'Don't talk about points': How the promotion/relegation system has upended cycling

Cor Vos "Some of our racing strategies are going to be a little bit modified," a member of management at a WorldTour team told his assembled staff and riders over video call."We need to fight for points. You know, [a rival team] proved it when they had four guys who finished in the top 10, and they hauled in 500 points. That's quite a haul. So there will be times where we're expecting you guys to fight for the line, even if you're not necessarily winning the race, or maybe a teammate of yours is winning the race, it doesn't mean you give up. Sometimes we're going to be asking you guys to go and hustle and fight for additional points."I feel very confident that we are not going to be in the relegation zone," the boss continued in the footage seen by Escape Collective. "That said, I want to talk about the media. We don't talk to media about points. This is a negative subject. So when they say, 'Have you changed your strategies?' or when they ask you questions like this, and this goes for every member of the team, riders, staff, everybody: we don't talk about points. "Our answer is we're fighting for wins, and if we get the wins, the points will flow. While it's not exactly an accurate statement, it's good enough for the media. I don't want to be talking about points. I don't want to be talking about strategies. Every time they write about us and the points, it's a negative story. So please, stay away from it."The boss then changed tack, from tub-thumping encouragement to calm reassurance."There's no desperation on this team. I believe in you guys, and I know we're gonna end up on the right side of that ledger. But I want to say, if, God forbid, we do sadly, impossibly, horribly end up being relegated, I'm speaking to the staff now, I want you guys to know that there's no change on the team, so you don't need to be worried about your positions. Don't start looking for a job somewhere else. We'll still need you ... we will manage it."This was the summer of 2022 and we were only a few months away from the end of inaugural three-year promotion and relegation period for professional road cycling, with multiple teams battling closely to avoid the drop. For the first time in the sport's history, continued membership of the top WorldTour tier would predominantly be decided by sporting merit.While some teams were finally waking up to the peril of their position, and hatching plans to scoop up as many points as possible before October, fans were also realising the extra meaning that had now been layered into the sport they love. There was now actual sporting value beyond the podium places as riders raced to secure their employer's WorldTour status. No longer could teams rely on political ties for continued invitations to the biggest races on the calendar. They actually had to perform well too.So, six seasons into this new system, how much has it changed cycling? Do upwardly mobile teams relish the chance at rising through the ranks on sporting merit alone? How frustrated are others that are seeing the old order upturned? Do the top teams even care about points, knowing every year they'll be safe from relegation? And how much cut-through has it had with fans?To begin, we'll go back to the World Championships in 2018, where the powers that be "approved a new organisation of men's professional road cycling".