Cycling, Bardet: "Changes are needed or this sport will die"

Rome, 3 February 2025 – Among the few veterans of the class of '90, increasingly disappearing in cycling, there is Romain Bardet, In which 2025 will live his last season on the road: before hanging up his bike, however, the Frenchman, speaking to the microphones of The Team, launches an appeal to theUCI to try, from his point of view, to improve the sport of the heart.

Bardet's statements

"I believe that if the cycling authorities do not act in the short term there will be serious consequences and that people will stop watching the races because of the lack of attractiveness. Some argue that this sport feeds on great duels, that there is no need to have uncertainty or smaller teams. I am convinced of the opposite and I think that if we continue like this we will have a cycling economy with different levels and therefore no longer sustainable for the mid-range teams". Having identified, in his opinion, the problem, Bardet also tries to outline a path for the possible solution of a question that has actually recently been raised by several voices, who fear the centralization of economic resources in the hands of a few teams. "A system could be launched in the style of the draft of the NBA to ensure a certain degree of fairness and correctness in the distribution of forces". The other critical point indicated by the runner of the Team Picnic PostNL concerns the system of promotions and relegations introduced by theUCI. "This is killing cycling and is not achieving the desired goals when it was introduced. It started out as a good idea, but today you see how the teams at the bottom of the table are struggling to find the funds they need to survive and plan for the long term. All these difficulties become even more evident when you compare them to the dominance of the big teams."

Wiggins' statements

From experience to youth of Ben Wiggins, the son of art who at the microphones of The Telegraph he told his ambitions. "I don't want to set limits for myself. I want to be ready and compete one day to win the Tour de France. However, these are long-term goals, maybe ten years will pass. There are certainly examples of runners with my characteristics who have won the Grand Tours. I think about Geraint Thomas or even to my father". Obviously we are talking about Bradley, which has recently hit the headlines due to serious financial problems. Then there is Ben, who hopes to jump into the World Tour already next year. "I think that as I grow I will be able to play this opportunity, but if it doesn't happen it will be fine anyway. Last year I was an intern with the Team Jayco-AlUla and that team would be my first choice, but you never know what will happen in the future."