Following last week’s announcement by the International Association of Cycle Race Organisers (AIOCC) that it has made a proposal to the UCI for a reduction of one rider from each team participating in the biggest professional races, the debate on the number of riders each team can field in a race, or even have on their roster, has once more come to fruition.

“When you see the strength of some teams, you soon understand that not much is going to happen,” Tour de France race director Thierry Gouvenou told L’Equipe. “We need to rediscover an element of uncertainty."

However, while one side argues that having less riders to control races increases the action, the teams say that it will put more strain on domestiques and will make it harder to win Grand Tours as riders are physically on their knees by the end of week two with fatigue.

“To win the overall you have to be on top every day. Each rider has a key role and if you remove one element that means that the others will have to work more. I think that in the second and third weeks the smaller teams could be fresher than the big ones and that could result in a more unpredictable scenario,” Team Sky sports director Nicolas Portal tells L’Equipe.

BMC general manager Jim Ochowicz is one manager in favour of smaller teams, as he believes there will be less crashes in the peloton as a consequence. But L’Equipe spoke to former Tour de France race director Jean-François Pescheux, who disagrees.

"There are too many obstacles around today, too much route furniture,” says former ASO route director Pescheux. “Lowering the number of riders isn’t going to stop crashes taking place but it will enable the peloton to flow more easily.”

FDJ manager Marc Madiot is more in favour of removing radios in order to spic up the racing action, rather than reducing the number of rider per team, or reducing the number of teams allowed to start a race in the first place.

“This wouldn’t change much at all. It would be better to suppress the use of electronic devices, which hypnotise the riders, or to provide all of the riders with the same earpiece.”