'What struck me is not how much cycling has changed, but how much hasn’t' – Evolve professional cycling now, or it will wither, UCI warned by Rapha CEO

In February, the UCI asked for some advice on how to improve the way it runs professional cycling – and now they’re getting it, with no sugar coating

Two months ago, cycling's governing body, the UCI, opened up to the biking industry and asked for help, essentially admitting that the sport of professional cycling was not performing as it should in terms of securing mainstream media coverage and reliable revenues for its athletes, and launching a consultation period calling in ideas for how that sorry situation could be rectified.

The deadline for those consulted to put forward their suggestions was Thursday, and Rapha for one have not been shy in offering some very vociferous advice on exactly how the sport needs to evolve, and fast, if it is to survive in a fast-changing world.

The brand has reissued an updated version of the ‘Rapha Roadmap’, a lengthy treatise originally written back in 2019, laying out exactly how they think the organising body responsible for professional cycling needs to change dramatically from one that too often is seen to “prioritise self-preservation over growth”.

In a statement released on Thursday evening, Fran Millar, current Rapha boss and former CEO of the Ineos Grenadiers, made her feelings crystal clear right from the outset, describing professional cycling as: "a sport that is beautiful and historically rich but one that has been failed structurally and commercially."

"What struck me most coming back to cycling after four years is not how much has changed, but how much hasn’t," she continued. "When I left my role as CEO of the INEOS Grenadiers, the sport was debating reform. I returned to find the debate had gone backwards – and that is deeply depressing."

As Visma-Lease a Bike boss Richard Plugge did two months ago, Millar pointed to Formula 1 as an example of how sports could evolve without losing their soul or betraying their traditional audiences, but she broadened out the comparisons to include football too.

“The Premier League didn't stop being English football when it became a global product,” she observed. “The sports that have thrived in the modern era are the ones that understood their own value and adapted to grow and capitalise on it.”

Proper promotion and coverage of women’s sport was also highlighted as a way of expanding the whole offering, something that’s a very live debate in cycling right now, unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.

“The Women's Super League, the NWSL, the Hundred, the F1 academy and the Women’s Rugby World Cup are all examples of what can happen when the people running those sports stopped making excuses about audience size and started making the content that grows one,” said Millar. “These sports didn't wait for permission or for someone else to solve their issues. They built the case, proved the demand and now the money is following.

“We are living through times of extreme and rapid societal and technological change. Sports that understood this early and built a content strategy, data infrastructure and interactive communities have grown. Sports that didn't have watched their audiences age, fragment and their commercial value stagnate."

Millar did acknowledge the size of the challenge the UCI faces. "We don't claim to have all the answers," she admits. "What we have is an honest love for this sport and a genuine belief in its potential. And nearly two decades of experience watching it fail to realise that potential for entirely avoidable reasons.

“The time for endlessly debating and re-diagnosing the problem has passed," Millar cautioned. in conclusion. "This consultation is an opportunity for action and change. I sincerely hope the UCI use it this time.”

The Rapha Roadmap can be downloaded in full here.