The much needed UCI loller thread

[Devil's Elbow]

So you mean, as a team manager, you DO actually have to use a tiny portion of your brain and not randomly pick someone. Right.

There are not many riders with a similar profile to Aerts. The likes of Vanthourenhout, Sweeck and Iserbyt have long histories of doing nothing on the road, and fulltime track and MTB commitments are harder to combine with a road schedule. The only big-name full-time CX rider who has shown real promise on the road is Pim Ronhaar, and he would probably join Lidl if he really went for it anyway. So I don't really see which rider can be used to properly game the system for the teams fighting for promotion/relegation.

On the women's side of things, I do see some candidates, but there you need to be in the top-8 of your team which is not a small ask.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

There are not many riders with a similar profile to Aerts. The likes of Vanthourenhout, Sweeck and Iserbyt have long histories of doing nothing on the road, and fulltime track and MTB commitments are harder to combine with a road schedule. The only big-name full-time CX rider who has shown real promise on the road is Pim Ronhaar, and he would probably join Lidl if he really went for it anyway. So I don't really see which rider can be used to properly game the system for the teams fighting for promotion/relegation.

On the women's side of things, I do see some candidates, but there you need to be in the top-8 of your team which is not a small ask.

The fact that Aerts fits the bill is proof enough. Then there are also guys like Lander Loockx for instance who even gets more points than Aerts. I don't follow track or MTB but i can perfectly imagine there also being riders that could fit the bill. And maybe there aren't many right at this moment, but they do exist, and maybe next year or the year after that there will be more. You can also see certain teams and riders work towards this. The opportunity to rig the system is there. Whether there are many riders to do it doesn't matter imho.

And what about the other way around? What about sending your road domestiques to 3rd rate CX races in France and Czechia during winter? This might be a good evolution for CX of course, but not really what RR is for.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

And what about the other way around? What about sending your road domestiques to 3rd rate CX races in France and Czechia during winter? This might be a good evolution for CX of course, but not really what RR is for.

Only the World Championship and World Cup will count towards the road team rankings. Which also means that someone like Loockx will contribute very little in terms of points scored in CX.

 

[CyclistAbi]

I agree that pro road cycling should stay pristine in this regard and UCI shouldn't be allowed to change that.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Selfie has been reelected as the UCI president. Had no idea this was even happening, next time we must put our top mind and best analyst forward to challenge him.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/david-lappartient-re-elected-president-of-global-cycling-body-ec589999#:~:text=David%20Lappartient%20has%20been%20re,the%20Frenchman%20announced%20on%20Thursday.

Comments section is basically the entire nation of Rwanda sending their congrats, funny stuff;

https://twitter.com/x/status/1971264548733845655

View: https://x.com/DLappartient/status/1971264548733845655

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Selfie has been reelected as the UCI president. Had no idea this was even happening, next time we must put our top mind and best analyst forward to challenge him.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/david-lappartient-re-elected-president-of-global-cycling-body-ec589999#:~:text=David%20Lappartient%20has%20been%20re,the%20Frenchman%20announced%20on%20Thursday.

Comments section is basically the entire nation of Rwanda sending their congrats, funny stuff;

https://twitter.com/x/status/1971264548733845655

View: https://x.com/DLappartient/status/1971264548733845655

Can we trust this tweet or was Remco the actual winner of this one, too?

 

[Wyndbrook]

Can we trust this tweet or was Remco the actual winner of this one, too?

I guess he needs to do something having abysmally failed( 4 votes from 97) in his bid for Olympic leadership.

 

[CyclistAbi]

UCI reportedly threatens to strip Visma, Lidl-Trek and 3 other teams of their World Tour license

Fresh controversy is brewing in women’s cycling following a turbulent edition of the 2025 Tour de Romandie Féminin. After five teams were disqualified by the UCI for allegedly failing to comply with n...

cyclinguptodate.com

So it seems that five teams could lose their WT licence, due to calling UCI out over GPS tracking controversy.

 

[Rob5091]

UCI reportedly threatens to strip Visma, Lidl-Trek and 3 other teams of their World Tour license

Fresh controversy is brewing in women’s cycling following a turbulent edition of the 2025 Tour de Romandie Féminin. After five teams were disqualified by the UCI for allegedly failing to comply with n...

cyclinguptodate.com

wor
So it seems that five teams could lose their WT licence, due to calling UCI out over GPS tracking controversy.

So teams can lose their WT licence because of a stupid GPS spat, but nothing can be done about the chaos at the Vuelta ... Is this Lappi's new tough guy approach after his recent non-election election win? Or if he turns up to work in a brand new Lambo, I'm smelling a rat!

 

[Rob5091]

I think we should draw up a list of notable candidates for the next UCI Prez election.
I'm torn between Prince Harry of the UK (confessed drug user and TV personality) and Michael Moore's Ficus plant. ("Vote Ficus!).

 

[Lequack]

Meanwhile at thw world champs

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGrjHmsGOLI

 

[CyclistAbi]

Banned for life - Spanish rider who was expelled from Tour of Mentougou after Strava post cant return to China

It's not everyday that a professional cyclist is banned from entering a country but the end of the 2025 season has been delivering controversies that would've been hard to imagine. After a description...

cyclinguptodate.com

 

[YellowSocks]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1980621080122323311

View: https://x.com/DLappartient/status/1980621080122323311


Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, convicted by the courts for criminal conspiracy, was imprisoned today. David Lappartient thought it was appropriate to pay tribute to his friend.

I think this thread should be moved to the Clinic category. In my opinion, Lappartient is under the influence of some substance.

Edit: Note that, for once, one of his tweets is getting responses.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Well, that much for not mixing politics and sport. When it's uncomfortable, for UCI, then supposedly you shouldn't, but when head of UCI goes on a political rampage, then it's fine.

Yeah, no.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Keep your friends close and your French closer.

 

[Unchained]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1980621080122323311

View: https://x.com/DLappartient/status/1980621080122323311


Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, convicted by the courts for criminal conspiracy, was imprisoned today. David Lappartient thought it was appropriate to pay tribute to his friend.

I think this thread should be moved to the Clinic category. In my opinion, Lappartient is under the influence of some substance.

Edit: Note that, for once, one of his tweets is getting responses.

He was guzzling keytones that he didn't pay for while holding office.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

As Moderator:

I can see that what Lappartient posts is of interest and relevance. You will all, I hope, understand that this won't be allowed to become a discussion of Sarkozy and the issues around his administration, election or conviction.

 

[Keldergoat]

This is an all timer, insert 'the best time to delete this post was immediately after posting it. The second best time is now.'

 

[staubsauger]

Lappartient is nothing more than a marionette!

That's why he's the ideal UCI president for ASO

 

[Rob5091]

It seems a week is not only a long time in politics ...
https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-22-october-2025-316485

The relationship between sport and politics is a funny old thing (and when I say funny, I mean complicated and depressing).

One week, you’re telling people that sport shouldn’t be exploited for political purposes, the next you’re openly voicing your support for a former French president as he heads into prison. I told you it was complicated.

Maybe Lappi's looking at a run in French politics?

 

[CyclistAbi]

FIS Council approves additional measures to further strengthen athlete safety

At its meeting on Tuesday, the FIS Council maintained a strong focus on athlete safety, approving a comprehensive set of measures designed to enhance safety culture across the snow sports ecosystem – with particular emphasis on the speed disciplines of Alpine Skiing.

www.fis-ski.com

Improving athlete safety is a shared responsibility – of FIS, National Ski Associations, athletes, coaches, and organizers. FIS is committed to lead by example, setting the highest standards and driving positive change across our sport.– Johan Eliasch, FIS President

This is something currently missing in pro peloton in terms of improving rider safety. It's not about leading by example it's a bad example.

 

[YellowSocks]

It seems a week is not only a long time in politics ...
https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-22-october-2025-316485

Maybe Lappi's looking at a run in French politics?

He already is. He was elected as a mayor in 2008 and since then held various positions. He is currently president of the Departmental Council of Morbihan (a department in Brittany).