Lappartient: Relegation is not nice, but that's sport, you must accept the results

BERLIN GERMANY MARCH 01 David Lappartient president UCI looks on during day 5 of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships Berlin at Velodrom on March 01 2020 in Berlin Germany Photo by Maja HitijGetty Images
(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

UCI President David Lappartient has defended the controversial WorldTour relegation system in professional cycling, warning teams they "must accept the results" and declaring himself "confident" the sport's governing body can stand up to potential legal challenges. 

The system, in which the WorldTour is limited to 18 teams and based on a three-year ranking, has come under fire in recent weeks and months as several teams fight to avoid being relegated to the second ProTeam division and potentially losing access to the Tour de France and other major races. 

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.


With contributions from