New UCI Rules Prohibit WorldTour, ProTeams from Racing U23 Category at Worlds

With the new year, a slew of new and revised UCI rules go into effect for 2025 world cycling calendar.

This include, the addition of an under-23 category for women at the world championships, the official roll-out of the ‘yellow-card’ system for safety violations and more specific rules surrounding sprint finishes.

One of the most significant changes relates to under-23 men who will not be able to compete in the category at the UCI Road World Championships if they are registered with a WorldTour or ProTeam, with an exception for trainees.

The victory of Movistar’s Iván Romero in the under-23 time trial in Zurich was the fourth title in a row won by a WorldTour rider.

In the UCI Road World Championships, the under-23 women will finally have their own race rather than being combined with the elite women as has been the case since 2022.

However, the under-23 women and under-23 men are not allowed to compete in the category if they have raced as elites in a previous World Championships.

Since it is the first year of the women’s under-23 category, the rule doesn’t apply to under-23 women for the 2025 UCI Road World Championships but will be in effect for 2026.

The under-23 women do not have a similar restriction on their team registration, and WorldTour riders can compete in the category.