"Our concern lies in how and when the UCI applies the rule" - Mountain Bike riders revolt after controversial late rule change ahead of World Championships
Mountain BikeSunday, 13 August 2023 at 14:54
Despite having a distinct lack of Mountain Bike races in their legs during 2023, Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock and Peter Sagan have been boosted by a controversial late UCI rule change that ensures they won't start at the back of the pack.
Whilst this rule change does indeed benefit the three stars of the road, it's not gone down well with the riders who race Mountain Bike throughout the year. "It's fantastic to have big names from other disciplines in our sport. But we are absolutely not happy with how the UCI is treating our sport by changing the rules at the last minute," begins a statement made by the UCI Cross Country representation.
“Whether the rule is just is another matter and subject for another time. Our concern lies in how and when the UCI applies the rule," the statement continues, referencing the lateness of the rule change, coming on the eve of the World Championship race. "The rule may have consequences for the Olympic starting places of the various riders and countries. It is not only about the battle for the world title, but also about the Olympic starting places."
"It is obvious that the UCI is contradicting itself in applying the rule. A day before the start of the World Championship is not the time to selectively look at the rules. We hereby express our deep disappointment and frustration with the situation created by the UCI," it concludes, citing signatures if various top riders including Nino Schurter.
🌈 Hoy desde las 16:30 (Eurosport/TDP) Mundial XCO masculino 🔥
— Isma Álvarez Cycling (@CyclingIsma) August 12, 2023
🇨🇭 Nino Schurter (actual campeón, el rey del MTB)
🇬🇧 Tom Pidcock (campeón olímpico)
🇳🇱 Van der Poel (a por el tercer mundial 2023)
🇸🇰 Y Sagan, claro, siempre Sagan
📷 UCI_Cycling pic.twitter.com/6GVXWFbetC
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I get the frustration, but from a purely competitive standpoint moving Pidcock and MVDP made sense. No, they hadn't accumulated points that the full-time riders did, but their demonstrated abilities placed them comfortably within the best in the field, It is also relevant that their visibility is good for the sport as a whole. It would obviously have been better if the change had been made further in advance, but in as much as the goal of the event is to determine the best rider, I think it was justified.
British cycling complained to UCI and the rules were changed to allow Pidcock, a British cyclist racing on British soil, a lesser disadvantage. The Top 10 of the MTB world are naturally furious since they worked the year round to get to the first row and then these guys come in and take the win. If Schurter were to not participate in the rankings and were to line up, he would lineup at the back. At the same time, these two are once in a lifetime talent and should be allowed to start with a little disadvantage like the 4th or 5th row to make it exciting for the fans and bring in new fans to sport. Just enough to make it competitive.
MTB is short intense stuff and then quick recovery with insane bike handling skills. Most road pros will not be able to do it as they are more towards endurance and donot have this kind of bike handling skills. The top MTBers would easily beat the roadies in an MTB race. The two Pidcock and MVDP are from cyclocross background and more suited towards the MTB races and are hugely talented in all aspects. But even they cannot just start without proper acclimatizing/training to an MTB schedule as MVDP found out. Pidcock was not even in the road race. Sagan finished 37th and 63rd. If it was really possible to switch between disciplines, we would have had more riders do that. But the top 10 in road is not the top ten in MTB nor the top ten in cyclocross.
Tom Pidcock is the reigning Olympic champion and was still on the 4th row. The fact that he won by a good margin shows he should probably have been allowed to start on the front.
Why not have a one lap qualifying to determine start position?
An F1/MotoGP style qualifying is also a good idea
Ok. But that guy ending 4th, he had to start completely from the back. That guy really got ripped.