The UCI has announced that it will introduce a second tier of pro cycling in 2025 that will sit below the women's world team, meaning that women's cycling will have a pro team a year earlier than originally expected.

Currently, there is no middle tier in women's cycling between the UCI WorldTour teams and the UCI Continental category. Pro teams are registered with the UCI, have minimum salary requirements, and are required to submit a bank guarantee that can be withdrawn if the team fails to meet its financial commitments.

Women's cycling will soon adopt this pro-team structure, and in another shift toward model alignment, the UCI announced that the stakeholders of women's professional road cycling will be integrated into the Pro Cycling Council, which will, from 2024, be responsible for the men's World Tour and The Council will be responsible for matters related to the Women's WorldTour as well as the Men's WorldTour from 2024 onwards.

"With the creation of a second division for women's professional teams and the expansion of the Professional Cycling Council's mandate to the highest levels of women's cycling, the sector continues the remarkable progress it has made in recent years," UCI President David Lapartient said in a statement. UCI President David Lapartient issued the statement."

UCI Continental team Zaaf Cycling, which routinely competed in top-class races early in the season, fell below the minimum required number of riders after eight riders left the program following allegations that some riders and staff were not being paid, and were registered for They were removed from the program. Because the team was a UCI Continental team, not a World team, there was no UCI stipulation that all riders had to receive minimum salaries and there was no bank guarantee.

UCI Continental teams are recognized and accredited by national federations, not by the UCI, and UCI women's teams, professional or not, must consist of a minimum of eight and a maximum of 16 riders. Women's WorldTour teams, on the other hand, are registered with the UCI, have a bank guarantee, a guaranteed minimum salary, and are fully professional teams with between 10 and 22 riders.

"The introduction of this division, which would sit between the existing UCI Women's World Team (first division) and the UCI Women's Continental Team (which would be third division), was originally planned for the 2026 season. However, in light of the current boom in women's cycling, and after consultation with stakeholders, the UCI has decided to bring it forward by one year," the UCI said in a statement.

"This new initiative will allow more women riders to benefit from the professional framework. With the introduction of the Women's UCI Pro Team, women's teams are now structured according to the same model as men's teams. As a professional team, the women's UCI ProTeam will register directly with the UCI and follow the same registration process as the other professional teams (UCI Women's World Team, UCI World Team and Men's UCI ProTeam).

The change in team structure is one of many changes to the way women's cycling operates that have occurred in recent seasons. Other changes include a minimum salary for women's World Team riders, a dramatic expansion of the calendar, a neo-pro category, and the introduction of official development teams.

However, there is concern that top-level developments have not fully penetrated the rest of the peloton, and the Cyclist Alliance rider survey has repeatedly pointed to the widening wage gap over the years. The introduction of professional teams appears to be another measure to narrow the gap between the top tier and the rest of the peloton and to provide a broader base for the continued growth of women's cycling.