UCI points system "doesn’t make any sense" - Euzebio Unzué bashes as Movistar enters risky area
Cycling
Movistar Team have avoided too much pressure for the time being, however they've been caught up in the battle for UCI points as the red line between the 18th and 19th place means a relegation for the teams who sit behind.
Team manager Euzebio Unzué has told Cyclingnews at the Critérium du Dauphiné that the relegation battle in which they found themselves in “It’s madness.". Movistar was in 16th place in the last UCI point update, only 700 points ahead of Lotto Soudal who's surging. The Spanish team have a buffer, however they don't have the luxury of being able to ignore the risk, and have to take this classification into consideration.
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The battle has became a nuisance for Movistar Team who are having Alejandro Valverde in his retirement season, but the veteran is having to be a key card to the team to play for it's survival at World Tour level.
"Fortunately, Alejandro has been, as ever, exemplary. He’s the first to be willing to do what needs to be done. He’s aware that we’re a little obliged to go after some points, because that’s what the system demands. It’s unthinkable, really, but that’s the situation we find ourselves in," Unzué said.
He has called for "the points system needs to be reformed" aswell, as he explained why he's against the ranking. "It doesn’t seem logical to me that in order to stay in the first division, we have to go and search for points in the second and third divisions. You try and explain that to fans of other sports. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I understand the system was created with good intentions but it’s not fair. We need to think about how we can make it more meritorious, logical, reasonable, proportional to the quality of the riders. The points you obtain often don’t do justice to what you did in the race, and that’s another problem. It’s artificial. We have to value other things," he concluded.
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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