Read the full open letter from Huub-Wattbike to UCI over World Cup controversy
The British track underdogs have criticised the ' brutally destructive' proposals
The news that trade teams would be barred from racing track World Cup events has been met with uproar from one outfit in particular - the British Huub-Wattbike squad.
As the underdogs of the track cycling world, the Huub squad have beaten national teams and set records as they have innovated their way to the highest level without following the traditional route.
The UCI announced wide-ranging changes to the track calendar last Thursday (June 20), which include barring trade teams from World Cup events and moving the indoor calendar from the summer to the winter.
In response, the Huub-Wattbike team, made up of John Archibald, Dan Bigham, Jacob Tipper, Jonny Wale, Ashton Lambie and George Peasgood, published an open letter to the UCI, condemning the international governing body's decision.
>>> Egan Bernal: ‘If Geraint Thomas is better than me I will help him at the Tour de France’
Here is the full open letter, signed by the team and their sponsors:
Date: 24th June, 2019
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Dear Mr. Lappartient and UCI colleagues
We discovered by means of press release on the evening of Thursday 20th June that you intend to make drastic changes to the track cycling calendar.
As a multiple World Cup winning trade team which has broken records and developed world champions, the announced changes have severe implications for us and will ultimately kill off the existence of trade teams completely.
Whilst you said you will “encourage dialogue between stakeholders prior to any decisions”, it seems you have forgotten that trade teams are now some of the biggest stakeholders in track cycling and consequently we are very disappointed we were not consulted at any point during this process.
Furthermore and putting our personal situation aside, we feel the changes are brutally destructive to the sport we know and love and in this letter we want to argue why.
1) Sponsors and partners who have committed investment will now disappear
Trade teams drive commercial involvement and development at grass roots level. Trade teams exist because of their commercial arrangements. We couldn’t race without the help and support of our partners and sponsors and they couldn’t enter the sport if it wasn’t for teams like us as the barriers are too high.
We return the favour by developing and pushing forward the technology and equipment that is available in the commercial domain. The sport is growing and becoming faster because the technology that we develop is immediately available and not locked away in a R&D room. Cycling needs an open and level playing field, we help to provide that.
2) There will be less opportunities for riders
With limited space on national programmes, trade teams present riders with opportunities they would otherwise not have. We have provided a huge amount of opportunities for riders who exist outside of national programmes to grow, develop and perform on the world stage. Charlie Tanfield, John Archibald, Ashton Lambie, possibly three of the greatest pursuiters of all time have come through our team.
Without these opportunities riders without national backing will now lose the ability to compete at the highest level and inspiration that you can achieve success outside of national programmes will go.
Furthermore, the banning of trade teams from the World Cup and new projected series will only serve to remove healthy competition and move power back to nations.
3) Fan interaction and engagement in track cycling will be diminished
We have grown from relative obscurity to challenging the biggest cycling nations in just two years. We pride ourselves on innovation, ingenuity and making cycling fun for all involved, especially fans and spectators.
We actively seek out and involve ourselves in all fan engagement opportunities and strive to let fans look inside and see how we function. At every opportunity, we push to engage with fans at races.
We spend a lot of our time at world cups in the stands and outside the velodrome, meeting and speaking with spectators. Trade teams do this because fan engagement and support is the life blood of the team. To remove trade teams is to remove personality from the sport.
4) Track and road calendar clashes will reduce fan numbers and the quality of each field
Moving the calendar to directly clash track competitions with the biggest road races in the world will only serve to reduce spectator and fan interest in track, as well as force athletes to decide between track and road competition. There is no way an athlete can do both. Cavendish, Viviani, Norman-Hansen, Ganna, Wild, Dygert, Archibald, Balsamo, Paternoster, Brennauer etc would all have to choose. This would do nothing but reduce the quality and depth of field across both road and track events, significantly damaging cycling competitions - counterintuitive to the objective of increasing fan engagement and excitement at each event.
>>> Fernando Gaviria set to miss Tour de France through injury
In conclusion, the announcement has been roundly condemned across social media and news outlets by athletes and fans alike. As such we are left with no alternative but to challenge the announcement and seek to ensure we do actually have Cycling for All and not just for a select few nations.
If drastic changes aren’t made to these plans then you will be left solely responsible for the consequences, as the sport of track cycling is forced to battle head to head with road racing without the support of trade teams, their characters, personalities and all of their commercial partners.
With the above in mind we call for answers to a few key questions:
- What are the reasons for trade teams being banned from World Cup competition?
- How are athletes supposed to develop outside of the national system without access to world class events?
- Why were stakeholders not engaged in the decision making process?
- How do you intend to compensate riders, employees and commercial partners affected by the restrictive announcement?
Yours sincerely,
Dan Bigham, Jacob Tipper, Jonny Wale, John Archibald, Ashton Lambie, George Peasgood, Will Perrett, Kyle Gordon, Team Huub Wattbike
Dean Jackson, Huub
Tim Rees, Vita Coco
Martin Le Sauteur, Argon18 & Notio
Richard Oakes, O10 Group
Michael Kirkland, Bowmer & Kirkland
John McGee, Durata UK
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
-
French WorldTour pro cyclist dismissed by team for 'anti-doping violation'
Franck Bonnamour's biological passport is under investigation by the UCI, but he denies wrongdoing
By Adam Becket Published
-
Street lights being turned off leaves female cyclists like me in the dark when it comes to our safety
‘I’m aware of my own mortality everytime I leave the house’ writes journalist Emmie Harrison-West following the news that cash-strapped councils are switching off street lights.
By Emmie Harrison-West Published
-
'All the conditions are met, then it's questioned again' - Visma-Lease a Bike bemoan UCI review after 'a lot of money' spent on development of Giro helmet
Team reacts to governing body statement on Tuesday, day after new helmet was debuted
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
The UCI is banning time trial helmet optimisations - one day after Giro lid broke cover
The 'head sock' is out, with more helmets to be reviewed - whilst hookless rim investigation is still ongoing
By Adam Becket Published
-
'My legs are screaming' - 17-year-old stuns with two gold medals at the British Track Championships
Sam Fisher enjoyed a dream day with victories in the team pursuit and scratch race
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'I'm in shock' - 16-year-old school student wins medal at British Track Championships
A-Level student Henry Hobbs rode a blistering kilometre time trial to earn a spot on the podium
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Olympic hopeful Will Perrett dazzles at British Track Championships
27-year-old gains three laps to win points race in style, on a night when para-cycling national records tumbled
By Tom Davidson Published
-
‘I was expecting to be 7th or 8th’ - retired pro takes shock victory at British Track Championships
Pete Mitchell soared to a national title on his racing comeback
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Great Britain collect best ever medal tally at ‘fantastic’ European Track Championships
Performance director Stephen Park hails squad after claiming 14 medals
By Tom Davidson Published
-
GB claim team pursuit gold at the European Championships in important Olympics scrap
Men’s quartet move closer to Paris qualification with victory over Denmark
By Tom Davidson Published