UCI makes sweeping changes for 2027, including updating safety measures, the calendar, and points system

In road cycling, one notable change is that, starting next season, riders will also be able to earn UCI points for their road teams during major competitions in other disciplines. These include World Championships and World Cups in cyclocross, track cycling, and mountain biking, as well as the Gravel World Championships.

The Professional Cycling Council also agreed in principle to a special leader's jersey for so-called National Tours, although the final terms and conditions must still be approved on December 8. The press release does not yet make it entirely clear what is meant by "National Tours."

There were a host of calendar changes, including the women’s Vuelta a España being held immediately after the men’s edition in October. And safety was, understandably, a crucial topic. Starting in 2027, WorldTour and Women’s WorldTour races must use crowd barriers that comply with new UCI standards in the final 200 meters before the finish line.

The introduction of GPS trackers is also now being taken very seriously. Following all the accidents in cycling, the UCI wants to roll out the use of trackers as quickly as possible across all professional road races, so that the positions of riders and vehicles can be tracked live during races.

The system was already used at the 2025 World Championships in Kigali and is also being used during the current World Championships in Montreal.

Since March of this year, the UCI has also been actively investigating crashes in the WorldTour. Some conclusions have already been drawn, but the cycling federation wants to continue investigating trends in crashes before taking further measures in the future.

A Technical Committee will be tasked with overseeing the regulations regarding clothing, protective gear, and bicycle equipment.

With such a commission, the UCI appears to want to give commercial teams and their sponsors a greater say in determining the limits of what is allowed. The question is whether this will succeed, given that the UCI recently lost a lawsuit to SRAM when the use of a certain SRAM product was banned in a cycling race.

In the first months of 2027, the current guidelines regarding equipment and technological development in cycling will be subject to critical review.

Any other points of interest? Well, the UCI is bringing back “motor-paced racing” for the 2027 World Championships in Haute-Savoie Mont-Blanc. In this discipline, riders are paced by a motorcycle on the track at speeds of up to 90 kilometers per hour. The last time this event was on the track program was in 1994 in Palermo.

On September 29, most of the international cycling calendar will be announced, including the road races. Finally, to encourage smaller cycling nations to participate in the large-scale 2027 World Championships, there will be a one-month training camp in France.

National federations from emerging cycling nations may send one young man and one young woman to participate, while the UCI will also provide additional financial support for participation in the World Championships.