"There is no choice but to change" - UCI and David Lappartient keen on making cycling more sustainable in the near future

Cycling is a sport that ironically is not among those more environment friendly. Whilst the bikes themselves have quite little impact, the convoy and logistics involved in racing make it a hotspot for emissions. The UCI is aware of it and it is looking into ways of reducing this together with the teams, as he discusses in a recent interview.

“There is no choice but to change. We are not at the level we should be at. We are on the right track, but our starting point was not good and there is still a lot to be done," Lappartient told CyclingWeekly. "Our ambition is very high, we want a ten. And things are already getting better. We have shared goals, a vision, but I think we need to develop even more and that it should really become a shared goal for everyone. We have to organize the WorldTour calendar in a way that reduces our emissions, in a way that we don't go from one side of the planet to the other every other month."

As teams become more and more professional, they also have along with them more staff and more vehicles keeping up with them throughout the races. “We see that the number of cars is increasing and that is not always in line with what we want," Lappartient describes. "Teams have a social media manager, chefs, doctors, all jobs that didn't exist before. It is quite difficult to change this, as teams believe this is necessary to perform. Should we impose restrictions here? It is something we have to discuss with the teams.”

“If we want to reduce our ecological footprint, we have no other option but to change this,” he replies regarding the long transfers that happen during Grand Tours, which is a highly criticized point when it comes to both riders and fans who have the ongoing climate change in mind. “If they want to reduce their own emissions by 50%, it is necessary that they drive electric cars and reduce the distances between journeys.”