GCN Show: will this new UCI rule change cycling forever?

This week, the UCI announced its toughest and most extreme rule to date, but we’re fully on board! In an exclusive interview with Cycling Weekly, UCI president David Lappartient has said that he is going to ensure that all WorldTour teams are carbon neutral by 2030, and each team will only be granted their licence if they comply. In the shorter term, the UCI wants all teams to halve their carbon emissions by 2027.

It’s a big step that’s sure to change everything about our sport – anyone who’s been to a WorldTour race can attest that the peloton are accompanied by a great cavalcade of cars, trucks, motorbikes and helicopters. Nonetheless, we think it’s exactly the kind of bold move that we need to make to help the planet. This week on the show, Manon and Si discuss the new rule, whether it could work, and how it could change the sport of cycling.

Also in the news this week:

• In Australia, amateur rider Andrew Kerec has started an epic cross-continental gravel challenge. Andrew is riding from the west coast to the east coast, straight through the middle of Australia, in a ride he estimates will take 65 days, to raise money for spinal injury charity Spinalcure.
• To celebrate the World Championships in Glasgow, the Lidl supermarket in Inverness, Scotland, is offering free bike repairs and servicing.
• Lidl are going all-in on cycling. This week, the kit for the new Lidl-Trek WorldTour team was announced, and we think it’s a winner.

Hack/Bodge of the week

On the channel this week

• How to fit and get your cleats in the right place
• Weird things you didn’t know about the Tour de France
• What do pros have on their bike computers?
• Can a mountain biker keep up in a road race?
• Can we survive a Mathieu van der Poel training session?