"They deliberately rigged races to damage us" - Bardiani boss shatters rival teams and calls out UCI inaction
Cycling
Bardiani CSF 7 Saber boss Bruno Reverberi has been at the head of the Italian team for many years, but in 2027 the team is not going to be able to receive a wildcard to the Giro d'Italia due to its position in the UCI rankings. He has launched strong accusations against rival teams for making this happen.
The UCI rankings have a three-year cycle in which the Top18 teams receive a World Tour license. Over the years this has created some interesting storylines in the cycling world, but at the time being these will only be counted once again at the end of 2028.
However on a yearly basis, the positions in the rankings of the ProTeams is crucial. The second-division teams have a battle for certain wildcard benefits when it comes to the top teams; and an eligibility line for those nearer to the bottom, in which they must be in the Top30 so as to be allowed to be invited to Grand Tours.
Earlier this fall, it appeared as if Euskaltel - Euskadi was the team that would be in the dreaded 31st place. But over the final month of the season, the teams within this battle began more actively seeking UCI points, so as to not miss out on their goal.
Bardiani CSF 7 Saber have missed out on the Top30 of the UCI rankings, and are hence not eligible for World Tour invitations
Bardiani fell just out of the UCI's Top30
Final 2026 UCI rankings teams:
| Position | Team | Class | Points |
| 1 | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | WT | 30982.1 |
| 2 | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | WT | 25464.59 |
| 3 | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | WT | 23129.25 |
| 4 | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | WT | 20663.32 |
| 5 | Lidl - Trek | WT | 19361.68 |
| 6 | XDS Astana Team | WT | 16416.71 |
| 7 | Bahrain - Victorious | WT | 14044.02 |
| 8 | Netcompany INEOS | WT | 12863.59 |
| 9 | Uno-X Mobility | WT | 12725.63 |
| 10 | Soudal Quick-Step | WT | 12458.28 |
| 11 | Alpecin - Premier Tech | WT | 11621.72 |
| 12 | Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | PRT | 10863.5 |
| 13 | Movistar Team | WT | 10778.1 |
| 14 | Team Jayco AlUla | WT | 10724.54 |
| 15 | EF Education - EasyPost | WT | 10710.27 |
| 16 | Lotto Intermarché | WT | 10478.33 |
| 17 | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | PRT | 10462.37 |
| 18 | Cofidis | PRT | 9740.36 |
| 19 | NSN Cycling Team | WT | 9714.33 |
| 20 | Groupama - FDJ United | WT | 9343.92 |
| 21 | TotalEnergies | PRT | 7366.99 |
| 22 | Unibet Rose Rockets | PRT | 7219 |
| 23 | Caja Rural - Seguros RGA | PRT | 4893.58 |
| 24 | Burgos Burpellet BH | PRT | 4240.91 |
| 25 | Team Polti VisitMalta | PRT | 3958.15 |
| 26 | Solution Tech NIPPO Rali | PRT | 3412.35 |
| 27 | Equipo Kern Pharma | PRT | 3090.3 |
| 28 | Euskaltel - Euskadi | PRT | 2912.26 |
| 29 | MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort | PRT | 2879 |
| 30 | Team Picnic PostNL | WT | 2822 |
| 31 | Bardiani CSF 7 Saber | PRT | 2694.15 |
| 32 | Li Ning Star | CT | 2508.33 |
Bardiani finished the season in 31st place, just under 130 points behind Team Picnic PostNL, the World Tour's worst performer. MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort followed, and Euskaltel - Euskadi surged to 28th position in the final month of racing.
Much of this was due to the Basque team's presence on the Gran Prix Chiriquí (1.2) on the 16th of October; and the Clásica Provincia Chiriquí - a two-day stage-race in the same region, on the 17th and 18th of October. On paper, an ideal battleground to conquer UCI points, and Euskaltel did.
On the one-day race they finished first, second, fourth and tenth, conquering 93 UCI points. In the stage-race, they added another 62 points. 155 points conquered in three days which assured the Basque team a place in the Top10, with the gap to Bardiani being of just 200 points.
Was Bardiani hampered by a rigged race?
However the real issue, revealed by Reverberi, is only now revealed. "They deliberately rigged races to damage us, and nobody says anything," he has said on the Bla Bla Bike podcast by TuttoBiciWeb.
"They had already invited MBH Bank (29th place), and then they told them not to go because there were problems with the earthquake. If you organize a race and your rival doesn't invite you, what can you do?"
Reverberi went on to argue that Euskaltel was invited, whilst MBH Bank and Bardiani were kept out of the race, and this would've been plotted by Solution Tech NIPPO Rali who have connections within Panama - and were part of the event. This would've been done to keep Bardiani out of the Top30, which would assured Solution Tech much higher chances of receiving a wildcard to the 2027 Giro d'Italia, as Bardiani would not be allowed to.
"Citracca's team (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali, ed.) practically didn't even race. They let Euskaltel do their thing because they had an interest in pushing us out to free up another place for themselves at the Giro," Reverberi accused.
The Bardiani boss has taken action on the matter already, but he argues that the UCI has either decided not to take action, or flat out ignore the case: "We reported what happened to the UCI. I wrote a registered letter saying I would appeal to CAS because it's unfair, they didn't even reply. A registered letter, and they didn't even reply".
The Giro d'Italia presentation takes place this Tuesday morning in Rome, but a battle behind the scenes has in the meantime erupted, with no end in sight. "We'll see how it ends, because I'm not letting this go," he assured.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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