On Friday, a rumor was sent into the world that the UCI would show understanding for the criticism of the promotion and relegation battle.
The International Cycling Union would lift the restriction on 18 WorldTour licenses and could thus lend a hand to some potential relegation customers.
But just as quickly the news was brushed aside by the UCI. There will be no exception (for the time being) and the final bill will be drawn up on 18 October.
Many teams race with their calculator and it worked overtime last night, since all points of the Vuelta were calculated in the sum.
Those calculations have put a smile on Movistar’s face.
Thanks to Enric Mas’ second place, they jump to 14th place and with a bonus of more than 1,200 points on number 19 Lotto-Soudal, that buffer seems reassuring. Gonzalo Serrano’s overall victory in the Tour of Britain was also a bull’s eye.
The Belgian team therefore still falls by the wayside. Logical too, given the complete lack of results in the Vuelta, but the victory of Caleb Ewan in the GP of Fourmies yesterday was a solid boost.
Some other teams could also use such a boost, because after Movistar the numbers 15 to 18 are panting at each other’s necks.
Arkéa-Samsic bears the consequences of the Nairo Quintana case. It had to hand in the points of the Tour and was able to pick up far too little due to the absence of the Colombian leader in Spain, although the one-day races made up for a lot.
Simon Yates’s assignment was a big blow for BikeExchange, but their sprinters were able to reap on several fronts.
The stage victory of Rigoberto Uran was a meager consolation prize at EF-EasyPost for the (rather) poor classification of the same Uran and Hugh Carthy, in the one-day work the Maryland Classic was a bull’s eye.
But especially at Cofidis, the alarm bells will ring. Jesus Herrada won a stage in the Vuelta, but the French cannot avoid a free fall and drop from 14th to 18th place.
Lotto-Soudal still has 700 points to bridge and is counting on Caleb Ewan and Arnaud De Lie this week to close the gap even more in the Championship of Flanders, the Primus Classic and the Gooikse Pijl.
