The battle over the future of
professional cycling escalated recently as One Cycling, the Saudi-backed
project seeking to revolutionise the sport, responded defiantly to the UCI’s
decision to block their proposed races from entering the 2026 WorldTour
calendar.
Backed by a €250 million
investment from the Saudi Arabian SURJ Sports Investment Fund, One Cycling had
aimed to introduce four new WorldTour-level races, in North and South America
and Saudi Arabia, and create a new, commercially focused series of 22 events.
But the UCI’s Management Committee dismissed the plan as “incompatible.”
There’s no doubt that cycling
needs a shake up. This business model would allow for a more consistent revenue
stream for the teams, who currently rely almost solely on sponsorships. But
would One Cycling damage the essence of the sport? That is indeed the question.
Still, those behind One Cycling
insist the project is not dead. Speaking to CyclingNews, a source close
to the initiative warned that the sport faces a stark choice: evolve or risk
irrelevance.
“Sports that are willing to
transform and change are interesting to investors; those that aren't will get
left behind. Pro cycling is on a precipice right now.”
The anonymous insider didn’t shy
away from the stakes: “The consequence of burying your head in the sand could
be the death of you. Cycling very much faces that risk.”
While the UCI has positioned
itself publicly as open to external investment, President David Lappartient
previously saying “We welcome our Saudi friends,” the governing body ultimately
sided against granting One Cycling’s races top-tier status. Lappartient had
been attempting to strike a delicate balance between embracing financial
support and protecting the sport’s existing calendar, particularly the historical
races organised by ASO.
ASO, the powerful group behind
the Tour de France, remains the lone major entity opposed to One Cycling, with
other top-tier teams, including Visma, Red Bull and Soudal – Quick-Step, reportedly supportive. One Cycling itself
claims to have “95% of the best riders in the sport” involved in its plans.
Their argument is simple: the
current business model of pro cycling is broken, and something needs to change.
“We've got a commercial
proposition that we think works,” the same source said. “We think it's going to
grow revenue for the sport. It's going to allow the teams and organisers that
are all losing money to potentially make money.”
That logic, centralising
commercial rights, revamping media packaging, and spreading races to new
regions, is a sharp departure from cycling’s decentralised, tradition-heavy
model. But with the UCI siding with ASO for now, the tension between
modernisation and preservation is far from resolved.
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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