UCI President David Lappartient – Exclusive Podcast.

In this edition of the Cyclingnews podcast, brought to you in association with Prendas Ciclismo, Pinarello and Floyds of Leadville, UCI President David Lappartient sits down for an exclusive interview with Kirsten Frattini and Stephen Farrand at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck.

 During his visit, the UCI made several announcements about the reforms of both women’s and men’s professional bike racing, and he spoke with Cycingnews in detail about these upcoming reforms that make up the UCI’s Agenda 2022.

 He spoke with us about the introduction of a two-tiered system for women’s teams where by five teams would form the top-tier called the Women’s WorldTeams in 2020. He also revealed that the UCI would introduce a long-awaited minimum wage for Women’s WorldTeams. And we later learned from the UCI that the goal was to introduce it gradually, but that it would equal the men’s Professional Continental before 2023. The current minimum salary regulations for the men’s Professional Continental teams is €30,855.

 Lappartient also highlighted details of the new women’s calendar called the UCI ProSeries that will have three categories: Women’s WorldTour and Class 1 and 2. And he spoke about the new contractual regulations that are meant to improve the working conditions for women in cycling.

 On the men’s side, he discussed the WorldTour reforms, which include the newly designed calendar of one-day races, short stage races and Grand Tours. The changes are modest but he highlighted some of the ways that cycling could find new revenue and ensured stability.

 He also spoke about the recent election that saw Gianni Bugno re-elected as the president of the CPA, and some of the structural changes he hopes to see in the coming year.

 His first year as UCI Presdient can be considered successful in some ways, but there was also some turbulence from the beginning with Chris Froome’s now-resolved salbutamol case, a back-and-forth spat with Team Sky manager Dave Brailsford, and the negative atmosphere surrounding the Tour de France.

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