{"id":76464,"date":"2025-08-17T13:51:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T13:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/76464\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T13:51:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T13:51:10","slug":"vaughters-critical-of-uci-over-romandie-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/76464\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaughters Critical of UCI over Romandie Dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"

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EF Education-EasyPost CEO Jonathan Vaughters<\/a> has expressed frustration with the UCI<\/a>\u2019s treatment of teams at the Tour de Romandie F\u00e9minin<\/a> and also in the sport in general, saying that he believes the governing body is not acting correctly in how it is interacting with riders and squads.<\/p>\n

On Friday five teams were blocked from starting in Romandie<\/a>, with Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto, Lidl \u2013Trek, Team Picnic PostNL, Team Visma Lease a Bike and EF Education \u2013 Oatly all told they could not line out.<\/p>\n

A UCI statement said that those teams \u201crefused to comply with the rules for the race related to the implementation of GPS trackers as a test for a new safety system.\u201d<\/p>\n

One rider per team was to use a tracking device during the race, with the UCI requiring each of the squads to nominate the competitor concerned.<\/p>\n

Also read: UCI Disqualifies 5 Big Teams from Tour de Romandie F\u00e9minin in GPS Tracker Dispute<\/p>\n

The five excluded teams declined to do so; Vaughters explained the context to Velo, expressed surprise at the outcome, and elaborated on a much wider level of frustration he said the teams have with the UCI.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a bit of a case of \u2018hey guys, can you ask us first about what might be a good place to start before just imposing this upon us?,\u2019\u201d he told Velo in a long call on Friday. \u201c\u2018And could you allow us to have a little bit more of a voice in what are the real core problems with safety in the sport?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo then it comes down to this. We didn\u2019t actually refuse. We didn\u2019t refuse these devices. To be really clear, not one of these teams refused the devices.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we said is, is, \u2018this is your idea. This is not our idea. This is your mandate. This is not our collaborative effort. So if you want to do the devices, you got to choose which rider you\u2019re going to put it on, and you got to tell us, and you got to put it on the bike.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a line in the sand\u2019
\n\"JonathanJonathan Vaughters told Velo about his frustration with the latest clash between teams and the UCI. (Photo: EF Education-EasyPost)<\/p>\n

GPS trackers became a major topic in the sport at last year\u2019s world road race championships. The young Swiss rider Muriel Furrer<\/a> crashed in the junior women\u2019s road race, went off the road and lay undiscovered for more than an hour in a woodland. She tragically died from her injuries.<\/p>\n

The UCI stated on Friday that the introduction of trackers was intended to boost safety in the sport. Vaughters gets that, but said that the way things were carried out in Romandie was disrespectful.<\/p>\n

On the surface, it may not seem like a massive issue. Some will wonder how difficult it would be for teams to just pick a rider to use the tracker, and to use the device in a short three-day event.<\/p>\n

But Vaughters sees it differently. For EF Education-Oatly, the women\u2019s team connected to the EF Education-EasyPost he manages, and for the other disqualified squads, he indicated the Romandie standoff is just the latest in a long line of tensions with the UCI.<\/p>\n

This impasse is, essentially, where all the frustrations finally came to a peak.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a line in the sand. I don\u2019t love that this is like the line in the sand that it had to be,\u201d Vaughters told Velo. \u201cI don\u2019t love that. I would have rather seen our girls race. In fact, I think we could have won this race, quite frankly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m bummed and I\u2019m really upset for riders like Noemi R\u00fcegg, who\u2019s former Swiss champion, who really wanted to win this race, who was super motivated by it, who the organization was super happy that she was there. It\u2019s a real pity. I didn\u2019t want her to be disqualified.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact he said he was taken aback by the outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of those \u2018truth is stranger than fiction\u2019 moments. Personally, up until like 10 minutes before the start, I\u2019m like, \u2018no, they\u2019re not going to prevent you from starting. This is ridiculous.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly just didn\u2019t believe that. I was like, \u2018no, they\u2019ll just choose one of the riders and put it on the bike.\u2019 And they didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018There is a long-standing tension\u2019
\n\"TeamJonas Vingegaard was one of the riders held up by a crash during stage 15 of this year\u2019s Tour de France (Photo: Loic Venance \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen how things will pan out from here. Friday\u2019s press release from the UCI appeared to threaten possible further consequences, saying that it \u201cshall consider if other measures are warranted in accordance with the UCI Regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

That won\u2019t go down well with the teams concerned who, according to Vaughters, have been feeling frustration for a long time. He insists what happened this week isn\u2019t an isolated incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about long-standing tension between the UCI and what I\u2019ll call teams that feel a little bit more strongly about their rights and more strongly about their entrepreneurial possibilities in the world,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn about the last year, there are a certain group of teams that haven\u2019t felt like we\u2019ve been really strongly represented in the legislation of the UCI. That\u2019s unfortunate, and we\u2019ll probably need to try to make some changes there in who and what our representation is.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what are some of the points of tension with the UCI?<\/p>\n

According to Vaughters, it comes down to what he sees as a lack of respect for riders and teams. He feels the UCI is quick to appropriate blame but not to accept it.<\/p>\n

He cites safety as a major concern and gives a specific example\u2014stage 15 of the Tour de France\u2014to support his argument.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the day of the massive crash where Poga\u010dar waited for Vingegaard. There was a massive rock pile in the middle of the road, embedded rocks as sort of decorative feature for the town that we were in,\u201d he explained. \u201cThere was a 90 degree corner, we come around it, and it was completely unmarked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no hay bale, there was no policeman, there was no warning, there was nothing. It was just bam, a bunch of riders into a rock pile.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very lucky that it didn\u2019t cause a much worse crash. You could kind of tell that the commissaires and the race organization felt bad about it, because they let the second group blatantly motor pace back through the caravan without any sort of consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were like, \u2018oops, we shouldn\u2019t have done that, we shouldn\u2019t have had the rock pile in the middle of the road.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this is an example of the basics of safety not being addressed. And instead, we\u2019re chasing these other things\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have the regulations that came out about handlebars and the regulations that have come out about socks, and the regulations have come out of gear restrictions and the regulations that came out about whatever else \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThe basic feeling, I think, is that while the teams and the athletes obviously want the safest environment for racing possible, that until the core basic things are fixed, the rest of it is a little bit of a facade.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Vaughters\u2019 point of view, he sees a lot of what is being proposed for safety as one sided. Measures about handlebar width and gear size are, he feels, implying riders are at fault for crashes, while at the same time he contends that the UCI and organizers are not doing enough to guarantee safe courses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the responsibility is being totally put on the riders. And I think that\u2019s totally unfair,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s really, really, really, fundamentally unfair.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if I were president of the AIGCP, I would be losing my mind over the unfairness of these proposed regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about rider data rights?
\n\"WINTERTHUR,The riders observe a minute\u2019s silence for Muriel Furrer at last year\u2019s world road championships (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The GPS tracker dispute is, from Vaughters\u2019 point of view, a line in the sand. He sees the introduction of the proposed new UCI system\u2014which, according to the governing body, has been developed with its timing partner \u201cSwiss Timing\u2014as an imposition, in terms of how it has been rolled out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a lack of respect,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that he doesn\u2019t see the argument for GPS trackers. He describes Furrer\u2019s death in last year\u2019s world championships as \u2018horrible,\u2019 and said that what happened to her is the reason why the teams didn\u2019t outright refuse to use the UCI\u2019s version of trackers.<\/p>\n

His problem is, he insists, with how it was imposed. Specifically, the UCI\u2019s refusal to accept the teams\u2019 request that it pick the riders to use the tracker, and assuming responsibility for the devices.<\/p>\n

But what was notable about the UCI\u2019s press release on Friday was a very pointed reference to a venture established over a decade ago by several of the squads in the men\u2019s peloton.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be noted that most of these teams are part of the Velon<\/a> organization which is the owner of its own data transmission system and is working on the development of its own GPS tracking system,\u201d the UCI said in that statement.<\/p>\n

What the governing body didn\u2019t mention is that the Velon system was already successfully trialed in the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Tour de Suisse back in June. Velo understands that ever rider on every team used the devices. Many big names gave a thumbs up afterwards.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

So, are rider data rights an element in this dispute?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s certainly a factor worth considering.<\/p>\n

\u2018Is the UCI trying to commercialize tracking?\u2019
\n\"VelonVelon has been in existence for over a decade, and has been sharing live rider data as well as stats post race. (Photo: Velon)<\/p>\n

Vaughters\u2019 team is a member of the Velon venture, which was established in 2014 with the aim of helping teams achieve greater stability. It previous ran the Hammer Series of races, which were blocked by the UCI and led to a lawsuit being taken by the teams.<\/p>\n

It has also featured live broadcasts of rider data for several years, starting at the 2016 Tour de Suisse.<\/p>\n

With the UCI stating on Friday that \u201cbroader implementation of this technology is envisaged for coming seasons,\u201d does Vaughters consider that this system could overlap with what Velon does, or the licensing of rider data rights in general?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I mean it very well could,\u201d he answered. \u201cAnd then you get into a whole different thing where it\u2019s like, well, is this another one of the entrepreneurial rights of the teams being stripped away? Or the better way to put it, is the UCI trying to commercialize tracking for its own financial benefit?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know whether the UCI is trying to commercialize tracking for its own benefit. Obviously, right now the PR shtick is that it\u2019s for safety only. What the long term aims of it are, only they are going to be able to tell you that. I don\u2019t know that.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what I do know is that there are very few things that teams have any sort of rights to. Any other professional sport in the world, teams have media rights, revenue, blah, blah, blah, right? Well, in cycling, we don\u2019t. We just don\u2019t have any of that. We\u2019re forced into a business model where you have to sustain yourself on sponsorship. And that is just the way it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, he insists that the Romandie dispute was about how the teams were treated there, particularly after previous tensions in the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course it would be great if we could find something that we have just a steady revenue source coming in from,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the major issue here. I mean, Velon has never made me any money. It\u2019s a nice self-sustaining platform, and it adds to our media platform for the teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the number of dollars that have come my way from Velon starts with a zero and ends with a zero. So it\u2019s theoretical as to whether or not that that ever would be a possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Velo reached out to Velon representatives on Friday but hasn\u2019t yet received an official response.<\/p>\n

UCI \u2018not taking core responsibility for safety\u2019
\n\"GiroRiders speak with officials after a massive crash at the Giro. (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

GPS trackers seem destined to have a regular part in races of the future. The deaths of Furrer and others are huge losses and if incorporating such devices enhances rider safety, then they will almost certainly be rolled out across multiple events.<\/p>\n

But questions remain for the UCI and also for the teams. Why is the governing body rolling out its own system, and imposing it on the riders? Will it gain commercially from that? Could teams gain commercially if the system is instead done through ventures such as Velon? Are they not entitled to the licensing of their own data, particularly if that increases financial stability in what is an unpredictable environment?<\/p>\n

Finally, is there room for a compromise agreement?<\/p>\n

From Vaughters\u2019 perspective, he insists there is a bigger issue than ventures such as Velon and the rights to the usage of rider data. He argues the UCI and organizers need to take their own responsibility in relation to race safety rather than passing the buck onto riders and the equipment they use.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, the major part of my decision making on being a part of this group had more to do with just this consistent drum roll of what I would call regulations that are aimed at the teams and the riders, and not really taking the core responsibility for what I believe the bigger problems are in safety. That\u2019s my core reason for taking this moment to stand up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a protest. This is not a rebellion,\u201d he said, referring specifically to the tracker standoff this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just like, \u2018well, it\u2019s your idea. It\u2019s your mandate. We don\u2019t agree with it, but you\u2019re the boss, so put it on the bikes.\u2019 And that was refused.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote, a.btn, a.o-button”} }”> EF Education-EasyPost CEO Jonathan Vaughters…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76465,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,46732,231,46733,38823,82,46181,15646,46734],"class_list":["post-76464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-david-lappartient","tag-gps","tag-jonathan-vaughters","tag-muriel-furrer","tag-sports","tag-tour-de-romandie-feminin","tag-uci","tag-velon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}