Zaaf Cycling Team could be facing a withdrawal of its Continental women's team licence if it has been found to be in breach of the UCI regulations, the sports governing body confirmed to Cyclingnews on Wednesday.
The Spanish-registered team is under investigation and embroiled in controversy after an exodus of riders amid allegations that it has not paid some riders and staff salaries and that it has shown a lack of professionalism.
Ebtissam Zayed Ahmed is the eighth rider to announce that she has left the Zaaf Cycling Team, following Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Lucie Jounier, Mareille Meijering, Elizabeth Stannard, Heidi Franz, Michaela Drummond and Maggie Coles-Lyster.
The Zaaf Cycling team roster now includes only seven riders, which is below the minimum of eight riders that the sport governing body requires for a team to obtain a Continental women's team licence.
"I want to announce that I leave the ZAAF cycling team from today. The current situation made everything quite uncomfortable and it was the right moment to make this choice. I have shared great moments with my teammates and I wish them all the best in the future. I stay positive and I am looking forward to see new opportunities coming," Zayed confirmed on Wednesday.
"This is definitely not what I was expecting for this season but I will stay strong physically and mentally and I will continue to work hard especially for the next track cycling world championship in Glasgow at the beginning of August which is an important step for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Thank you to all the people who support me everywhere and every time."
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 responded.
Several of the departing riders have found new teams, with Cordon-Ragot signing with Human Powered Health just ahead of Paris-Roubaix, Jounier with Team Coop-Hitec and Meijering with Movistar, and Stannard with Israel Premier Tech.
The UCI granted these riders exemptions to register with new teams before the transfer window opens on June 1 due to the extenuating circumstances of their departure from Zaaf.
"The UCI has assessed requests from former members of the Zaaf Cycling Team who have terminated their contract with the team to apply for registration with a new team. These requests have been assessed on a case-by-case basis. So far, several applications have been accepted based on manifest and compelling reasons for the termination of their contracts," the UCI wrote to Cyclingnews on Wednesday.
Zaaf Cycling Team is managed by owner Riad Belatreche, and it began as a club-level team in 2022. Now in its second season, it upgraded to UCI Continental team status, with its service course based in Spain.
It started this season with 15 riders, but now that eight riders have walked away from the team, there are only seven riders remaining. A team of seven riders does not meet the roster requirements for a Continental women's team licence, according to the UCI regulations article 2.17.004.
The requirement states that UCI continental women's team must have minimum of 8 riders and a maximum of 16 riders, with the option to add four riders specialising in other endurance cycling disciplines.
"The UCI issues a reminder that all UCI registered teams must comply with the UCI Regulations and their contractual agreements with their riders at all times. In this regard, the team is currently being monitored by the UCI on a daily basis with the collaboration of the National Federation responsible for the registration of the team and the team itself to ensure that the applicable rules and procedures are complied with," the UCI wrote to Cyclingnews.
"Any breach of the UCI Regulations will be sanctioned according to the provisions therein. Such sanctions could go from a warning to the withdrawal of the team’s registration."
The Spanish Cycling Federation has told Cyclingnews that it is aware of the allegations that have been lodged against the Zaaf Cycling Team, confirming that it has received documentation, which it will utilise to show proof that some of the team's riders and staff have not been paid.
However, under the current regulations, a federation cannot access a bank guarantee for one year from the point that the riders and staff stopped being compensated. The Cyclists' Alliance (TCA), an association that represents the women's peloton, has confirmed to Cyclingnews that they are working with the UCI and the Spanish Cycling Federation to access the bank guarantee funds sooner so that the riders and staff can be compensated.
Zaaf is in its first season with a UCI Continental Team licence and, therefore, supplied the sport governing body with a bank guarantee when they registered for the season.
The bank guarantee is a percentage of a team's budget, and those funds are put into a blocked account that can be used by the federation to protect the riders’ rights and can be utilised if the team does not comply with their obligations.
If the bank guarantee is opened, it could cover up to three months of wages and offers some protection to riders and staff in the event they are not paid. The UCI has stated that the responsibility of drawing on the bank guarantee falls on the Spanish Cycling Federation.
"Regarding the procedure for calling up the bank guarantee, in the case of a UCI Women's Continental Team, this is the responsibility of the National Federation with which the team is registered (Spanish Federation in this case). The UCI is not in a position to comment on this matter," the UCI wrote to Cyclingnews.
The Zaaf Cycling Team has competed in a full range of events this season so far, including many of the top-tier Spring Classics. However, Unipublic has confirmed that the team will not be taking part in the country’s biggest women’s race, La Vuelta Feminina, set to start on May 1. Sources at the race organisation, Unipublic, told Cyclingnews on Wednesday that Zaaf had opted to pull out and will not be substituted.
In addition, the Tour de France Femmes awarded five wildcard invitations to teams AG Insurance-Soudal Quickstep, Coop-Hitec Products, Arkéa, Cofidis and St Michel Mavic-Auber 93.
L'Equipe reported that Zaaf was not invited due to the allegations that it has not paid its riders. "We couldn't condone having a team at the start that didn't pay its girls," race director Marion Rousse told L'Equipe. "It seemed obvious to us not to select it."
The UCI has stated that while Zaaf Cycling Team continues to hold its Continental licence, it is entitled to invitations to race at events.
"The team shall continue to be entitled to invitations from event organisers as long as it is registered as a UCI Women’s Continental Team. The process for the issuance of invitations and, if applicable, their withdrawal by the organiser shall be governed by the relevant rules of the UCI Regulations."
