One Cycling project faces a crunch moment as UCI decides on WorldTour races for next three years

The success of the One Cycling project faces a crunch moment in the next ten days as the UCI decides on the WorldTour race calendar for the next three years and hears the latest presentation from One Cycling and its expected $250 million Saudi investors.

UCI president David Lappartient has revealed more of the governing body's red lines regarding One Cycling in a recent interview with Marca, as he appears to kick the One Cycling can down the road and so beyond a possible 2026 launch date.

Lappartient claims he is open to new investment and funding from Saudi Arabia, but appears to be defending the current WorldTour race calendar and so the status quo, rather than allow One Cycling to shake up the sport and try to change the current business model.

"We welcome any initiative to engage the cycling audience and make our sport more attractive, to bring in additional revenue. Therefore, all investors are welcome. And we welcome our Saudi friends," Lappaertient told Marca last week.

"That said, we also have to respect the UCI rules and the existing races.

"We have to be careful not to give an advantage to a particular race just because it's part of One Cycling. Paris-Roubaix will always be Paris-Roubaix, whether or not it's part of that project."

Documents seen by Cyclingnews and other media suggest that One Cycling and SURJ aim to generate new revenue streams by organising new races and working with existing race organisers, to create the 'One Cycling Global Race Series.'

They also want to monetize fans, sponsors and broadcasters more by looking at every aspect of the sport. The revenue and the $250 million SURJ investment would fund a long-term business plan and be shared with the shareholder teams and organisers that sign-up to the project.  

Visma-Lease a Bike, EF Education-Easypost, Ineos Grenadiers, Soudal-QuickStep, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Lidl-Trek and other major men's and women's teams are said to be ready to sign up to become shareholders in the One Cycling management company, with race organisers Flanders Classics and perhaps Giro d'Italia organiser RCS Sport also ready to be part of the project but have always refused to answer questions from Cyclingnews.  

A number of teams are against or not convinced by the One Cycling project, with UAE Team Emirates-XRG sitting on the fence. Tour de France organiser ASO is firmly against One Cycling as it could undermine their dominance of the sport and the significant profits the Tour de France generates.

Those involved in One Cycling refuse to reveal details of the project, citing non-disclosure agreements, but the next ten days could determine whether One Cycling launches in 2026 and whether it will achieve its goals.

The UCI Professional Council will hold an important meeting on Wednesday, with the 18 members from the sports' different stakeholders voting on the WorldTour race licences for 2026-2028. Their decision will then be ratified by the UCI Management Committee meeting in Arzon, France, between June 10 and 11.  

Cyclingnews understands that One Cycling will also make a presentation to the PCC, after a series of informal presentations to cycling stakeholders failed to reveal details of the project.

Some stakeholders are becoming frustrated with One Cycling and their reticence to fully reveal their plans. The UCI have reportedly created its own working group to study similar reforms that involve all of the sport, including Tour de France organiser ASO, rather than a select few.

Jayco-AlUla team owner Gerry Ryan is said to be against the One Cycling project, with a source recently telling Cyclingnews that Q36.5 billionaire team owner Ivan Glasenberg is "200% against the One Cycling business model."

Glasenberg owns ProTeam, the Q26.5 clothing brand and Pinarello bikes and is apparently becoming more involved in the governance of professional cycling. He could become a thorn in the side of those driving the One Cycling project.    

'We must all build together, not just by a few' - David Lappartient

Key leaders of the One Cycling project met in Rome on Monday after the Giro d'Italia, apparently to finalise their strategy before their key presentation to the UCI Professional Cycling Council on Wednesday.  

One Cycling reportedly wants to create at least three or four new races for 2026 and work with existing race organisers to create the One Cycling Global Race Series.

The UCI have previously stated that WorldTour races for 2026-2228 would be assessed on the basis of their "strategic fit into the calendar based on the number of events and race days per country, before evaluation of their commercial value, sporting interest and compliance with UCI regulations and directives."

According to documents seen by Chris Marshall Bell and Escape Collective, the One Cycling Global Race Series would include ten existing European races and begin with a race in Australia in January, followed by others in the Middle East or Asia in February. Escape Collective suggested the UAE Tour and the Tour of Guangxi in China could become part of the One Cycling series.

A final race and gala event would be held in Saudi Arabia in late October. There have been reports of new races in North and South America, but little is known about who would organise the races or when they could be held.  

The UCI approves all race dates and usually issues three-year WorldTour race licences. The current WorldTour calendars are already packed with races, leaving little room for the new One Cycling races on key dates of the season.

The UCI could even refuse to grant the new One Cycling races WorldTour status because of a lack of information on the wider project.

Lappartient said as much in his interview with Marca after confirming some initial red lines at the Tour Down Under.

"The red line is that we don’t want to have a breakaway league, we don’t want to have a private league, and we want to make sure that we respect races like the Tour Down Under that are here for years, " Lappartient said in January.

"We know that the economic model of cycling can be improved. We know that the power of cycling can be bigger than this, but we also want the discussions to be under the umbrella of the UCI."  

We need to know exactly what the One Cycling project is all about," Marca reported Lappartient as saying last week.  

"We need to understand more about the (One Cycling) economic model because that way we can evolve. It's clear they have to contribute something to the stakeholders, the cyclists, the organizers. Not just destabilize what we have already, to create a potential new model, whose final outcome we can't yet see. We have to be very careful not to jump in this way.

"It's something we must all build together, not just by a few."