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UCI changes rules to exclude amateur team who won gold at Track Cycling World Cup

Huub-Wattbike team has won admiration for its innovative approach

The UCI this week announced a raft of changes to the track cycling season, one of which means the Huub-Wattbike team will no longer be eligible to take part in the Track Cycling World Cup, despite having won gold in London in December. The Derby-based amateur team have described the decision as, “disappointing for us and detrimental to cycling as a whole.”

The current UCI Track Cycling World Cup is to undergo several changes from the 2020-2021 season.

The number of rounds in the series will go from six to three, and it will no longer run from October to January but, starting from 2021, from July to September.

The competition will also be rebranded the UCI Track Cycling Nations’ Cup. While this might be a less confusing name considering there’s also a Track World Championships (which will move from March to October), the UCI announcement added: “As the name suggests, participation will be reserved uniquely for national teams.”

That last details is bad news for trade team Huub-Wattbike, who tweeted:

The Huub-Wattbike team started out in 2017 as Team KGF, four amateur riders outside the British Cycling setup who decided to launch their own team based at the Derby velodrome.

Competing on an annual budget of £15,000, their innovative approach helped them become national champions and Track Cycling World Cup gold medallists.

Former team member Charlie Tanfield has since gone on to win gold for Great Britain in the team pursuit at the 2018 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, while his brother, Harry, won the opening stage of last year’s Tour de Yorkshire and has since moved into the World Tour with Katusha–Alpecin.

In November, individual pursuit world record holder Ashton Lambie signed for the team.

You can watch a documentary telling their story here.

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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21 comments

Avatar
alg | 4 years ago
1 like

I read an article recently which argues that cycling at the top level is in decline these days.

No wonder is it with those dicks in charge.

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fixation80 | 4 years ago
2 likes

Just a stupid move, on my own I wouldn't be listened to so I've signed the petition the 'Beat Team' boys have set up.

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froze | 4 years ago
1 like

Maybe what the pros should do is not particpate in the next race till UCI changes the rule back to where it was and allow amateur riders who have proven themselves to ride...LOL!!!!  I seriously doubt the pros would have enough backbone to do that, besides that they don't want to take the chance of being beaten by a low budget team.  So as always nothing will happen and the amateurs, as always, get the short end of the stick and now have to struggle even harder than before to try to break into the pro ranks.  Pro racing has always been difficult to break into, now it's worse.

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kimmcbride | 4 years ago
0 likes

time we had a change in ruling bodies of a lot of sports these institutions don't own sports 

 

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kimmcbride | 4 years ago
0 likes

time we had a change in ruling bodies of a lot of sports these institutions don't own sports 

 

Avatar
kimmcbride | 4 years ago
0 likes

time we had a change in ruling bodies of a lot of sports these institutions don't own sports 

 

Avatar
kimmcbride | 4 years ago
0 likes

time we had a change in ruling bodies of a lot of sports these institutions don't own sports 

 

Avatar
kimmcbride | 4 years ago
0 likes

time we had a change in ruling bodies of a lot of sports these institutions don't own sports 

 

Avatar
Al__S | 4 years ago
1 like

It's nuts. Not just less teams allowed to take part at World Cups, but half the number of events with a vague promise to look at setting up a winter series (that might also be national squads only?) 

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Velovoyeur | 4 years ago
3 likes

It does make you wonder where the UCI’s interests lie. As the body that is responsible for the growth and promotion of cycle sport, changing the rules to exclude people who provide challenge to the establishment and intrigue for the spectators seems illogical. Until, you realise that they are meeting their own vested interests and those of their sponsors. 

Everyone agrees that we need rules. Otherwise we would see some outrageous and probably dangerous bikes on the tracks but Huub Wattbike’s equipment is within the rules so why not consider using the “rules” to encourage these maverick thinkers rather than exclude them. Everyone loves a tryer and if smaller teams are able to do things differently and get results then thats what the sport and spectators want. If the national teams are getting shown up, they need to look at what they’re doing and change or adapt. That way we might see some real advances in times and what could be achieved. 

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Awavey | 4 years ago
1 like

its not just losing trade teams, reducing to 3 track world cups and not least swapping to a Summer schedule will rob us of riders like Jolien D'hoore & Elia Viviani who will probably have to switch to being road racers only in the future as the track events will clash with their road teams races, and nations will have to pick riders to secure World championship and Olympic qualification across fewer races, so wont want to have one off riders guesting for them, also means its not going to be as easy for the next generation of riders to come through

I really dont think you could come up with a more comprehensive way to completely ruin track cycling than by these changes.

Avatar
Drinfinity | 4 years ago
3 likes

Ah yes, UEFA and EU are just the same... Only last month I was voting for representatives in the UEFA election. Oh no, hang on, I wasn’t. It was the EU election. 

Anyway, back to the point - yes, the UCI seems determined to hamper innovation. Was it at the behest of Stuart Street CC? Any evidence for that or just general moaning?

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JonSP | 4 years ago
3 likes

Yep, it’s like Verbruggen vs Obree all over again.

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BigYin | 4 years ago
1 like

it was probably at the (back room) request of the Manchester Track Club management, after all,  Huub boys have been making the national squad look a bit silly really...

 

plus, there's all the track club staffs salaries to think about.

 

(cynical, moi ?)

 

 

Avatar
Milkfloat | 4 years ago
3 likes

Time for Derbados to declare independence.

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bigmoose | 4 years ago
9 likes

Same old vindictive small-minded UCI, unchanged from the days when stopping Graeme Obree was its mission. 

Huub-Wattbike’s story made the national news here, creating positive interest in cycling and specifically in track racing, so that goes against the UCI’s role of destroying interest and participation in the sport. Hence they had to act. 

Whilst some may scoff and not all will agree with Rapha’s manifesto for cycling, this story perfectly illustrates why such a publication has come about in response to declining interest and participation in racing. 

Well done to Huub-Wattbike and I wish them further success. Innovators and champions. 

Avatar
brooksby replied to bigmoose | 4 years ago
3 likes
bigmoose wrote:

Same old vindictive small-minded UCI, unchanged from the days when stopping Graeme Obree was its mission. 

Huub-Wattbike’s story made the national news here, creating positive interest in cycling and specifically in track racing, so that goes against the UCI’s role of destroying interest and participation in the sport. Hence they had to act. 

Whilst some may scoff and not all will agree with Rapha’s manifesto for cycling, this story perfectly illustrates why such a publication has come about in response to declining interest and participation in racing. 

Well done to Huub-Wattbike and I wish them further success. Innovators and champions. 

Obree was the "build a bike out of washing machine parts and beat the world record" guy? Its funny, it was his name came to mind when I read the article too.

Avatar
Simon E replied to brooksby | 4 years ago
8 likes
brooksby wrote:

Obree was the "build a bike out of washing machine parts and beat the world record" guy? Its funny, it was his name came to mind when I read the article too.

Graeme Obree did use washing machine bearings in the BB of Old Faithful. IIRC he also had to use a BMX saddle one time and chop the nose off it to get round an on-the-spot rule made up by Verbruggen, the man who later presided over what many consider to be the dirtiest period in the sport's history; not just turning a blind eye but actively fighting any steps to clean it up.

Shame for the Huub boys, they've worked hard on a pittance to get this far but at this level sport is not about fairness or encouraging genuinely innovative thinking. It's about money.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds replied to Simon E | 4 years ago
2 likes
Simon E wrote:
brooksby wrote:

Obree was the "build a bike out of washing machine parts and beat the world record" guy? Its funny, it was his name came to mind when I read the article too.

Graeme Obree did use washing machine bearings in the BB of Old Faithful. IIRC he also had to use a BMX saddle one time and chop the nose off it to get round an on-the-spot rule made up by Verbruggen, the man who later presided over what many consider to be the dirtiest period in the sport's history; not just turning a blind eye but actively fighting any steps to clean it up.

Shame for the Huub boys, they've worked hard on a pittance to get this far but at this level sport is not about fairness or encouraging genuinely innovative thinking. It's about money.

This,  it's basically shamateur, piggies at the trough and keepng oneself in a very nicely paid job for doing next to fuck-all, it's rife everywhere ... IOC, UEFA and so on, these organisations are just like the EU, corrupt as fuck and simply rake money in for themselves whilst setting rules as they please with virtually zero accountability.

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brooksby | 4 years ago
4 likes

Similar in many fields: can't have amateurs beating professionals, the sponsors don't like it.

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CXR94Di2 | 4 years ago
11 likes

UCI cant have amateurs in a shoestring budget, beating multi million pounds national teams. It does seem a spiteful decision.

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