The UCI has allowed members of the Zaaf women's team to change teams with immediate effect after investigating allegations that the team has not paid riders. The team already lost Audrey Cordon-Ragot, who resigned earlier this month before joining Human Powered Health ahead of Paris-Roubaix.
“Since the beginning of the year, I was not paid, nor have I been reimbursed for my travel expenses. Beyond the financial aspect, the conditions in which we were evolving were really not worthy of a professional team. I could not continue under these conditions,” Cordon-Ragot told Le Télégramme last week.
Normally riders would be unable to change teams until the official mid-season transfer window of June 1, but the UCI made an exception telling Cyclingnews, "The UCI shall consider requests for authorisation to register with a new team before the next registration period in case a rider had manifest and compelling reasons for terminating their contractual relationship with their previous team."
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The Zaaf team is managed by owner Riad Belatreche, who named the team after his grandfather Abdel-Kader Zaaf, who raced in the 1950s. After racing as a club in 2022, the team upgraded to a UCI Continental team this season and scooped up Cordon-Ragot, along with Maggie Coles-Lyster and Heidi Franz, all of whom were to sign with a few French team planned by former B&B Hotels manager Jérôme Pineau.
The Zaaf Cycling Team submitted their bank guarantee to the UCI but the Spanish Cycling Federation confirmed to Cyclingnews that they will only seek to draw from the bank guarantee if riders are not reimbursed fully by March 31, 2024.
Riders are still expecting to race La Vuelta Femenina, the women's Vuelta a España, on May 1. AS.com reported that some of the riders received part of their back pay owed.
Cyclingnews has contacted the Zaaf Cycling Team to clarify the team's financial situation, along with the allegations that it has not paid some riders and staff and allegations of a lack of professionalism, but the team has not yet responded.
