The 6 changes the UCI has done to improve the rankings system

This Friday the UCI has issued a press release containing several big changes to the rankings system which has been used for the promotion and relegation of teams from the World Tour. Here are the 6 exact changes that have been announced:

.Increase in the number of points attributed by the three Grand Tours – the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta Ciclista a España (final general classification, stage and secondary classifications);

.Creation of a special category for the five Monuments (Milano-Sanremo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia) with a greater number of points attributed to them compared with the other one-day races on the UCI WorldTour;

.Increase in the number of points attributed during stages of races of the UCI WorldTour and of the UCI ProSeries; in future, points will be awarded for finishes lower than third place (all the way down to fifth, tenth or 15th, depending on the competition);

.Increase in the number of points distributed during the Olympic Games and the UCI Road World Championships (road races and time trials in the Elite categories);

.The UCI World Ranking for teams, which up until now has been determined by the total points obtained by the best 10 riders in each team, will now be calculated on the basis of the results of the best 20 riders (which corresponds to the minimum number of riders for UCI ProTeams);

.For the 2023 season, any UCI ProTeam which lost its UCI WorldTeam status at the end of the 2022 season due to sporting criteria and which is not one of the teams eligible for mandatory invitations (as set out in article 2.1.007 b of the UCI Regulations) will automatically receive invitations to stage races (with the exception of the Grand Tours) and one-day UCI WorldTour races. This modification is aimed at maintaining stability within teams, and is limited to one transition year – i.e. only for 2023, coming as it does after three years of significant upheaval due to the global pandemic.

Having suffered tremendous criticism this year from all sides, the changes have been made to appeal to fans, riders and teams, and is aimed to keep the focus on the biggest races in the world and not interfering with a team's initial goals.

As the 2023-2025 cycle begins soon, the changes implemented are expected to be followed throughout the following three years.