The Dutch Association for Professional Cyclists (VVBW) has announced its decision to leave the Professional Cyclists Association (CPA), citing the latter`s inability `to meet the expectations of progress from the riders`. In addition to leaving the CPA, the VVBW has confirmed its endorsement of the recently launched Cyclists` Alliance, a women`s organisation set up by former professional Iris Slappendel. `The elected board of the VVBW, after consulting with and taking a poll of the Dutch pro riders, has taken the decision to withdraw its membership from the international cyclists` union, the CPA,` a statement read. The VVBW, which was a founding member of the CPA, said in its statement that a lack of reforms and progress was behind its decision. Chief among its concerns was a lack of diversity in member nations, with only nine countries able to vote on reforms. The VVBW criticised the CPA for failing to represent riders from countries that don´t yet have their own national professional riders association, saying that it had been `a shortcoming for almost 30 years since the CPA came into existence.`ADVERTISEMENT `To the present day, three primary European cycling countries control the politics of the CPA, and the VVWB feels this isn`t a true reflection of the men`s professional `peloton` in the year 2018,` it said. Alongside diversity, the VVBW also pointed to financial and legal concerns in its reasoning. It said that there was an `alarming` financial shortage in the rider`s retirement Solidarity Fund `which can no longer be ignored`. Similar to a pension, the Solidarity Fund is financed by a percentage of prize money and riders who have completed five or more years are able to apply for it at the end of their career. The VVBW expressed concerns that it had regarding the CPA would affect its women`s chapter, which was launched towards the end of last year. With that in mind, it confirmed that it would work with the Cyclists´ Alliance, which was also unveile ...
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