Breaking: In a special interview, Joxean Matxín suggests that the World Championships be changed: “We could make one for sprinters and another one for climbers.”

The second part of our exclusive chat with UAE Team Emirates Team Manager Joxean Matxín came out today. It was mostly about Tadej Pogacar, the person who made history in 2024.

Here, the Basque talks about his new contract with the best team in the world, how they train their young riders, One Cycling (the cycling super league), possible changes to the World Championship, and how the riders’ contracts in the UCI WorldTour are going after the Maxim Van Gils case caused a lot of fuss.

He told us that he had a new job with the UAE until 2028.

“I’ve agreed to be the team manager, and my job is the same as it was before: to plan sports, coordinate coaches and the director, and watch over the team’s performance.” That is, to set the goals, the games, and the schedules…”

He gave us a very interesting explanation for why the U23 category doesn’t make sense in riding anymore when we asked him about the lower categories.

“Cycling has clearly come back to life; it’s a lot younger now than it used to be, which means that it needs to change.” There are a lot of higher-level international teams in the amateur field right now. This is partly not because the teams wanted to, but because the UCI has always pushed for helping the base, which has lowered the base, so to speak. Since the bar has been dropped, it makes sense that the U23 category will eventually go away. It should either be called U21 or get a new name. I believe that you should either change the denomination or make a new group. The most common choice would be to make it U21. It’s in our system because we think it’s the right thing to do.

He is clear about how he wants to develop talented young players like Adrià Pericas or Pablo Torres, as well as how the UAE works with its Gen Z team.

“My idea for my team is to take all the pressure off of them and give them confidence and experience instead.” We will do that by riding in a lot of U23 races and making a schedule for the Gen Z team, which is the U21 team. And it will depend on the rider’s skills whether he does more races with the Conti team or the WorldTour. For instance, if Adrià Pericas, to give you an example, joins a professional team, he will be under pressure to do well, and I don’t want that to happen to riders. I believe the best way to do that is to boost their confidence and ease their stress. They should not be responsible for the effects if they race. They compete while learning, having fun, and feeling confident, which takes the pressure off of them.

The Cycling Super League (One Cycling)

The concept of a Super League has been talked about a lot lately, not only in football but also in cycling, with the idea of One Cycling led by Visma CEO Richard Plugge. It’s clear what Matxín thinks about the situation: he doesn’t think anything should be done for the teams, but he does think that cycling’s organisation could use some centralisation.

I really don’t know what they really want to do because I don’t have enough knowledge. I don’t think helping the teams is necessary. I believe it’s a very personal matter; if you look at F1, everything is organised by one, the same is true for NBA and sports. In cycling, the fact that there are a lot of organisers may mean that people have a lot of different hobbies. It might be interesting to be able to organise something bigger than your own race or various races, to make a group that wins over individuality. Nonetheless, this is only a broad thought. I say it as a thought. There are some organisers I like, but I don’t know about One Cycling. I think the most important thing would be to share more of the cake.

He talks about a change that could happen in the World Championship to show what he means.

“For example, why is the world champion a climber next three years and then only a sprinter the next two or three?” What if someone with a very high level can’t participate in the World Championship during those three years? Simply because he won a race doesn’t mean that he is the best rider in the world. Okay, maybe the fact that there is already a sprinter, climber, and time trial world winner. It seems like a sprinter’s world title would make more sense than a mixed relay, but I’m not sure if anyone is paying attention.

van Gils and UCI make a deal

Matxín talks to us about Van Gils and his plan to quit Lotto from the point of view of what they do in the UAE.

“No other team does what we do, which is signing open contracts.” That’s because it’s always good for the cyclist. We all know that contracts are good for both sides, whether things go well or badly. I believe we need to protect the cyclist the most when things go wrong, since that’s when they have the most problems. When they are having a hard time, I help them, and when they are doing well, I let them know and open the deal.

The rider knows what he needs to do to win. Should the different kinds of contracts in the UCI WorldTour be merged?

“If you have a rider who is worth $1 million on the market but only gets paid $100 a month, it’s clear that the rider knows this and isn’t happy with the situation. But that’s up to each team to decide.” Contract opening and contract closing should be united, which means that there should be a rule for everyone. You can’t open it just because you’re Belgian or on a Belgian team. If you’re on a team that doesn’t have a Belgian Federation, the rules are different. There may be something to the idea of starting the season with clear rules that everyone knows what they are. I think that’s true for any board game.