‘The more you have, the better it is’ – Why three Continental teams were allowed to skirt UCI regulations and race the UAE Tour

The three Continental Teams permitted to ride in the UAE Tour Women this week were not only present in the breakaways each day, but also won one of the race classifications – even though technically, new rules say they shouldn’t be in the race at all.

Sara Luccon won the intermediate sprints competition despite a regulation change that apparently barred her Top Girls Fassa Bortolo team and other third-division Continental Teams from Women’s WorldTour races.

In the breakaway on the opening day of the race, Luccon had been in the mix for the intermediate sprint black jersey competition all week, but started Sunday’s stage in third place, one point behind leader Franziska Koch (FDJ United-SUEZ) and Sonia Rossetti (Vini Fantini-BePink). With eight points available in the day’s opening sprint, the 20-year-old Italian Luccon headed up the road early, claiming the maximum points at the first sprint.

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Behind her, Koch was thwarted by other riders’ pursuit of the points classification and was unable to pick up enough points to get on terms with Luccon.

Those third-tier teams had been worried about the imposition of the UCI’s new regulations in 2026. Article 2.1.005 excludes them unless fewer than 15 WorldTour and Pro teams are competing. While the UCI’s regulations can sometimes be difficult to navigate, they do not mention a caveat to this regulation.

All 14 WorldTeams accepted their invitation to the UAE Tour Women – squads are now only permitted to skip one WorldTour event per year – as did three ProTeams, but this would have left the race with only 17 squads on the start line, which was something the organisers wanted to avoid.

“To do a race with only 15 teams, especially a WorldTour race, is not nice,” race director Fabrizio D’Amico told Cyclingnews.

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“At the same time, the more you have, the better it is, but in a way that it doesn’t affect the safety of the race. What I am seeing is that there is a different way of racing between the men and women, and it is super important, in my opinion, to have at least 20 teams at the start with six riders for each team to announce the level and the quality of the race.”

While it’s not written in their regulations, in a response to an earlier article, the UCI told Cyclingnews: “Organiser [sic] can always make a request that will be assessed by the UCI, in compliance with UCI Regulations.”

Though it’s an unwritten rule, this gives organisers the chance to bolster their start list, as organisers in the UAE have done.

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“You need to ask if you want to invite a Continental team, so then the choice is based on rankings,” D’Amico added, his response suggesting he had been told of the new exception, though teams weren’t before being invited.

In the end, the race bolstered its numbers by inviting three Continental Teams, Top Girls Fassa Bortolo, Vini Fantini-BePink and Hitec Products Fluid Control. Those Continental teams know they’re highly unlikely to get a result, so they repay organisers’ faith in them by lighting up the race and creating breakaways. D’Amico was certainly pleased with the Continental Teams’ participation. “They honoured the race,” he said.

Of the three Women’s WorldTour races so far this season, the UAE Tour Women is the first to feature any Continental teams, and it is the first to have more than the minimum 15 teams required by new UCI regulations, which came into force at the start of the year. At the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, only the 14 WorldTour teams and one national team lined up, with no ProTeams making the trip to Australia and no Continental teams present.

The three teams invited to the UAE Tour arrived knowing what was required of them. “I need to try to do the best because the organiser gives my team a possibility,” explained BePink team manager and sports director, Walter Zini. “I need to honour this every day, try to do something for the organiser, for our sponsor, and to have good visibility.”

Luccon’s solo move illustrated how Continental teams from the sport’s third division are valuable to the race, and it seems the UCI has also seen that value, though are yet to rewrite their regulations.