Welcome to the homepage for the 2010 UCI Men's Continental Teams. On here you will find all of the information we have on the logistics of forming, registering, and maintaining a UCI Continental Team. In case you have navigated here by accident, this information is specific to what the UCI has defined as a UCI Continental Team. Until 2005, this would have been called a UCI Division (or Tier) III Trade Team. These teams make up the bulk of our international teams. The other names you will hear are UCI Professional Continental Team (ex Tier II) and UCI ProTour Team (ex Tier I). These latter two types of teams are managed directly by the UCI and the material here is not generally applicable to them.
Well, let’s get to it then! You can either scroll through this entire document or click on the individual items in the list below to be taken to that section. Items with active links look like this, and indicate you can click on it to get to that document or page immediately.
I hope you find this information useful. If you ever need assistance with any aspect of your team process, please do not hesitate to contact me. One of the benefits of being on a UCI continental team is that you have a dedicated USA Cycling Staff contact. While I would not claim to be reachable 24/7, it is pretty close to that. I can be reached at:
A UCI Continental Team is made up of a minimum of 8 riders and a maximum of 16. To be registered with USA Cycling, the majority of your riders must have US Citizenship (i.e. a UCI code that starts with USA). The majority of the riders must also have a racing age of less than 28. The magic number this year is 1983! Any rider born in 1983 or later counts as one of your young riders for the age ratio. All riders on the team must have a road category 1. If you have foreign riders on your team that are licensed by another federation, they must have their federation’s equivalent of a category 1.
Note that for the majority rule has changed compared to the past. It is a real majority in 2010, so that if you have 16 riders, 9 of them must be USA Citizens and have a USA UCI code on their licenses. Note this figure goes to 60% in 2011. Also new for this season, any specialists on your team must be USA citizens and they do not count into the majority rule. That means without considering the specialists, the team must have a majority of the riders be USA citizens.
In addition to the 16 rider maximum, a team may have a maximum of four extra riders who are specialists in other endurance disciplines, such as track (scratch, points race, pursuit, madison), mountain bike (XC, marathon), or cyclocross, provided that these riders were in the top 150 of the final UCI Classification for that discipline in the previous season. As of August 1, the team can also add two riders in the U23 class, provided these riders were not already on a UCI team.
Lastly, you can add a rider at any time during the season if that rider has not been on any UCI team in the current season.
Every rider on the team must have a contract for a fixed period that ends at the end of the road season at the earliest. However, for these teams there are no rules regarding what the compensation must be. Whatever it is, it must be spelled out explicitly in the contract. In addition, if a rider is to be paid a salary per the contract, the only method of payment allowed is direct deposit into the rider's bank account, the specifics of which must also be included in the contract.
There is an extensive process for registering these teams that will be explained in other sections of this document.
The United States can register 15 Continental Teams with the UCI.
Once a rider is on your team, he can ride in two kinds of races – UCI races anywhere in the world or National races in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Riders on Continental Teams do not need Foreign Permission Letters to ride abroad.
The UCI rules are very specific. There are NO MIXED TEAMS allowed in international races at the elite level. The organizer cannot give an exception to this. USA Cycling cannot give an exception to this. Therefore your riders can only ride an international race in two ways – as a regular member of your team or as a member of the US National Team when it is participating as such in the race. This is only allowed if your Continental Team is not riding the race. If you have foreign riders on your team, they would be subject to the same rule. For example, if you have a Mexican rider on your team, he may ride an international race as part of the Mexican National Team, but only if your Continental Team is not participating.
It is important to remember that being on a UCI Continental Team DOES NOT mean you are automatically selected for any particular race, except for the US Professional Championships. Each UCI event is by invitation only. A UCI race organizer must meet UCI rules when extending invitations to their events, and since these rules include a minimum number of non-American teams, there may not be enough space in certain races for each American Continental team. Depending on the level of race and the location, the organizer will be choosing between UCI Pro Tour teams, UCI Professional Continental teams, UCI Continental teams, National Teams, and Regional/Club teams. Each team must contact the race organizer to secure an invitation.
3. Contracts
Each rider must have a contract that expires at the end of the road season at the earliest. The contracts must meet the minimum standards given in the model contract. Please note that no provision in the contract is valid if it goes against the basic nature of the year long contract unless it is in the rider's favor. In other words, you cannot include a provision in the contract that says, "the team may terminate this contract at its discretion for any reason" or "the team may terminate this contract at its discretion of the rider fails to perform up to team standards" or such language. Such a contract would essentially mean there is no contract at all. Your team may be based in a state known for "at will employment", but a UCI continental team is not an "at will" employer. If you hire a rider, presume it is for the whole season. Our auditor will be carefully checking contracts to make sure they meet the minimum standards and do not contain any "out clauses" that effectively invalidate the nature of a contract.
4. Insurance
As of 2010, part of the registration process will be for the teams to prove that each rider on their team has adequate medical insurance that covers sickness, accidents, and repatriation. The UCI rules also specify civil liability, but a USA Cycling license carries that coverage automatically anyway. As a team you may purchase health insurance for your riders or require them to purchase it. Either way it will be up to the team to document that such insurance exists. The UCI has provided a form to register your riders and track their insurance. This insurance form (new in 2010) must also be submitted to the auditor with the packets.
The UCI has imposed strict limits on how and when team rosters can be changed. The official roster change period is June 1, 2010 to June 25, 2010. Any changes will require a new audit and review process.
In addition to the normal roster changes in this period, there are two other ways your roster can be changed:
- At any time during the season, you can add a rider if that rider meets all criteria and has not had a contract with a UCI team in 2010.
- As of August 1, 2010, you can add two U23 riders to your roster. Note that USA Cycling must submit those names to the UCI BEFORE August 1st. These U23 riders cannot have been on another UCI team in 2010.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009-- Preliminary paperwork and information is available by USAC to teams wishing to register a UCI Continental Team for 2010.
OCTOBER 31, 2009 -- USAC must submit list of teams that it intends to register to the UCI. This means that at a minimum, we need to know the name of the team. If we submit a team called Billy Joe’s Bike Shop/Raleigh/Target to the UCI by this date, we may be able to register a team by December 10 that is called Billy Joe’s Bike Shop/Della Santa/Fred’s Bank. However, if no part of the team name is the same, it may be rejected by the UCI. Therefore you would be well advised to have your primary sponsor lined up before you commit to this process. USA Cycling may submit registration packets to the UCI anytime after this date, assuming your packet is complete and your audit has been finished.
NOVEMBER 5TH, 2009-- This is the FINAL DATE applications will be accepted by USAC and our auditor, Waugh Associates. Applications received after this date will not be processed and will not be submitted to the UCI. Auditing Fees are due on this date. Mail packets to Waugh and Goodwin, LLP, 1365 Garden of the Gods Road, Suite 105, Colorado Springs, CO 80907.
NOVEMBER 25TH, 2009 -- You must wire the UCI fee (4500 euros) to the UCI bank by this date.
DECEMBER 8, 2009 -- USAC must submit all completed Continental Team registration paperwork to the UCI on this date. All other fees to USA Cycling are due on this date.
MARCH 31, 2010 -- Bank Guarantees from the 2009 season due back to teams will be mailed by USAC on this date.
JUNE 1 – JUNE 25, 2010 -- All 2010 UCI roster transactions will take place during this period.
AUGUST 1, 2010 -- Addition of U23 riders to roster must be submitted by USAC to the UCI by this date.
The following table gives the fees involved in this process, who they go to, when they are payable, and how they should be sent:
|
Fee
|
Payable to
|
Deadline
|
Method
|
|
$ 750
|
Waugh & Goodwin, LLP
|
November 5th, 2009
|
Certified Check
|
|
4500 euros
|
Union Cycliste Internationale
|
November 25th, 2009
|
Wire Transfer
|
|
$4000
|
USA Cycling
|
December 8, 2009
|
Certified Check
|
|
|
|
|
|
In addition to these fees, there is also a Bank Guarantee of either 20,000 euros or 15% of the total salary package of your riders and staff, whichever is greater. If you are a first time team, this bank guarantee will be in the form of a certified check. If you are a returning team, there is a procedure for rolling over your guarantee from last year, as explained in detail in the
FAQ.The following are the proper steps for registering a UCI Continental Team:
A. Familiarize yourself with the UCI regulations regarding continental teams. Your existence as a team is based on these rules, which can be found in their entirety on the UCI website,
www.uci.ch (click rules). The most relevant chapters are also provided for you here as PDFs. They are
Chapter 1 –
General Regulations,
Chapter 2 –
Road Racing, and
Chapter 12 –
Discipline. In addition, you can download these
abbreviated rules specific to Continental Teams.ement_Equipes_Continental
B. Compile the following for mailing to Waugh & Goodwin, LLP (auditor) by certified mail (must be received by November 5th, 2009):
- Two copies of all signed rider/team staff contracts. If you have never done one of these before, the UCI has provided us with a model contract you can use as a guide.
- Completed official UCI registration forms.
- Complete Rider and Staff Roster and Proof on health insurance for all of your riders (include insurance form)
- Certified Check for $750 to cover auditing services
- Copies of signed sponsor contracts over $ 5000
- A complete team operating budget. For your convenience, the UCI also has provided a model operating budget.
- E-mail Shawn Farrell at USAC (sfarrell@usacycling.org) to inform him of your team’s mailing to Waugh & Goodwin, LLP. At the same time, attach your UCI registration form and repartition of tasks form.
C. Wire the 4500 euros to the UCI into their euro Bank Account by the UCI deadline (November 25th):
Bank: UBS SA
Address: Place St-Francois 1, CH-1004 Lausanne, Switzerland
euro Account: 309288.60L
IBAN: CH24 0024 3243 3092 8860 L
BIC: UBSWCHZH80A
Beneficiary: Union Cycliste Internationale, CH-1860 Aigle
Note that the wire to the UCI is much earlier this year. In fact it is about 10 days before we have to have the packets to them, so plan accordingly.
D. Waugh & Goodwin, LLP will provide you with a total amount due to USA Cycling to cover your bank guarantee. Mail a check for that amount made out to USA Cycling to the attention of Shawn Farrell by certified mail (Must be received by December 8, 2009. At the same time, mail a check to USAC for the $4000 fee.
E. Compile signed International license applications and mail them to USAC attn: Shawn Farrell. (NOTE: USPRO Licenses CANNOT be purchased online). It is assumed that a foreign rider on your team will be living in the USA for more than half the year. Therefore, UCI rules specify that it is USA Cycling that issues their license*. This also means they need to have an address in the United States.
* In the rare case where a foreign rider must retain his international license from his home federation, such a rider will have to purchase, at a minimum, a USA Cycling domestic license. This is so we can adequately track the rider and give the rider's whereabouts to USADA. It also ensures that the rider is covered by adequate civil liability insurance.
F. Waugh continues to review the documents and once they meet all the UCI regulations, they’ll send an auditors report to USAC, and notify you.
G. If the bank guarantee is in order when the auditors report arrives, USAC will notify the UCI of your team’s successful completion of the registration process, and we will submit all paperwork to the UCI. The paperwork is substantial and requires wet signatures. To arrive in Switzerland by December 10, it has to leave Colorado Springs on December 8th. Please plan accordingly.
H. When the UCI lists your team on their official roster on the UCI website, the process is complete.
I. When the team is listed on the UCI roster, USAC will process the rider and support staff licenses. Unless you request otherwise, all copies will be mailed directly to the team director.
J. If you make roster changes, the new rider contracts and $125 per rider added must be sent to Waugh and Associates prior to the end of the June 1-25 window. Note that the audit must be completed and the new riders submitted to the UCI by this date.
For 2010, the UCI has set the minimum bank guarantee as 20,000 euros or 15% of the salary package for the riders and staff, whichever is higher. We have set up a bank in Colorado Springs that will manage the bank guarantees and processes. You will provide USA Cycling with a check for the appropriate amount and it will be deposited in a sub-account dedicated to your team. The bank guarantee should be satisfied by certified check.
If you wish to use your 2009 bank guarantee on file with USAC toward your 2010 team, you may do so after submitting signed copies of the
Bank Guarantee Release Letter included here and after paying all fines due the UCI and USA Cycling from 2009 or previous seasons. This letter, if signed by all 2009 riders and team staff, will release the 2009 bank guarantee money for the team’s use in 2010. If the bank guarantee on file with USAC is less than the amount due for 2010, the team will then make up the difference. If your team sponsorship has decreased and your guarantee on file is more than what you need this year, and there are no challenges, then the difference will be refunded if you so request.
Click on the links to download files:
