Women's calendar as a role model: Lappartient wants "evolution" of the World Tour

In an interview with the Belgian daily newspaper Het Nieuwsblad renewed Lappartient his ideas, which he had already outlined last autumn. Key points in favour of adjustments to the World Tour calendar are climate change, the carbon footprint of cycling, improved clarity of the sport and, of course, financial improvements.

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At the end of the 2025 season, the licences of all organisers for their World Tour races will expire, which is the perfect time for the UCI to implement its changes. Nevertheless, Lappartient is aware that he cannot throw everything overboard. "I am the first to know that the Tour de France will always take place in July. Just like the classics in spring or autumn. At the moment, I see no reason to touch the Belgian April classics." The Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix should continue to be ridden one after the other - "because it's better for the riders, that has to be respected."

Cycling evolution instead of revolution - women's calendar as a role model

"A change must be an improvement," continues Lappartient. That's why he doesn't want to talk about a revolution, but rather an evolution." He sees this potential for improvement above all in the distribution of the current races in the World Tour calendar. Overlaps, such as those that currently exist between the UAE Tour and the Omloop Het Niewusblad, Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico, the Tour of Catalonia and the Belgian one-day races Brugge-De Panne, Gent-Wevelgem and the E3 Prize, as well as between the Tour of Poland and the Vuelta a Espana, should be a thing of the past.

Just like in the Women's World Tour calendar. "When we launched the WWT in 2016, we told ourselves right from the start that we didn't want any overlaps." There would have been plenty of opportunities, there were plenty of applications. "But we have always stuck to our principle. In the interests of the teams, the spectators and clarity." However, the 50-year-old realises that the conditions were different. "We started with a blank sheet there. It's much more difficult with the men because they can look back on 130 years of history."

Lappartient wants to go to South America and Africa - and reduce CO2 emissions

What is also set to change is the focus on the current cycling strongholds. "If we change or expand the World Tour, it won't be about being even stronger in France, Belgium or Italy. There are enough applications from these countries. But I don't believe in a sport that is limited to two or three countries. You have to have a global vision today. It's quite possible that the more classic cycling countries will feel that."

For Lappartient, global in this case means, above all, travelling with the World Tour to South America, ideally in February, where the World Tour has so far only been sparsely represented. "There are already races in Colombia and cycling is incredibly popular. But there is still room in Asia and even in Europe. Denmark is a real cycling country. But it doesn't have any top races at the moment." At first glance, however, the expansion of the sport out of its core area seems to thwart other plans. After all, Lappartient also talks about climate change and CO2 emissions.

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"We need to reduce our carbon footprint. We live in a new world. Cycling should not ignore this fact. Sometimes I see the peloton moving from Europe to another continent and then coming back to Europe just to travel to another continent again. Or how smart is it to ride in Europe first in Belgium, then Spain and then Belgium again before travelling to Italy? We have promised to reduce our carbon footprint by half by 2030. That's important for our sponsors."

One Cycling - no, Arabia - yes

What Lappartient does not want to change, however, is the relatively long winter break between October and January compared to other sports. "The riders need to be able to rest," says the UCI boss. "And I don't want to stand in the way of track cycling and cyclo-cross."

What the Frenchman also does not think makes sense is the idea of a Super League, as envisaged by Richard Plugge, the Arab Project One Cycling or compare it to Formula 1, where all the top stars race against each other more often and thus supposedly make it more attractive. "Maybe I'm wrong, but will more people watch Paris-Roubaix if Vingegaard starts and is already two minutes behind on the first cobbled section? I highly doubt it," said Lappartient. "Imagine if he crashes on the cobbles and can't compete in the Tour. Then the Tour becomes even less interesting." Forcing riders to compete in certain races is not the right approach, he said. "Quite apart from the realisation that there are simply very few riders who can win everywhere. Merckx could do it, Hinault could do it and Pogacar can do it. But that's it. Cycling is not Formula 1, where every track is suitable for every rider. Not in cycling."

In principle, however, the UCI "wants to support every initiative that aims to improve the financial situation of professional cycling. But I will always insist on the leading role of the UCI to move the sport forward together." Where does the money come from? Apparently of secondary importance. "Sport is not politics," Lappartient dismissed the reference to sportswashing in Saudi Arabia. "What I see above all is that Saudi Arabia wants to play a leading role in the sports industry, with a strong focus on sports that appeal to a large and young audience. For me, this is an opportunity to promote cycling in this part of the world and it will help us to move forward as a sport internationally again."