Pogacar's agent Alex Carera outlines eight ways to reshape cycling

In an interview with DH Les Sports+ at last weekend’s Tour de France Singapore Criterium, Alex Carera, whose stable includes the likes of Tadej Pogačar and Isaac del Toro, argued that cycling’s safety standards and commercial structure need to evolve to match the appeal of the sport's biggest stars.

“We are fortunate to have a generation of riders, like Tadej [Pogačar], [Remco] Evenepoel, or [Mathieu] van der Poel, who have changed the way races are run,” Carera told DH Les Sports+.

“They attack from far out. They have personality. They put on a show. We need to build around that, because that’s what people love," Carera added. 

In total, Carera outlined eight proposals aimed at reshaping the sport's safety, finances, and fan appeal.

Rather than leaving safety equipment fragmented across teams, the Italian argues the peloton should adopt a single, compulsory wearable airbag system.

Alongside equipment reform, Carera favours greater use of multi-lap circuit designs, both in the mountains, such as repeated ascents of Alpe d'Huez or the Mortirolo, and on city-centre loops like the Tour de France’s Montmartre finale.

Race organisers are already turning to purpose-built circuits on safety grounds. The 2027 Giro d'Italia will feature sprint finishes on the Misano and Mugello motor racing circuits, alongside an individual time trial start at Monza, in a bid to avoid the urban road furniture and tight corners involved in high-speed crashes in Naples earlier this year.

"The idea of finishing on the motor racing circuits came after we listened to the riders and the teams about improving safety, especially for sprint finishes," Giro race director Luca Guercilena explained at the route presentation in Rome. 

"Motor racing circuits have very wide roads and that helps everyone carry out their role in a sprint and race safely," Guercilena added.

Having handled several high-profile mid-contract rider moves in recent seasons, Carera is also pushing to replace legal disputes with a formal transfer system. 

Under his plan, riders could switch teams mid-contract via pre-set buyout fees capped at three times their current salary, allowing smaller squads to generate revenue from developing talent.

In order to further protect the sport’s lower tiers, he has urged cycling’s authorities to build a stronger racing calendar for second-tier ProTeams so new sponsors can progress toward the WorldTour, while raising the current €2,000-per-year development fee paid to grassroots clubs when a young rider signs their first top-flight contract.

To simplify cross-border transfers, Carera also suggested requiring every team’s paying entity to operate under Swiss law, where the UCI is based. That idea aligns with Decathlon CMA CGM’s recent move to relocate its corporate operations to Geneva. 

According to Eurosport, lower Swiss social security contributions could save the French squad roughly €900,000 annually on a €5 million rider salary, though French tax authorities may still scrutinise the arrangement. 

Off the bike, Carera believes more could be done to increase the appeal of the sport to casual fans and sponsors. 

He has advocated using the UCI rankings more visibly to define team value, backed by an off-season awards gala modelled on football’s Ballon d’Or.

L’Equipe’s annual Vélo d’Or ceremony in Monaco already fills part of that space, with the 2026 winners set to be announced on 28 November. 

Meanwhile, the UCI Gala will also return for the first time since 2019, taking place in Benidorm on 9 December, honouring the top-ranked riders, teams and nations of the season.

Finally, to help fans recognise riders year-round, Carera also proposed assigning riders a fixed race number each November based on their ranking, creating consistency and opening avenues for merchandise.