Tinkoff-Saxo general manager Stefano Feltrin has asked the UCI to hurry up and roll out their reforms for 2017 so teams can plan for them rather than delaying and announcing them last minute, which will cause teams and riders to suffer.

“We’re running out of time and we need to know exactly what it’s going to be like in 2017 and 2018, and what basis licences are going to be issued on,” Feltrin told Cyclingnews at Tinkoff-Saxo’s recent training camp in Croatia.

“It’s very scary when you ask if I’m confident for 2017. If things are like this then it’s going to be difficult for all the teams and race organisers.”

Feltrin believes cycling needs another form of income, and says he thinks a sponsorship system like the one used in football would benefit the sport best.

“Teams in 2008 or 2009 had roughly half the budget that teams have now but the source of the income is still the same. Pick another sport, let's say soccer. How much is the sponsorship of the team shirt worth? Maybe 10 per cent of income but in cycling is around 95 per cent. That’s a model that can’t go on. You can’t go to existing or new sponsors and ask for more money for the same product. It’s no secret that the majority of the teams believe that we need to have reforms that allow for different sources of income. Right now the current business model is not working.”