UCI to hold talks with rejected OneCycling project's Saudi backers

UCI president David Lappartient has indicated that the governing body will enter direct talks with the Saudi investors behind the OneCycling project.

When the UCI revealed the WorldTour schedule for 2026 last month, it also rejected the OneCycling plan, describing it as “inconsistent with UCI's governance framework.” In an interview with Wielerflits, however, Lappartient has now stated that he is willing to speak directly with the project’s Saudi backers.

SURJ, the sporting wing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), had reportedly been willing to invest €300 million across three seasons in the OneCycling project, which has been led by Visma | Lease a Bike manager Richard Plugge in a bid to bring new revenue streams to competing teams.

11 WorldTour teams as well as organisers Flanders Classics and RCS Sport were reportedly willing to join the project, which had a planned 2026 start date and proposals for new races, but the UCI Management Committee voted against the idea last month. 

“Of course, we want to enter into discussions with the Saudi investors,” Lappartient told Wielerflits. “We are always open to sitting down with potential investors in our sport. I have indicated to the Saudi investors that they are welcome in cycling. However, we must do this together and work together. You cannot come in and tell us how to organise our competition without having proper, robust discussions with the UCI.”

Lappartient confirmed that he had held “short conversations” with representatives from SURJ but claimed the UCI would speak to individuals at a “higher level” in Saudi Arabia.

“I have good connections in Saudi Arabia with the Crown Prince and the [Sports] Minister, and I know that they love cycling and support it,” Lappartient said. “However, the level at which OneCycling had held discussion was at a lower level. We will probably have to take it to a higher level to find a solution."

“I will definitely talk to the Saudis. We have the UCI Urban World Championships in Saudi Arabia this Autumn, and I will definitely meet the people involved there.”

Lappartient also outlined his rationale for opposing the OneCycling project in its current proposed form.

“I still don’t know how OneCycling is supposed to work, or how the business model works,” Lappartient said. “We, as the UCI, asked the representatives these questions. We didn’t get any clear answers. That’s an important point for us. We can’t have two divisions in the WorldTour; one with the races in OneCycling and one with the races that are outside OneCycling.”

“The other important point is that the teams cannot be the organiser of races or a series of races. That combination is not allowed according to the UCI rules, and that is also something we do not want.”

Last week, it was confirmed that Lappartient will run unopposed for a third mandate as UCI president at the UCI Congress in Rwanda in September. The Frenchman was first elected as UCI president in 2017, and he was returned unopposed in 2021.