Cofidis rider expresses frustration about points system: "Did the work that was required"

Harrison Wood believes he is a victim of the points system at the highest levels of cycling. The British rider performed the role of domestique at Cofidis for much of the season, and although he executed it with total devotion, it may now come at a cost. In conversation with Rouleur, Wood shares his story.

The current system the UCI uses is as follows: they produce a ranking every three years. The teams that rank among the top eighteen in UCI points are lucky and awarded a WorldTour license, provided they have sorted out other aspects, such as financials. WorldTour teams that fall outside the top eighteen after three years have a problem losing their WorldTour status and must continue as ProTeams. However, the first two teams outside the top eighteen are lucky because they retain the right to start in all WorldTour races. However, the difference with the WorldTour teams is that they have no obligation.

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As it happens, Cofidis is not in excellent shape at the moment. The French team currently occupies the 20th position, and if the situation remains the same at the end of next year, they will have to give up their WorldTour license. Wood thus finds himself in trouble. After all, because of his role as a domestique, he has been unable to compete for results and collect points. "It's annoying. I feel let down because they showed at the beginning of the season that they want to keep me."

However, the situation at the end of the season offers Wood less hope. The points situation is flying around, meaning the team has entered a transfer window where they must sign riders who score points. "I can understand it as if they don't score points, and they won't be WorldTour, but it's not my problem if you tell me not to score WorldTour points and I don't. We get to August, and you say I've not scored points; it's weird."

Wood also points to his program. For example, he was competing a lot in WorldTour races. Wood was at the start of the Tour of Catalonia, the Tour of the Basque Country, the Giro d'Italia, the Tour of Switzerland, and the Tour of Poland, among others. "I'm not complaining about riding these big races, but winning a race or scoring points is very hard when you're always up against [Tadej] Pogačar or [Jonas] Vingegaard. I've done well in these races and improved a lot, but I'm not sure I've improved enough for Cofidis, which is a shame. If I had a chance to go for my results in smaller races, I'm certain I have the ability and level to have done that," Wood said.

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Wood: "We're playing with our careers"

Meanwhile, Wood has been told by team boss Cédric Vasseur that two spots remain at Cofidis for next season. "It's looking like there's not going to be a place for me," Wood continues. "If I knew in April, I'd have raced differently, put myself first, try to get results for myself. So it's a little bit frustrating that I'm getting to the end of the year having done a good job but will probably be told I can't stay," he added.

"There's no point beating around the bush: we're playing with our careers in terms of the results we get, and I've only been doing the job that was asked of me," Wood sees his loyal selflessness turning against him. "At the same time, the work you do within a smaller team isn't as beneficial or as well seen as the work done by domestiques within Visma or UAE. These teams have the top leaders who win races, so if you ride on the front and do a job for them, people see it. With the smaller teams, fewer people see what you're doing."

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Wood can still extend pro career

So, according to Wood, the promotion/relegation system has the wrong effect. "If we eliminated the system, there would be a lot of riders the same age as me who would have another year or two to develop and improve. However, because the teams are so stressed and worried about the situation, they are signing a 35- or 36-year-old at the end of their career who can help save them with some points instead of signing a younger driver."

Although Wood's chances of an extended stay with Cofidis appear to be fading, he still has some leads on continuing his career as a pro. "I'm in contact with one WorldTour and a ProTour team, but we'll see. Because I've not got many UCI points and only had a few races to do my own thing, other teams look at me and think, "It'd be good if you could show us some UCI points." But I've not had the chance to do that. It's hard because I know I've got the level to stay in the WorldTour."