortions without diminishing the importance of one-day races. The central idea is simple: stage races should award, per day, 70 percent of the points granted by an equivalent one-day event. This adjustment does not aim to equalise the two formats but to reduce the severe penalty currently imposed on stage racing.

The proposal also suggests recalibrating how points are distributed within stage races. The general classification would represent 50 percent of points, stages 40 percent, and secondary classifications 10 percent.

The reform will be presented to the Council of Professional Cyclists (CCP) and the Spanish Association of Race Organisers (AEOCC) before being submitted to the UCI, now presided over by Javier Guillén, who is also the the General Director of the Vuelta a España.

The current incentives have created what is described as a silent mutation of the sport. Basically, when teams look for new riders to recruit, they do not focus on sporting needs but on their ability to collect points in small one-day races.

Riders sprint for minor placings simply to secure top-20 finishes that improve contract leverage. In some cases, a modest result in a lesser classic provides more points than a stage victory in an established stage race, which does not make much sense.

Astana is the best example: tipped for possible WorldTour relegation entering the 2025 season, the team avoided danger by focusing on strategic points-gathering in targeted races.

We will have to wait to see if the reform is finally adopted or not. What is almost certain is that the change, if there is one, won't be implemented in 2026. Additionally, the next three-year WorldTour promotion-relegation cycle has already started, meaning any mid-cycle adjustment could raise new questions of fairness.