The UCI rankings are currently a very heated debate, with calls even for legal action coming from Israel - Premier Tech owner Sylvan Adams in case the unanimously agreed system moves forward. Daniel Martin, former rider of the team, has also came out on criticism of the way the system is harming teams.
"A relegation/promotion system could work in cycling to expand the number of teams but it has to be an annual process like in other sports, give teams the chance to rebuild or even develop quickly," Martin shared on his Twitter account. "Have a good season and get in the WorldTour as reward. Three years is too long." This was his argument for a change in the system. Currently as it stands, the World Tour licenses are attributed for three years, meaning the teams that finish in the Top18 of the rankings at the end of this season will carry the license until the end of 2025.
"It’s impossible to create a valid points system. But the teams knew the system so need to recruit to suit it," he said. Arguably, Israel - Premier Tech has been the least scoring team over the three years out of the 18 in the World Tour, and with both Alpecin-Deceuninck and Arkéa Samsic rising above the Israeli team, it currently faces certain relegation.
"I do think it could kill off stage racing though. Why do a stage race when a one day race offers equal points," the Irishman added, raising another point regarding the current points system which favours teams focusing on one-day races, which provide more points per race on average than the longer races - something which has seen several teams change their calendar options for the final months of the season.
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santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
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A relegation/promotion system could work in cycling to expand the number of teams but it has to be an annual process like in other sports, give teams the chance to rebuild or even develop quickly. Have a good season and get in the WorldTour as reward. 3 years is too long.
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