Completely satisfied New Yr, or Bonne Année as they are saying on the UCI HQ in Aigle, Switzerland*. A brand new yr has rung in however don’t fear in the event you missed the occasion final night time though it’s secure to say a share of the peloton can have sunk some beers after the end of races in Nanning, Utsunomiya and Bassano del Grappa yesterday.
Formally the 2025 skilled highway biking season begins at this time. It’s anecdotal for probably the most half however there’s one massive repair to be achieved.
That’s the UCI rule in query, as you’ll be able to see the brand new season begins the day after the final World Tour race has occurred. With the Tour of Guangxi ending yesterday that makes at this time the beginning of the 2025 season.
It’s primarily a trivial admin subject however any factors earned in races for the rest of 2024 just like the upcoming Tour du Faso, the Vuelta Ciclista a Ecuador and so forth depend to the 2025 rating even when they occur in 2024.
However the one massive subject the place it counts, and the aim of this weblog put up, is to level that if the UCI guidelines in black and white that the 2025 season begins at this time then the UCI and the professional groups actually ought to get round to creating professional contracts run throughout an identical interval. For instance 1 November-30 October quite than per calendar yr.
Professional riders will nonetheless be salaried by their outdated crew for the subsequent two months. Ben O’Connor has has already attended a Greenedge crew gathering and after a well-deserved relaxation he’ll be coaching arduous once more quickly in anticipation of his first races along with his new squad. But he’s nonetheless legally a Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale rider and going to be paid the French crew till the tip of December. Likewise for every other rider altering groups, they’re now all focussed on delivering with their new groups however contractually and when it comes to wages they belong to the outdated squad.
That is usually seen second when riders collect for coaching camps. When Simon Yates goes to Calpe for the Visma-LAB camp this December he’ll be obliged to put on his Jayco equipment and journey his Large bike; ditto Lenny Martinez who has to don Groupama-FDJ equipment and journey his Wilier across the Costa Blanca regardless of exhibiting up for work chez Bahrain. It’s right here that issues get somewhat absurd, think about one other office the place you’re anticipated to indicate up, however must put on the clothes of your earlier employer?
Extra importantly the bike issues as a rider wants to search out their new place, get used to any modifications in elements and so forth however formally they’re not supposed to make use of the brand new machine till January. You may bear in mind Sergio Higuita being fired by EF as a result of he was filmed driving his Bora Specialised earlier than 1 January.
The bike instance issues and the clothes is basically beauty however clearly seen so we see the absurdity. Nonetheless certainly the true oddity is riders are going to develop into de facto workers of their 2025 groups within the coming weeks, they’re collaborating within the office of their new employer however nonetheless technically employed by one other. It’d simply make extra sense to make them de jure workers too. Or with out the Latin jargon in the event that they’re working for his or her new crew already it’d be smart in the event that they had been legally employed by them too.
The repair to that is have contracts run from November to October, nonetheless 12 months. Simpler stated than achieved after all. Loads of riders maintain contracts at this time are legitimate till the 31 December in some future yr they usually’d be arduous to amend. However the UCI and groups might conform to reform this in order that future contracts have a 30 October expiry.
Keep in mind the issues just like the minimal wage are a part of the “Joint Agreements”, a set of phrases and circumstances agreed between the AIGCP group of groups and the CPA rider union, mediated by the UCI. Certainly it’s Article 6 that stipulates:
Artwork. 6 Contract shall be for a specified interval ending on 31 December
This might be rewritten. Clearly the change couldn’t come by making anybody worse off, by saying to somebody with a contract to December that they’ll must forgo two months, it’d solely be for brand new contracts.
ConclusionIt’s a small repair for professional biking. It gained’t improve TV revenues, make the Tour de France extra thrilling nor safer… however it might assist in smaller methods and above all it’s moderately achievable. It’s not a brand new name both, this weblog’s raised it earlier than and others have too. With riders successfully swapping groups now it’s simply apparent to align contracts too.
Lastly this weblog doesn’t do cyclo-cross however that department of the game appears to be like even odder when groups change equipment, branding and typically identify mid-season as a result of contracts are additionally January-December. If this might be fastened first, maybe highway biking might copy quickly after? Both means, pleased new yr.
* the Google Streetview picture is from the village of Bonne Année, “Completely satisfied New Yr” in French. It’s the slopes of the climb to Torgon, utilized by the Tour de Romandie with latest winners like Primož Roglič and Demi Vollering. Comply with the lengthy straight highway on the fitting and the white object within the woodland…. is UCI HQ.
