What is your vision for professional cycling?

We want to hear your ideas... what would you do if you ran pro cycling?

by Lionel Birnie

We’ve had a lot of thoughtful and interesting feedback following my conversation with Jonathan Vaughters, the general manager of the EF Education-Easy Post team, about where professional cycling might go next.

The episode was recorded in central London a few days before the world governing body, the UCI, confirmed the men’s and women’s World Tour calendars for 2026 and beyond.

The fact the Brugge-De Panne Classic was excitingly rebranded The Great Sprint Classic – rather than The Obstacle Course Classic, which might have been more appropriate – was lost amid the news that there was no room on the calendar for the One Cycling project.

It has been widely reported that the sports arm of the Saudi Arabian investment fund had reportedly put between €250m and €300m on the table to help revamp professional cycling. However, that money was apparently dependent on the UCI agreeing to incorporate the project into the existing landscape. That there was no space on the calendar for One Cycling effectively kicks the project into the long grass, if not kills it completely.

Anyway, our episode was released for Friends of the Podcast subscribers but when the UCI calendar was confirmed, Jonathan asked whether we would consider making it available for everyone to listen to, which we have done for a limited time.

We couldn’t get into the details of what the One Cycling project actually proposed because it’s been shrouded in secrecy but my conversation with Jonathan was the extension of conversations we’ve had on- and off-the-record for the best part of two decades. How can cycling adapt to compete in a rapidly changing sports and media world?

By no means did I agree with everything Jonathan said. The rumour that the One Cycling project centred around creating a series of races in important and emerging markets, similar to the F1 calendar, leaves me cold. I’m not convinced the way to attract millions more fans is by ensuring the big-name riders race each other more often either. Seeing Pogačar take Vingegaard and Evenepoel to the cleaners at the Dauphiné does rather dampen anticipation ahead of the Tour de France – like gorging on the canapés and spoiling our appetite before the main course. Speaking purely personally, I don’t need to know who ‘The Best Rider In The World’ is. I mean, it’s obviously Tadej Pogačar but I don’t need to see Jonas Vingegaard line up at the Tour of Flanders to prove it. Nor do I need the addition of a Grand Prix-style race series with rounds held in Singapore or Buenos Aires or Budapest or London when there are perfectly good Classic races with a century of history. (That’s not to say that new races in new regions shouldn’t be a part of the calendar, though).

The quirks and nuances of the sport are what drew me in and the fact cycling isn’t like the Super Bowl or the Premier League is precisely the attraction for many people. There were phases to my fandom growing up as I delved deeper into cycling’s Aladdin’s cave of history, learning that the green jersey at the Giro was actually a sort of purple, and that the Four Days of Dunkirk used to last six days. It’s never mattered to me that the world champion could be Igor Astarloa or Mathieu van der Poel.

Having said all that, some things do need attention. The race calendar has evolved into a bit of a mess and the tinkering to sort out some of the more illogical clashes haven’t done enough to improve it.

The amount of feedback we received once the episode was made available to all multiplied to the point that it will not be possible to reply to everyone who has emailed in, although I have read each one.

It is interesting that hardly anyone has suggested any practical ideas for the future, or possible solutions, instead the feedback was mostly focused on why the things Jonathan and I discussed wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) work. Maybe that’s because the way the sport is structured really is perfect for existing cycling fans, although I suspect even that isn’t quite the case.

We will leave the episode on the free feed until the weekend, so if you’ve not heard it yet there’s still time. After that, it will be available for Friends of the Podcast.

Then we want to hear your ideas. I started to write a survey but I realised that all the questions were, in a way, leading. What I’m really interested in is reading your ideas.

So, my question to all our listeners is this: If you were hired by One Cycling, or a similar organisation, to set out a vision for the future of professional cycling, what would you do? You can tackle any of the areas that interest you – without feeling obliged to address all the issues.

• What needs fixing, if anything, and what should be sacrosanct?

• What would the race calendar look like?

• How should the men’s and women’s calendars complement each other?

• What competitions or ranking systems should there be, if any?

• What about the size of team rosters?

• Should teams have their ability to stockpile talent restricted either by specific roster requirements or a salary cap to ensure a more competitive sport?

• Should there be different tiers of racing and qualifying systems for the biggest events?

• Should there be different race formats and rules? If so, what are your ideas?

• Anything else. Broadcasting and media, equipment, rules and ethics… There’s no limit to the subjects you can tackle.

It’s clearly a huge subject and there will be aspects of the sport’s structure that you’ve thought of that I’ve not listed here, so my invitation is to be creative and set out your vision for pro cycling.

Email your thoughts to contact@thecyclingpodcast.com and we’ll pick up this conversation later this year, after the Grand Tours.

Listen now: The episode will be on our free-to-air feed until the weekend.

Things that make you go ‘Ooh’

Out now: June’s episode of The Cycling Podcast Féminin

They may not have made it to their Swiss chalet, but spirits are still high on this month’s episode of The Cycling Podcast Féminin as the team tackle several weeks of lively racing. Rose Manley, Denny Gray and Rebecca Charlton set themselves the challenge of picking out some moments that made them say ‘Ooh!’ from the Tour of Britain Women and the Tour de Suisse, which was no easy task after a number of memorable moments and breakthrough performances.

Plus this month’s mini feature offers a sneak preview of an upcoming Friends of the Podcast special. Four-time British national champion Lisa Brambani sat down with The Cycling Podcast’s producer Tom Whalley to talk about the first ever edition of the women’s Giro in 1988. Brambani offers some rare detail as she battled convent dormitories and cold water showers as well as the race itself, all diligently recorded in her diary.

We also look ahead to this year’s Giro d’Italia, which starts on July 7, and explore the punchy eight-stage course which includes three summit finishes.

Also on the agenda, Denny’s imaginary Toblerone-inventing grandfather, Rebecca’s 90s hip hop karaoke and a thousand ways of saying ‘ooh!’

• The Cycling Podcast Féminin is online now wherever you listen to your podcasts and Tom Whalley’s conversation with Lisa Brambani about the very first edition of the Giro d’Italia Femminile, held in 1988, will be available for Friends of the Podcast subscribers very soon. Sign up for a subscription at thecyclingpodcast.com

The countdown to Lille…

Daily Tour de France coverage from Saturday, July 5 plus KM0 for Friends of the Podcast

There’s one more episode from our pre-Tour de France ‘Attitude Camp’ to come next week. Graham Willgoss and I will review the Tour de Suisse and continue the countdown to the grand départ in the north eastern French city on Saturday, July 5.

Then comes the now traditional XL preview episode, which will be released a few days before the opening stage. This will be the 13th Tour de France The Cycling Podcast has covered with daily episodes recorded on the road at the race.

Subscribe to The Cycling Podcast in your preferred podcast app to ensure you get the episodes as soon as they are released.

Happy birthday, Eddy

Belated happy returns to Eddy Merckx, who celebrated his 80th birthday on Tuesday. Thanks to Hugo Coorevits for sending this photo of him with Merckx taken at the launch of a new biography in Brussels earlier this week. The book has been written by veteran Flemish radio journalist Johny Vansevenant. Anyone wanting to read a biography of Merckx in English, should check out Daniel Friebe’s book The Cannibal or William Fotheringham’s Half Man, Half Bike.

The Richard Moore Youth Race Series, round three

The third round of the Richard Moore Youth Race Series was held at the West Lothian cycle circuit in Linlithgow on Tuesday. The series goes from strength to strength with the riders demonstrating bolder, more attacking racing with each passing round.

The Youth A, B and C events were decided by points scored in two races – a time trial and a criterium race.

Round three, race winners:
Youth D girls: Zoe Martin (Clydesdale Colts)
Youth D boys: Keir Campbell (Stirling Bike Club)
Youth C girls: Lucy Dixon (Falkirk Junior Bike Club)
Youth C boys: Alasdair Ogg (Johnstone Jets)
Youth B female: Boo Williams (Clydesdale Colts)
Youth B open: Gregor McNaught (Glasgow Riderz)
Youth A female: Lucy Sweeney (Edinburgh RC)
Youth A open: Andrew Levinson (Edinburgh RC)

Thanks to Steve Darling and everyone at West Lothian Clarion CC for organising the third round of the series. Round four will be held on Tuesday, July 22 and the fifth and final round will be on Tuesday, August 12. Riders can enter on the British Cycling website.