UCI proposed budget cap, pro cycling teams refused, president says

Really disappointing that this isn't happening. The impact of money on cycling is so obvious, with such a small number of teams regularly winning the big races. Why would it be the smaller teams that opposed this‽

If you want to be taken seriously as a competitive sport, you need a level playing field. It's obviously not necessary to be commercially successful as a sport (just look at the absolute abomination that is professional soccer), but if you want to be taken seriously as a competitive league by discerning viewers, you cannot go down that route.

Are there any statements from the (particualrly smaller) teams who are claimed to have refused the cap?

Aside from the massive subscription cost increase in the UK, the other thing that puts me off watching cycling is if the result is too predictable from the start list.

At face value it feels like a budget cap could cause distortion of top talent across more teams, leading to fairer competition. The UCI should be careful, however, that budget restrictions are not allowed to translate into poorer wages for team staff.