Cyclistes Professionnels Associes’ New CBA: A Missed Opportunity for Riders
Cyclistes Professionnels Associes’ (CPA) recently signed a new collective bargaining agreement with the Association International des Groupes Cyclistes Professionels (AIGCP), essentially the union for professional teams. Unlike other sports where players actively campaign for fair negotiation—like the NRL or NFL—the new CBA was signed with very little scrutiny. Few in the cycling community are aware of the agreement, which raises concern.
CBAs serve as contractual frameworks between athletes and teams or leagues, regulating wages, entitlements, working conditions, training, development, and technology/equipment. A well-negotiated CBA is one of the most powerful tools athletes have to improve working conditions and financial security. Unfortunately, this new CBA fails to advance meaningful gains for male professional riders. No one is talking about it, but everyone should be.
Key Issues in the CPA CBA
Despite cycling's growing profile, the CPA agreement:
- Reduces minimum wage by 10–15% in real terms;
- Omits crucial provisions regarding athlete data ownership, usage, and privacy;
- Restricts riders’ ability to monetise personal brands, limiting income opportunities; and
- Neglects new safety measures, leaving riders at risk.
Riders—especially early-career athletes, minimum wage riders, and women—should critically evaluate the CBA. Does it fairly grow wages? Does it provide a share of cycling’s revenue? Why are there no new safety protocols following Gino Mäder’s tragic death?
SALARY STAGNATION
Typically, CBAs increase minimum wages, either as fixed percentage increments or tied to inflation. The CPA’s new minimum wage, however, fails to account for inflation. Put simply, if something cost €1 in 2018, it costs around €1.18 in 2024, leaving riders financially worse off.
Inflation is the rise in prices over time. To ensure riders on the minimum wage can afford the same standard of living as in 2018, salaries should have been adjusted accordingly. The new CBA fails to do this.
The 2024 minimum wage was set at €42,047 for employed UCI WorldTour riders and €68,957 for self-employed riders. To maintain parity with 2018, these should have been approximately €48,279 and €77,231 respectively. Financial pressures remain a top reason athletes leave elite sport.
While this CBA covers men, its effects ripple into women’s cycling. Teams like Trek-Segafredo, Jayco-AlUlA, and UAE Team ADQ have increased female riders’ salaries in line with male WorldTour minimums. Yet the CPA fails to support similar growth for all athletes.
NEGLECTED ATHLETE IMAGE RIGHTS AND DATA PROTECTION
CBAs can offset lower salaries by providing gains elsewhere. For male cyclists, however, there are few such advantages. Crucial issues like image rights and data ownership are ignored. Performance data—power, speed, heart rate—is monetised by teams, yet riders receive no compensation.
In other sports, such as the NWSL and NFL, athletes retain ownership of biometric data and receive revenue shares from its commercialisation. The CPA missed a chance to secure similar protections for cycling athletes.
LACK OF RIDER SAFETY PROTOCOLS
CBAs also provide security and protection. The new agreement lacks proactive safety measures. Stefan Küng and Gino Mäder suffered serious injuries and fatalities on the road, highlighting the need for improved protocols. Changes to insurance only address post-incident compensation and fail to prevent accidents.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Riders must speak up and actively engage with the CPA. Social media is not enough—organising and demanding fair wages, data protection, and safety measures is essential. Female cyclists, who were excluded, can leverage the momentum from the Tour de France Femmes to negotiate a CBA that sets a new standard for the sport, including maternity clauses, transition funds, and union rights.
The current CBA, 16 pages long, delivers very little beyond the standard UCI contract. In a sport where you often lose more than you win, securing workplace rights and safety is crucial. This missed opportunity emphasizes the need for riders to fight for meaningful protections and equitable treatment.
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