alexs

personally i have high hopes that the proposed new UCI points system that could get introduced in 2005 or 2006 would fix this. under the proposed rules, if your teams wants to race in a major tour, it would be required to enter all of the Pro Cycling Tour events, which would include the world cup races and many of the spring classics.

edwin

That would be perfect.

roadwarrior

The entry of a team does not guarantee the entry of a particular rider. Typically, out here people seem to want more top riders. Postal, for example (because Lance takes a lot of criticism for the number of races he enters) rides the classics. They may not take their strongest team and do use some of them for developmental purposes for middle to lower end riders, but they are there. If that's all it takes, it's being done now.

I doubt this will happen for one major reason...money. It would kill the smaller races because a team can only have so many riders and ride so many races. A team like the former Once rode very few of the spring classics, opting to stay in Spain and ride there. The sponsor wanted it that way...they were not going to sell many Spanish lottery tickets in Belgium in March and April. Maybe that will change now with the sponsors changing, but I suspect not much.

A Spanish team with a Spanish sponsor will ride a Spanish race because the people paying the bills want it that way.