Cycling is set to clamp down on transfers of riders between teams after high-profile swoops by Britain's rich new Sky outfit, the sport's chief said on Saturday.
UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) president Pat McQuaid said criticism of Team Sky's tactics had prompted a reappraisal of transfer rules, opening the door to football-style regulation.
"Because of what other people feel was fairly harsh and businesslike work of Sky in trying to get exactly the riders they want, maybe we should tighten up the regulations in relation to transfers," McQuaid said.
"That's something we are working on at the moment."
Sky raised disquiet in the conservative sport by signing Ben Swift, who was contracted to Katusha, and triple Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins from Garmin-Transitions.
Meanwhile America's BMC Racing Team lured Australian world road champion Cadel Evans from Silence-Lotto, boosting their chances of gaining a place on the elite ProTour.
"There's no panacea for it because if a new team comes into the market... as with Sky last year, they've got to get 25 to 30 riders and most of them are already on a contract of one form or other," McQuaid said.
"It's difficult for them to come in at a good level and just take the available riders who are already at the end of a contract."
He did not detail what measures were under consideration, but football operates a "transfer window" system where clubs can only sign during designated periods.
McQuaid said under the current system, both teams needed to come to an agreement before a rider can move. But he said recent developments had shaken up the "small family" sport.
"We probably do need slightly tighter controls and regulations on the transfer system," he said.
"That's something we are looking at at the moment because this past winter there have been several controversies in relation to transfers."
Sky, with a reported multi-million dollar budget, was formed last year with the intention of producing Britain's first Tour de France winner.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
