Lappartient wants six rider Tour de France teams to make racing less predictable

UCI President David Lappartient has renewed calls for a budget cap in cycling and proposed reducing team sizes at the Tour de France while increasing the number of participating teams. 

Speaking during an online meeting arranged by Warner Bros. Discovery ahead of the Tour de France, the UCI President David Lappartient argued that a budget cap is necessary to protect competition in the peloton and prevent teams from monopolising the sport’s top riders. 

"We worked intensively on this for a year and a half alongside the teams, and specifically with the AIGCP investing significant sums in external consultancy,” said Lappartient.

“The budget cap system was ready for launch, but at the time, the teams expressed a negative view. We were very surprised that it was the smaller teams that voted against it.”

Although the initial proposals were rejected, Lappartient believes opinions on the matter have since changed.

"Despite the initial rejection by the smaller teams, who, in my opinion, acted against their own interests, there is now a global consensus on the need for a budget cap.”

Lappartient explained that he believes that without introducing spending controls, the gaps between the biggest and the rest of the peloton will only continue to grow.

"My response was clear: without a budget cap, the wealthiest teams will progressively increase their revenues and monopolise the best riders, making survival even harder for smaller teams. Such a scenario is detrimental to the sport."

The UCI President added that the sport's governing body is considering different approaches to regulating team spending, including a luxury tax for teams exceeding a financial limit or a model similar to UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations.

Alongside his proposals for financial reform, Lappartient suggested changes to the current Tour de France squad format in an effort to make racing more unpredictable. Rather than the current composition of 23 teams with eight riders each, Lappartient believes smaller squads would reduce the ability of the strongest teams to dominate races.

"Does it really make sense to have 22 or 23 teams of eight riders each at the Tour de France? Often, the most powerful teams manage to stifle the action, controlling the race for its entire 3,500km distance,” said Lappartient. 

“Wouldn't it be better to switch to 25 teams with only six riders each? Such a change would make races less controllable, more unpredictable, and decidedly more spectacular,” he said.