{"id":124082,"date":"2026-06-28T16:51:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T16:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/28\/uci-boss-wants-smaller-teams-budget-caps-to-end-tour-domination\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T16:51:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T16:51:34","slug":"uci-boss-wants-smaller-teams-budget-caps-to-end-tour-domination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/28\/uci-boss-wants-smaller-teams-budget-caps-to-end-tour-domination\/","title":{"rendered":"UCI Boss Wants Smaller Teams, Budget Caps to End Tour Domination"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"justify-start\">\n<nav class=\"align-left col-span-full mb-base\" data-pom-e2e-test-id=\"breadcrumbs\"\/>\n<p>David Lappartient proposes steps to make races like the Tour far more suspenseful. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"border-border-light border-t py-base-tight\">\n<div class=\"flex h-4 justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-x-base-tight\">\n<div class=\"\"><button class=\"inline-flex shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full hover:cursor-pointer bg-bg-surface hover:bg-bg-light focus:bg-bg-dark text-primary border border-solid border-border-light aria-pressed:bg-brand-primary aria-pressed:text-text-surface py-very-tight px-base-tight gap-tight font-semibold font-utility-2 opacity-50\" aria-label=\"Loading audio\" aria-pressed=\"false\" id=\"article-listen-button\" disabled=\"\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" viewbox=\"0 0 18 18\" fill=\"none\" class=\"\"><title>Listen to this article<\/title><path d=\"M12.5265 16.2C12.2326 16.2 12.0122 16.1265 11.7184 16.053C11.2775 15.9061 10.9102 15.6122 10.6898 15.2449C10.4694 14.8775 10.3959 14.4367 10.5428 13.9959L11.5714 10.3959C11.6449 10.1755 11.7184 9.95509 11.8653 9.80815C12.0122 9.66121 12.1592 9.51427 12.3796 9.36733C12.6 9.29386 12.8204 9.2204 13.0408 9.14693C13.2612 9.14693 13.4816 9.14693 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10.249H4.37142C3.9306 10.3959 3.63672 10.6898 3.41631 11.0571C3.26938 11.351 3.19591 11.7184 3.26938 12.0857C3.34285 12.3061 3.34284 12.5265 3.41631 12.6735L3.71019 13.849ZM13.2612 10.3224C13.1877 10.3224 13.1877 10.3224 13.2612 10.3224C13.1143 10.3224 13.0408 10.3224 12.9673 10.3959C12.8939 10.4694 12.8204 10.4694 12.8204 10.4694C12.7469 10.5428 12.7469 10.6163 12.7469 10.6898L11.7184 14.2898C11.6449 14.4367 11.7184 14.5837 11.7918 14.7306C11.8653 14.8775 12.0122 14.951 12.0857 15.0245C12.3796 15.0979 12.5265 15.0979 12.7469 15.0979C12.9673 15.0979 13.1877 15.0245 13.3347 14.8775C13.5551 14.8041 13.702 14.6571 13.849 14.4367C13.9959 14.2898 14.0694 14.0694 14.1428 13.849L14.5102 12.6735C14.5837 12.5265 14.5837 12.3061 14.6571 12.1592C14.7306 11.7918 14.6571 11.4245 14.5102 11.1306C14.2898 10.7633 13.9959 10.4694 13.5551 10.3224H13.4816C13.3347 10.3224 13.2612 10.3224 13.2612 10.3224Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"hidden sm:inline\">Listen<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\">Tadej Pogacar and his UAE Emirates-XRG Team at the Tour de Suisse  (Photo: Pascal von B\u00fcren\/Eurasia Sport Images\/Getty Images)<!-- --> (Photo: Eurasia Sport Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published June 28, 2026 10:51AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Many of the very best editions of the <a target=\"_self\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/tag\/tour-de-france\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Tour de France<\/a> have been completely unpredictable; nothing kills the suspense like a dominant rider with a dominant team. For drama, think 1987. Think 1989. Think 2011.<\/p>\n<p>Viewers want the final outcome to be up in the air as long as possible, keeping the mystery going well into the third week.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s <a target=\"_self\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/tag\/uae-emirates-xrg\/\" rel=\"noopener\">UAE Emirates-XRG<\/a> and Jonas Vinegaard\u2019s Visma-Lease a Bike have been the predominant teams in the years their leaders won the race. Before them it was Team Sky during the Bradley Wiggins\/Chris Froome\/Geraint Thomas\/Egan Bernal era.<\/p>\n<p>The growth of other super teams should in theory help. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Lidl-Trek and Decathlon CMA CGM have all seen their budgets soar in recent years but, heading into this year\u2019s Tour de France, Poga\u010dar\u2019s UAE squad could be shaping up to dominate the race again.<\/p>\n<p>The Slovenian is the race favorite, Isaac Del Toro won the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes and is growing stronger and stronger, and they will be backed by an array of powerful teammates.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_self\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/tag\/uci\/\" rel=\"noopener\">UCI<\/a> president <a target=\"_self\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/tag\/david-lappartient\/\" rel=\"noopener\">David Lappartient<\/a> doesn\u2019t single out it or any other team specifically but is concerned by super squads having a stranglehold on the race.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s why he suggests a significant rethink on the composition of the Tour lineup.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs it really wise to limit the number of teams in the Tour de France to 22 or 23, each with eight riders?\u201d he asked in an interview <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurosport.it\/ciclismo\/david-lappartient-il-ciclismo-diventa-insostenibile-senza-budget-cap.-tour-de-france-vorrei-cambiare-il-numero-di-ciclisti-per-squadra_sto23313345\/story.shtml\">with Discovery<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat way, the strongest teams manage to completely dominate a 3,500-kilometer race.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His suggestion? Make it much more difficult for one or more mega-squads to monopolize the action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith 25 teams of six riders each, the race becomes less predictable and decidedly more spectacular.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Stopping a skew towards super squads<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_990445\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img alt=\"David Lappartient with Marion Rousse, race director of the Tour de France Femmes. The women's racing scene has become more balanced than when it was dominated by SD Worx-Protime (Photo: Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1649\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-990445\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2227357318.jpg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x\" src=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2227357318.jpg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">David Lappartient with Marion Rousse, race director of the Tour de France Femmes. The women\u2019s racing scene has become more balanced than when it was dominated by SD Worx-Protime (Photo: Szymon Gruchalski\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Lappartient\u2019s argument has been made before by others and, indeed, was one of the reasons why teams went from nine to eight riders in grand tours.<\/p>\n<p>Cutting that number again would almost certainly have an effect, forcing the top names to have an increasing reliance on strategy rather than brute force, and to perhaps also delay any bid to seize the maillot jaune.<\/p>\n<p>But Lappartient doesn\u2019t want to stop there. The giant teams have huge budgets, enabling them to secure the services of both the star riders and also domestiques that could otherwise be leaders on other squads.<\/p>\n<p>That was one argument why Team Sky was so dominant ten or more years ago.<\/p>\n<p>The UCI president has argued before for salary caps and does so once again,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo keep the sport attractive and balanced, it\u2019s essential to prevent the best riders from all ending up on the same team,\u201d said Lappartient.<\/p>\n<h2>Is the time now right?<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_990444\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img alt=\"David Lappartient and Tadej Pogacar at the 2024 world road championships (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1684\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-990444\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2175480533.jpg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x\" src=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2175480533.jpg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">David Lappartient and Tadej Pogacar at the 2024 world road championships (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The idea of salary caps is not a new one.<\/p>\n<p>Lappartient and the UCI already tried to introduce such a measure in the past, but he revealed last November that it had been rejected. Now he hopes to reopen such discussions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe budget cap system was ready for implementation, but at the time the teams spoke out against it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were very surprised that it was precisely the smaller teams that voted against it. Without a budget cap, the richest teams will continue to increase their revenues, making it even harder for smaller teams to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By way of example he pointed to the Ark\u00e9a-B&amp;B Hotels team. He said he spoke to the president of the Ark\u00e9a company, who had to keep putting in more money year after year, only to see the results dwindle.<\/p>\n<p>That company withdrew its sponsorship and the team stopped.<\/p>\n<p>With other squads still needing to spend more and more just to keep up, he is hoping that the sentiment in the sport is better positioned now to accept such a cap.<\/p>\n<p>If so, he believes the previous efforts will make things easier to pursue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough the final mechanism still needs to be defined, the work done two years ago provides an excellent foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Could it happen? Would it work?<\/p>\n<p>Another Tour dominance by UAE Emirates-XRG and the mood may finally be right to radically reinvent the sport.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><span hidden=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/tour-de-france\/smaller-teams-budget-caps-tour-de-france\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>David Lappartient proposes steps to make races like the Tour far more suspenseful. Listen to this articleListen Tadej Pogacar and his UAE Emirates-XRG Team at the Tour de Suisse (Photo: Pascal von B\u00fcren\/Eurasia Sport Images\/Getty Images) (Photo: Eurasia Sport Images) Published June 28, 2026 10:51AM Many of the very best editions of the Tour de [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}