A breakaway league in professional cycling: issues for the governance and organisation of the sport

Abstract

This article examines the prospect of a breakaway league in the sport of professional cycling. The central matter considered is the role of the Union Cyclists Internationale (UCI) as a sport governing body in the organisation of professional road cycling and the capacity of the organisation to invoke restrictive rules to attempt to inhibit the formation of a breakaway league. This includes an examination of how the competition and freedom of movement laws of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union apply to restrictive rules of sports bodies, focussing on how the overall context of professional road cycling may influence the chances of the UCI defending its rules from being invalidated. A number of unique aspects of the economics of professional road cycling and of the organisation and structure of the sport are considered. The conclusion drawn is that the overall context of the sport militates against the UCI being able to hinder the formation of a breakaway league through use of restrictive rules. To conclude, there is a discussion of how these issues may be taken into account in the reform process currently being undertaken by UCI.