It was billed as the project to transform cycling, to ensure that the best riders race against each other more often, and allow the teams to depend less on billionaire owners. But One Cycling, the latest project to attempt to wrestle some semblance of control away from the Tour de France organisers ASO, was dealt what could have been a fatal blow earlier this month, when the UCI, cycling’s world governing body, “unanimously” rejected a proposal to include it in the forthcoming WorldTour calendars. That, according to many, was that. Game over. Fin. 

But is that really true?

Unsurprisingly – and very predictably – those behind the project came out (speaking off the record, as they always have done, a fact that has irked many commentators) and put a positive spin on the UCI’s announcement, claiming that they hadn’t asked for the project to be launched in its entirety in 2026, but only requested the inclusion of three new races, the details and locations of which have never been publicly disclosed, but are thought to be in Saudi Arabia, United States and Colombia.

This article was published by Rouleur in June 2025. You can read the full article here.