UCI trying to get top riders in more races

Procycling.com | Protour plans may exclude Armstrong from cycling

The Protour is a new UCI creation, and the latest stories on its creation suggest organizers are trying to find a way to compel top riders to ride more of the Protour events.

When the Protour (ProTour?) was announced last year, one aspect that got a lot of attention was the proposed requirement that each team would be required to field a team in each event.

If this new story is correct, the UCI wants to go even beyond that to force top riders to show for all ProTour events, which would drastically change the in-season training for team leaders like Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, and others.

Quoting the UCI's Professional Cycling Manager, Alain Rumpf:

"The representatives of teams, riders and organisers all agree that our sport would benefit from increased participation of the top athletes in the top races."

Also:

cycling4all | News of the ProTour 2005