UCI rankings system "encourages doping" Vaughters says

EF Education-EasyPost were, for a large part of the season, in the fight for maintenance in the World Tour. Team manager Jonathan Vaughters has talked about the situation on VeloNews, following the team's assured maintenance as Lotto Soudal and Israel - Premier Tech went down - to be replaced by Alpecin-Deceuninck and Arkéa Samsic.

Vaughters calmed that, against the reports that have been said regarding the ranking system, he did not vote to have it present and "will always be against it". It had been reported that the system was unanimously agreed on with all teams taking part in the system. Only in 2022 however did many start to take concern over the points they were taking, and making some calendar changes in order to maximize their efficiency.

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Vaughters had supported in the late 2000's the system, but says the situation is different this time around, stating that "it breeds deep instability across a huge section of the sport... As it’s currently structured, promotion/relegation in cycling is destructive. It hurts the athletes. It destroys teams. It lowers the value of the sport. And it encourages doping."

The questions regarding sponsor stability are very valid, with teams changing up their initial plans so as to fit the maximum amount of points. Several World Tour teams then couldn't execute their ideal plans, but the move also allowed teams from Pro Team level to have the opportunity to rise into World Tour level.

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Vaughters suggested that the system could be improved however by having the most important races be those that include all major teams, arguing against the large amount of points given in small one-day races. He also suggested financial assistance to the teams that relegate, and the guarantee that relegated teams could be promoted back up within a few years.

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