Uci President David Lappartient gave the sustainability of professional cycling to 10 out of 4 ratings as he vowed to make the sport more environmentally friendly.

In an interview with Cycling Weekly, the Frenchman outlined a series of proposals to make the sport more sustainable, including revamping the calendar, switching to electric vehicles and working with organizers to reduce travel.

Referring to uci's "Agenda 2030," he said "we have no choice but to change" over the next few years and has set out plans to reduce cycling carbon neutrality by 50% along with all stakeholders.

"We have no choice but to change," Lappartient told cycling Weekly. "We are not at the level we should be. We are on the right path, but the starting point is not good and there is a lot to do.

"Our ambition is really high, we can get a score of 10 and we are getting better. We have started to share goals, visions, but I think we have to do more development, and it has to be a really common goal for everyone."

So what has to change, Lappartient, who has run UCI since being elected in 2017, said that the calendar can be reorganized into geographic blocks to reduce travel and subsequently reduce carbon emissions.

Teams staying in the same hotel during race blocks like spring and autumn classics have been raised with different ideas.

"We have to organize the WorldTour calendar in a way that reduces emissions, and we have to make sure it doesn't move from one part of the planet to the other every month," Lappartient said.

"The Agenda 2030 booklet states that WorldTour and other calendars need to be rescheduled. So [from May 1] it goes from Oceania, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Asia. By recreating the calendar, you can reduce the carbon footprint of sports.

"In Europe, we need to have different racing slots in different regions where all team vehicles can stay for a long time, even without riders. A good example is the Belgian classic in the spring, the Italian classic in the autumn: the team is in the same hotel for 3 weeks and every few days there is a race, which reduces carbon emissions."

He also said that the Grand Tour needs to change its way, the transfer of long rest days is set to be a thing of the past, organizers should make the transition to electric cars to be seen in races such as the Norwegian Arctic Race, and to prevent distant Grand Départs. The rules placed in place on the table.

"In the future, you can't have a 900km rest day," says Lappartient. "There is no way they can continue like that. We will review this. In order for organizers to reduce their emissions by 50%, they have to drive electric vehicles and reduce the distance between stages.

"We need to change some rules of the Uci so that we don't have grand department stores elsewhere, but not too far away. I remember that in 2016 there was a proposal to start in Tokyo from the Giro d'Italia. That's not something we can support right now."

The team also needs to play a role and Lappartient said it needs to reduce emissions from the sheer volume gathered by the number of cars, vans, buses, trucks and flights needed to move riders and staff around the world.

A number of teams and organizers, including ASO and RCS Sport, have already signed up for UCI's Climate Action Charter, which includes commitments such as reducing waste, prioritizing low-carbon transport and taking into account the impact of climate change on the future planning of the sport.

In the future, emission targets will also be one of the prerequisites for obtaining a WorldTour license 1. Currently, teams need to fulfill their obligations such as funding, anti-doping and UCI points to race in the top tier of cycling.

"Today, the licensing committee must make sure that [the team] has enough money to pay [the riders and staff], whether they have a wage guarantee, if their anti-doping measures are strong, the sports level of the team is sufficient," Lappartient said. "(by 2030) we need to reduce emissions by 50% and be carbon neutral. This will be another mandatory point in the specification to become a WorldTour team in 2030.1"

Lappartient noted that UCI has already taken steps to reduce emissions and is a way to lead the rest of the sport by showing that it is possible to make these changes. He said the governing body of the sport has already cut emissions at its Swiss headquarters by 38%.

"Along with our experts, UCI needs to explain to the team the different ways to do things, share good practice and show the way on their own," he said, "We've reduced emissions at our headquarters by 38%, changed lighting in the UCI building and reduced the number of flights." We have not yet reached a 50% reduction, but we are on the right path. We cannot give ourselves an obligation without complying with them.

"First, you need to reduce. We don't just want to make compensation by planting trees. It's important to mention: We don't want greenwashing, we want results."