UCI's 'Future of Cycling' report proposes transfer windows, budget caps and drones
The Union Cycliste Internationale published a report titled "Future of Cycling" on 25 September 2026 proposing transfer windows, team budget caps and drones to replace convoy vehicles as part of measures to boost road cycling.
The report, which examined road cycling, drew on input from 55 stakeholders including professional teams, national federations, race organisers and some riders and set out aims to broaden the sport's appeal, notably by trying to turn a "large but passive audience into active, loyal fandom" and addressing an "under-represented" under-35 audience and the need to "strengthen its appeal". "While the sport today enjoys strong and growing popularity across five continents, its media exposure and the revenue it generates for its stakeholders do not yet fully reflect its potential," it said.
Among the most frequently referenced recommendations were a more coherent race calendar based on geography with fewer overlaps; more predictable rider participation in races alongside transfer windows and fees; simplifying the ranking and category system; a stronger second division with clearer pathways; continued growth of women's cycling; and a financial fairness mechanism, such as a budget cap on teams.
The combined total budget of professional UCI tour teams in 2025 was £731m (850m euros), but individual team budgets vary. The report said long-discussed budget caps, aimed at evening out the peloton and increasing "financial fairness", would improve the attractiveness of the sport for investors, but it admitted any such mechanism remains the biggest point of difference for stakeholders and would be at the heart of upcoming discussions.
One of the report's main pillars was safety; its publication came a month after the death of Welsh teenager Finlay Tarling who was in collision with a non-race vehicle at the Volta a Portugal. The UCI said it had seen wide support for stricter, evidence-based course-design, minimum standards for barriers and protective infrastructure around climbs and descents, with several contributors calling for greater use of circuit-style finishes.
The report recommended reviewing the number of convoy vehicles – especially motorbikes – and greater use of drones, and it noted near-universal backing for GPS tracking and some interest in features such as brake lights. UCI president David Lappartient said road cycling was "experiencing unprecedented growth".
The riders' union, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associes (CPA), has been approached for comment. Disgraceful nothing has changed after Tarling death - Brennan
Meanwhile, the UCI said work on a new transfer system and rider-agent regulation was already under way. David Lappartient added: "That success comes with responsibilities. "The first of these responsibilities is safety. It is not negotiable, and it will move forward at an even faster pace than the other parts of the reform."