Romandie fallout: five women’s WorldTour teams appeal disqualification under UCI license threat

Five women’s WorldTour teams and eight riders have filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) challenging their disqualification from the Tour de Romandie Féminin in August.

The appeal contests the UCI's decision to expel Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto, EF Education-Oatly, Lidl-Trek, Team Picnic PostNL, and Visma | Lease a Bike from the race after a dispute over GPS tracker testing. 

The UCI has subsequently referred the teams to its Disciplinary Commission and threatened to revoke their licences through the UCI Licence Commission, according to the team's statements.

At the centre of the controversy is the UCI's mandate that teams use an experimental GPS tracking device developed by Swiss Timing during the race. Teams claim this requirement was imposed without proper consultation or transparent communication.

According to the teams' statement, the teams had expressed willingness to participate in the safety test but requested that the UCI mount the devices on bikes and designate which riders would carry them. When the governing body refused this compromise, 30 riders were disqualified.

The appellants argue that the UCI's actions violated regulations and were "disproportionate, imposed without due process, and enforced in a manner that left riders and teams feeling intimidated."

In a press release at the time of the disqualification, the UCI stated that "certain teams on the start list for the Tour de Romandie Féminin have refused to comply with the rules for the race related to the implementation of GPS trackers as a test for a new safety system."

The UCI also noted that most of the affected teams "are part of the Velon organisation, which is the owner of its own data transmission system and is working on the development of its own GPS tracking system."

The teams responded with a joint statement expressing shock at the decision: "We are shocked and disappointed by the UCI's decision to disqualify several teams, including ours, from the Tour de Romandie Féminin. Earlier this week, all affected teams sent formal letters to the UCI expressing support for rider safety but raising serious concerns about the unilateral imposition of a GPS tracking device to just one of the riders per team."

The safety tracking technology was intended to provide race officials with real-time location data and was scheduled for full deployment at the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda following the test.

Tour de Romandie Féminin organisers described themselves as "merely observers in the discussions" and stated they were "to say the least, disheartened by this outcome regarding a measure that was meant first and foremost to benefit the cyclists and therefore the teams."