Cyclocross enthusiasts may be accustomed to the sport’s off-season lull, but anticipation is already building for the 2024-2025 season, thanks to some significant changes in the pipeline.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is gearing up to introduce “protected event” status for select World Cup cyclocross races, alongside stricter requirements for highly-ranked riders’ participation.
The catalyst for these rule changes stemmed from a thorough review conducted during a UCI Management Committee meeting in Prague, coinciding with the Cyclocross World Championships.
Notably, the evaluation of athlete participation from the previous season underscored the need for adjustments to ensure a more balanced representation across different cyclo-cross event categories.
To address this, a new regulation dictates that top-ranked riders, specifically those in the top 20 of the men’s and women’s elite rankings, will no longer be eligible to compete in national events.
Moreover, in a bid to entice these elite riders, the UCI mandates that the first two rows in elite races of all World Cup events must be reserved for them.
On the team front, new guidelines require both UCI Professional Cyclocross teams and UCI Cyclocross teams to dispatch a specified number of riders to World Cup events.
Professional teams must field at least three riders across men’s and women’s elite categories in every round, while Cyclocross teams are obliged to send at least one rider to a minimum of five rounds.
Failure to comply with these requirements could result in the forfeiture of a team’s top-level license. The repercussions of such non-compliance were exemplified last season when Thibau Nys, a prominent rider, opted for a national-level race over a World Cup event, drawing sharp criticism from UCI Chairman David Lappartient.
Acknowledging the challenges posed by the crowded cyclocross calendar, with numerous events spread across Europe and North America, the UCI aims to mitigate scheduling conflicts by introducing “protected event” status for up to half of the races.
This designation aims to promote internationalization and safeguard the sporting integrity of cyclo-cross events.
As anticipation builds for the 2024-2025 season, riders and teams alike await the announcement of the official UCI Cyclocross World Cup calendar, eager to navigate the evolving landscape of the sport.
Also read: Jake Drummond’s Custom Motorcycles: Masterful Fabrication
