La Vuelta 2022: Relegation debate is 'going to rage' – so is it fair as Covid rips through cycling?

Updated 31/08/2022 at 15:11 GMT

With teams scrambling for points and Covid derailing even the most watertight plans, one debate is raging in cycling: are the WorldTour relegation rules fair? Tao Geoghegan Hart is among a growing voice of naysayers, with the 2020 Giro champion saying it “just doesn’t seem right”. Lotto Soudal and Israel-Premier Tech are currently staring at the drop from World Tour in the triennium ranking.

'Just doesn’t seem right' – Should cycling persist with relegation despite Covid disruption?

The relegation debate is going to rage "on and on” as Covid impacts the scrap for points as teams battle to secure their WorldTour status, says Eurosport expert Dan Lloyd.

The top 18 teams with the most UCI points in the three seasons between 2020-2022 will earn their WorldTour licence for the next triennium from 2023-2025.

Lotto Soudal and Israel-Premier Tech are the two WorldTour teams currently staring at the drop, with Movistar and BikeExchange-Jayco at serious risk of being dragged in. That could mean the likes of Caleb Ewan and Chris Froome unable to compete in cycling’s biggest races, although the wildcard system may prevent that.

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But the spectre of Covid is causing some to question the legitimacy of the relegation battle.

BikeExchange-Jayco are suddenly sweating after star rider Simon Yates exited La Vuelta with the virus on Wednesday – a huge blow for the team given he was set for a haul of UCI points having sat fifth in the general classification. Meanwhile, relegation rivals Movistar currently have Enric Mas on the podium after 10 stages.

In a tweet that has since been deleted, Ineos star Tao Geoghegan Hart slammed the rules given the current climate and called for “solidarity between all riders and teams”.

Covid withdrawals 'could end up being disastrous' at Vuelta

"How can have a relegation system, risking the future of decade old teams, during these unprecedented times of sickness," the 2020 Giro d’Italia champion wrote.

"Sport is not fair, granted. But this just doesn’t seem right, not now and not like this. I would like to see solidarity between all riders, of all teams."

In total, 21 riders have abandoned La Vuelta with Covid – 11.5% of the peloton.

However not everyone agrees with Geoghegan Hart. Uno-X chief Vegar Kulset, who is hoping to guide his team to a WorldTour licence in future, was among those to hit back.

“Imagine a Premier League club that, at the end of the season and close to relegation, complains the due to injuries and Covid, the relegation system is unfair,” Kulset wrote on social media.

“And the final argument – we are an old club and do not deserve this.”

With the end of the three-year ranking cycle looming, teams are frantically hunting around for points.

It has prompted a change in approach from some teams. EF Education-EasyPost, also at risk of being sucked into the drop zone, have revealed they are aiming to pack the general classification at La Vuelta, rather than focus on one rider for a podium push and risk leaving the race with nothing.

The impact is also being felt further down the sporting ladder, with smaller teams missing out on invites to races as the bigger teams lock down entry lists in the scramble for points.

Unfortunately, Lloyd concedes that there is no obvious way to solve the debate fairly.

“There is complete validity to both sides of the argument,” he said on The Breakaway.

“Any team that is maybe going down could point to certain factors where it was quite unfair on them. BikeExchange didn’t have the Australian races for example, that’s something a lot of people are talking about.

“But the teams that have applied for the World Tour licence – Alpecin-Deceuninck and Arkea-Samsic – it would be completely unfair on them as well if they’re expecting to be able to get that World Tour licence and all of a sudden things change towards the end of the year.

“This is a debate that’s going to rage on and on, right through to the end of the season and past it into the winter months.”

ProTeams Alpecin-Deceuninck and Arkea-Samsic are set to earn WorldTour honours for next season after starring roles as wildcards.

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