The Professional Cycling Council (PCC) - the body bringing together the stakeholders of men's and women's professional road cycling - met on 26 March at the headquarters of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in Aigle, Switzerland. Members discussed several important topics concerning men's and women's professional road cycling.
Regarding regulatory changes, all the families represented within the PCC - organisers, teams and riders - had jointly submitted a request that the number of teams participating in the men's Grand Tours (Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and La Vuelta Ciclista a España) be increased to 23 starting this year. Until now, their number has been limited to 22 (the 18 UCI WorldTeams, the two best UCI ProTeams in the UCI World Team Ranking, which benefit from a compulsory invitation, and two UCI ProTeams chosen by each organiser). The request was examined by the PCC today and the proposal was accepted by the majority of its members. It will now be submitted to the UCI Management Committee, which will make a final decision on the matter by 31 March. The other regulatory issues addressed will be decided at the UCI Management Committee meeting in June.
With regard to the calendars, preparatory work for the renewal of the registration of events on the UCI WorldTour and UCI Women's WorldTour calendars for the 2026-2028 period has begun. The procedure will be finalised at the next PCC meeting. The 2026 calendars and the list of events that will appear on the 2027 and 2028 calendars will then be submitted to the UCI Management Committee for approval in June. As part of the registration applications received, the PCC took note of bids for new events within the One Cycling project in respect of which the families expressed their wish for the continuation of the ongoing discussions but with their formal participation and under the authority of the UCI to establish the UCI International Calendar, define its different tiers and allocate events. The members of the PCC underlined that the official representative organisations (AIGCP, AIOCC and CPA) must be implicated in the decision-making process related to the UCI WorldTour and UCI Women’s WorldTour and that they must be adequately consulted in relation to the One Cycling project, given its implications for all stakeholders and for the calendar as a whole.
As part of the support for the development of women's cycling, the members of the PCC voted in favour of an increase in the participation and accommodation allowances granted to women's teams during the 2026-2028 cycle.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to inform members about the progress of the activities of SafeR - the organisation dedicated to safety in men's and women's road cycling, bringing together representatives of all stakeholders in the sector - and to discuss recommendations it has made, including those relating to the potential benefits of modifications to equipment regulations aimed at reducing speeds and improving the position of riders, the adaptation of feeding zone rules, the application of the Protocol for extreme weather conditions at Class 1 races, and the development of detailed guidelines for Regulators. The members of the PCC welcomed the progress made by SafeR in strengthening the safety of men's and women's competitions on the UCI Road International Calendar. The PCC accepted the proposal supported by the organisers, teams and riders to set up a test for gear ratio limitation during a race later in the season, which will therefore be submitted to the UCI Management Committee for approval.
In addition, the key figures for the registration process of UCI professional teams (UCI Women's WorldTeams, UCI WorldTeams, UCI ProTeams and UCI Women's ProTeams) for the 2025 season were presented by PwC, the external auditor appointed by the UCI.
The discussions between the members of the PCC were constructive and demonstrate the commitment of all stakeholders to the development of professional men's and women's road cycling, as well as their constructive collaboration.