"This whole points system is totally bulls**t" - André Greipel

Former pro and German sprinter André Greipel has spoken in criticism of the UCI points system, as multiple teams currently battle for promotion and maintenance positions for the coming seasons.

"I think this whole points system is totally bullshit because you have teams who have been in cycling for 20, 30 years, investing in cycling," Greipel said in an interview with CyclingWeekly. His point being that he feels it's unfair for teams who've been in World Tour for decades to be relegated due to their lack of performance.

"It's just unfair to put them in a situation like this," Greipel said. "Also Lotto makes a lot of events in Belgium. It's just not nice to see a team like this battling for something like this." Greipel's last three teams are all currently in contention, athough Arkéa Samsic have gone over the red line and is currently in a comfortable spot.

Lotto Soudal and Israel - Premier Tech are though, and until the last update they still sat both in relegation position. The UCI ranking is no novelty in the peloton, but this year with the three-year licenses ending, the rankings will be used to attribute the following UCI licenses for the coming three seasons.