'The Loch Ness Monster of cycling' – New details of the One Cycling project revealed by Belgian press

The One Cycling project is back in the news with Het Laatste Nieuws revealing some new details, and a source telling the Flemish newspaper that an announcement could be made before this year's Tour de France. 

Similar announcements have been expected for the last 18 months, but without anything yet materialising, with HLN describing One Cycling as "The Loch Ness Monster of cycling."

Everyone involved in One Cycling has signed Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA), creating a void of detailed information, but the next few months are considered vital to coincide with the next three-year UCI WorldTour race and licence period, which begins in 2026.    

One Cycling is not a breakaway league, but it aims to shake and reform professional cycling, find new revenue streams, and disrupt the status quo in the sport due to the dominance of the Tour de France organiser ASO and cycling's governing body, the UCI. 

In response, the UCI recently said the sport's stakeholders "must be adequately consulted in relation to the One Cycling project, given its implications for all stakeholders and for the calendar as a whole." 

Cyclingnews understands that an initial presentation to the UCI, the AIGCP team association, the AIOCC race organisers association and the CPA riders' Association was held a few weeks ago.

"The red line is that we don’t want to have a breakaway league, we don’t want to have a private league," said UCI President David Lappartient at the start of the 2025 season in Australia.

The Saudi Arabian SURJ Sports Investment fund, which is controlled by the Saudi PIF sovereign wealth fund, has apparently confirmed its involvement and is widely expected to finance One Cycling via a €250 million investment.

According to Het Laatste Nieuws, the SURJ funding will mean the men's teams that sign up to become a shareholder in One Cycling will receive €1 million a year for the next three years, while women's teams will receive €250,000 per annum. 

The funding will reportedly end in 2029, when One Cycling is expected to begin to generate revenue from a variety of sources that monetise racing and the fans. 

HLN reports that a third of SURJ's €250 million investment will only be paid if ASO agrees to join the project. However, ASO has always been against One Cycling, fearing it will undermine its financial and political power.  

Cyclingnews obtained a 150-page document last year that detailed One Cycling’s plans and ambitions. They included having more VIP hospitality areas at races and perhaps even charging fans to see races at specific locations along the route. 

Digital technology and modern marketing techniques would be harnessed to monetise event rights, digital platforms, betting, gamification, merchandising and fan membership.    

Cyclingnews understands that most of the major men's teams are ready to sign up and join the project, with a growing number of women's teams also interested.

Visma-Lease a Bike, EF-Education Easypost, Ineos Grenadiers, Soudal-QuickStep, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Lidl-Trek, Intermarché-Wanty, Bahrain Victorious, Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, Picnic-PostNL, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Movistar are said to be ready to become shareholders in the One Cycling management company. 

Jayco AlUla and French teams Groupama-FDJ, Cofidis and Arkea-B&B Hotels are said to be against the project, with UAE Team Emirates-XRG sitting on the fence, carefully not to anger their Emirati backers or ASO.     

Flanders Classics is the driving force amongst race organisers keen to join One Cycling, while RCS Sport is also still interested but hesitant about making a final decision. Negotiations for SURJ to sponsor the Giro d'Italia maglia rosa have apparently fallen through, with an Italian clothing brand set to be revealed on Wednesday.  

Het Laatste Nieuws suggested that One Cycling could include four new races, with teams carefully directing their biggest riders to clash more often in races that do deals with One Cycling. 

However, under UCI rules for 2026, the WorldTour teams can only choose to skip one WorldTour race per season, rather than a number of the most recently created races, meaning they face an even busier calendar even before new races are created.  

New One Cycling races could include a race in Saudi Arabia that will serve as the closing event to the season, plus new races in Asia and North America. 

The Tour de France is less than three months away, but Het Laatste Nieuws suggested "there was talk of a breakthrough' after a recent key meeting in London. However, no details of the breakthrough have emerged, as talks with the UCI are still ongoing.