ASO, RCS and Flanders Classics have decided to reduce the number of riders per team in the grand tours and the classics. Trek Segafredo general manager Luca Guercilena has reacted to the news and is convinced that the reform will not have in impact on one-day races but that it will make difference in three-week races.

"It would make a big difference for the grand tours. You would have to make a clear decision on your strategy, whether to go for the GC or for stages. And that would mean there would be fewer stars in the big races", he told Velonews. "Already in the classics, most of the teams support one captain, so that would not be such a problem. It is during the grand tours where it would make a big impact. It would be very difficult to go with a team that has a GC rider and a sprinter. For example, you need two or three guys to help a sprinter, and then you need four or five guys to help in the mountains. To take away one rider means that you have to make a clear definition of your goals."

Guercilena underlines that pro teams will not be able to have a multiple ambitions. For example, Trek-Segafredo can race for the general classification with Alberto Contador and Bauke Molleman ut with eight riders instead of nine, Guercilena will have to make a choice between GC and stage victories.

Guercilena denies that the bigger teams allow a team like Sky to control the races. "I don’t see this helping that one team will have less power to control the whole race, because alliances will form. Just as it is now, if there are three teams that want a bunch sprint, there will be a bunch sprint. And even if they reduce the teams to eight, the top GC teams will work together to control the race in the same manner. So what I see more is that if you reduce the size of the teams, you will see fewer big names in the race because you will have to make a clear definition of your goals: GC or sprints."

The Trek boss is not opposed to the idea of reducing the number of riders for safety reason. "We know that reducing the bunch is one of the steps to make the peloton safer, but it is not the only one. There are many issues about safety that need to be discussed in an organized manner, from vehicles in the race, to course safety, to who gets to drive in the race, to having an iron pole in the middle of the road. We need to be positive about these discussions. We need dialogue, with everyone at the table, and need to find an agreement with all the stakeholders. And I would like to see some statistics, to see if there is a true reduction of crashes when the peloton is smaller. If we just try to take a powerful position, it will just lead to war. And we all know wars come to nothing."