New proposal targets UCI points bias and could revive stage races

The battle for UCI points is always significant, and the current distribution system has been a topic of hot debate in recent times, particularly with the way that the 2025 season panned out, with teams benefiting from playing the system. 

Many stage race organisers have felt pressured by the current distribution of points awarded at stage races compared to one-day races, with, in most cases, it proving more valuable for teams to target one-day races due to a more concentrated amount of points to be earned. 

Currently, a 1.1 category race, which is a one-day race, awards 607 points compared to a 2.1 category five-stage race, which offers 735 points. In this instance, the 1.1 category race is much more valuable to teams that are hunting UCI points, as there are almost as many points available but with four days less, which saves a lot of time and resources.

This is further amplified when looking at a higher level with 1.pro races (one-day races) awarding 1,120 points in a single day, compared to a five-day 1.pro tour stage race, which offers 1,405 points. Winning one of the five monuments, each one-day race, earns 800 points, compared to winning the general classification at the Giro d'Italia or La Vuelta a España, 21 stages each, which awards 1,100 points, 200 less than the Tour de France.

Ultimately, it proved more fruitful for the team to prioritise one-day races than stage races in terms of hunting UCI points. XDS Astana illustrated this concern of race organisers on more than one occasion in 2025 as they impressively battled their way out of the relegation battle to hold onto their WorldTour license for 2026.

Heading into 2025, XDS Astana found themselves in a precarious situation, sitting 21st in the three-year cycle rankings on 13,610 points, which was 4,717 behind Cofidis, who occupied the final WorldTour license position in 18th on 18,327 points.

XDS Astana used the current points distribution system to their advantage, particularly in the early months of the season, targeting one-day races and placing as many riders in strong positions in the finale, rather than just supporting one leader. This method allowed the Kazakh team to maximise the efficiency of earning points.

Even the Kazakh team’s general manager, Alexandr Vinokourov, admitted that the team focused more on packing as many riders into a strong position as possible rather than targeting races with an individual leader, as this would be less efficient in terms of scoring points.

“The goal was, of course, to earn points. Sometimes, even more than chasing victories. We knew we needed points, and fought for every single point,” said Vinokourov in an interview with Bici.Pro.

According to Marca, the new proposal would see a shift in the points distribution at stage races, with the ambition to make these races more worthwhile in terms of a UCI rankings perspective. The proposal suggests that stage races should award 70% of the points per day awarded by a Classic. 

Unsurprisingly, the general classification would take up the biggest percentage of points distributed, with 50%. This would leave 40% to the individual stage results, meanwhile 10% would go to jerseys and secondary classifications, such as the points, mountains and youth.

Marca reports that the proposal is now with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), with the governing body set to meet for further discussions.