On the day of the deadline for submissions to the UCI's consultation on the future of professional cycling, clothing brand Rapha has reissued The Rapha Roadmap – its own blueprint for the future of the sport.
Rapha initially released the Roadmap in 2019, the document analysing cycling's challenges and proposing reforms to improve various aspects of the sport.
The 2019 Roadmap led the company to create an 'alternative calendar' of racing in partnership with the EF Education First team in 2020. They also created the Rapha Super-League, launched last year, which brings together races across the UK in a season-long series.
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Rapha CEO Fran Millar, who took up the role in September 2024, penned the foreword to the updated Roadmap. She lamented the lack of change and progress in the sport, having worked away from cycling after stepping down as CEO of Ineos Grenadiers in 2020.
"What struck me most coming back to cycling after four years is not how much has changed, but how much hasn’t," Millar wrote.
"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.
"The problems identified in the Rapha Roadmap seven years ago are the same problems the UCI's own consultation letter acknowledged in February 2026 - revenues that don't reflect the sport's popularity and commercial model so dependent on external sponsorship that teams operate on the edge of financial viability. But the sport also has an ineffectual governance system that often seems to prioritise self-preservation over growth."
Millar added that the UCI's consultation offers a chance for real change in the sport, stating that cycling should stop the endless debates about reform and what should be done.
"We are reissuing the Rapha Roadmap because the UCI's consultation represents another opportunity for action to change this sport. We don't claim to have all the answers. 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. This consultation is an opportunity for action and change. I sincerely hope the UCI use it this time."
The updated Rapha Roadmap, a collaboration between the brand and The Outer Line, consists of 12 parts, including Millar's foreword and a section revisiting the 2019 Roadmap.
The Roadmap "analyses the sport’s greatest challenges and proposes bold reforms to make racing more accessible, sustainable, and beautiful for every fan," says Rapha.
The brand calls for various reforms to professional cycling, including shortening the calendar, altering the team models, enhancing race coverage, and diversifying revenue, among other points.
It remains to be seen what becomes of the UCI's consultation on the future of the sport. The federation decided to launch the consultation at the Management Committee meeting at the end of January. The consultation was later launched on February 17 and has been open for submissions until Thursday.
The federation, headed by David Lappartient, sent a letter inviting cycling's stakeholders to contribute. Among those named in the letter were the teams association (AIGCP), the race organisers’ association (AIOCC), the riders’ association (CPA), and the various national federations. Other stakeholders, including riders, were also invited to contribute.
"Stakeholders are invited to submit their views and proposals on key topics – including the economic model, the calendar and participation rules, fan engagement, safety and the credibility of sporting results – by 30 April 2026," the UCI announced in February.
"Several reforms implemented in recent years have helped to promote the development of road cycling (internationalisation, new events, the growth of women's cycling, etc.). The aim now is to continue this positive momentum collectively, in a spirit of dialogue and shared responsibility, under the auspices of the UCI.
"At the end of the consultation phase, the UCI will engage in in-depth discussions with the various stakeholders and partners concerned, with a view to developing a stronger, more attractive and sustainable model for men's and women's professional road cycling."
