For almost a century, cycling has derived much of its popularity from its epic character, with its heroes, their triumphs and their dramas. Its incredible development and enormous success are also largely due to the perfect balance between all the elements of this dynamic: the sublimation of human performance - with its sacrifices, efforts and resilience - and the rituality of the joy and glory reserved for the winner alongside deep respect for the defeated and compassion in light of their disappointment.
Cycling has long been a simple but tough sport, which has built its own history and above all its incomparable relationship with millions of enthusiasts, seduced by the great spectacle it offers on its roads of suffering, but also of celebration.
In this context, both epic and dramatic, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has, since its inception in 1900, ensured the conditions essential to the development of cycling’s ongoing story, with the attention and adaptability required in its role as the sport’s global umbrella organisation. This is an enormous responsibility, based on a relentless commitment throughout the many upheavals that have accompanied its trajectory. Faced with its main mission of promoting the values and specificities of cycling in all its forms, the UCI quickly became the executor of an ambitious and complex task: that of guaranteeing the constant transformation of a world destined to evolve, but with a determination to do everything possible to safeguard the roots and traditions of its immense heritage.
The result of this effort is gratifying because, whether one-day Classics or stage races of differing lengths, the essence of cycling events has remained unchanged over the decades: the action is played out on an open stage with different actors and stories each time but the same nature and spirit shining through.
Leaders open to modernity
With such deep historical roots, one might have thought that cycling’s stance would always remain somewhat conservative in the face of the challenges imposed by time. However, quite to the contrary, its leaders have often shown a remarkable sense of innovation that has led them to continuously seize opportunities for evolution, distinguishing themselves thanks to their ability to read the new trends emerging within society.
The first step towards modernity was certainly the gradual broadening of the range of disciplines in a sport that until around 1960 offered only two options: road and track, which had already come a long way together since the creation of the Olympic movement, in which cycling has played a fundamental role from the first modern edition of the Games, held in Athens in 1896.
The vision of the successive leaders of the UCI contributed to the integration of many other disciplines: indoor cycling, cyclo-cross, BMX Racing, trials, mountain bike, BMX Freestyle, and more recently cycling e-sports, gravel and snow bike. This drive towards innovation and the promotion of new principles such as respect for the environment and active mobility to improve the quality of life - which had begun to emerge in society in the early 1980s - obviously gave rise to lively debates in a cycling community that is often still characterised by a certain conservatism. Changes to the Olympic programme, with the reduction in the number of traditional track events in favour of the inclusion of BMX Racing, are just one of the best-known examples of evolution that gave rise to debate among cycling leaders.
It was through the competition sector – despite the difficult years marked by its efforts in the fight against doping that were finally rewarded by a return to a healthier situation – that the UCI crossed the border of the true social revolution in which cycling was about to participate.
This long and complex process entailed major challenges when it comes to regulations and events, but also concerning politics given the significant change in the global geography of cycling and consequently in the influence of the members of the new extended family, which today comprises 205 National Federations. However, the impact of this quite extraordinary modernisation has finally enabled the bicycle to regain its place at the heart of society's general interest.
The suffering along the road to rebirth
Competitive cycling has been able to come back from afar. That is the least we can say when we think back to the years of crisis, tarnished by the scourge of doping, it had to endure. Weakened by doubts, scandals and growing collective intolerance, cycling faltered. In several countries and in certain political and journalistic circles, its credibility had been seriously damaged.
In-depth work was needed to regain the trust of observers and all the enthusiasts who felt betrayed. The UCI has been a pioneer in the fight against doping: with the introduction of health checks and temporary suspensions of athletes, the UCI paved the way for a gradual improvement of the situation. When the biological passport was introduced into the constantly improving arsenal of the fight against doping, the UCI, as a legacy of this extremely difficult period, handed this precious tool into the hands of a global sports community that had been severely shaken by the scale of the doping phenomenon and the uncertainties it posed for its future.
A growing contribution to improving the quality of life
Following this episode, modern cycling showed itself capable of assuming the role it wished to play in a society increasingly sensitive to the issues of sustainable development. Once again, this new direction will be recognised as the institution's desire to contribute to a necessary societal evolution in a context where quality of life is more than ever at the centre of concerns.
Cycling has therefore been able to modernise once again, opening up more and more to people who cycle for pleasure, whose numbers have multiplied in cities all over the world, thanks to everyday journeys, leisure bike rides, but also more spontaneous gatherings of children, teenagers and young adults in urban spaces that are increasingly being taken over by the bicycle. This contagious enthusiasm has joined forces with that of traditional consumers of television images and of fans lining the roads of Grand Tours and Classics to catch a glimpse of the riders passing by. The result of this alchemy, which was still unpredictable just thirty years ago, is the return of competitive cycling to the top of the general public’s pyramid of preferred sports.
The UCI has contributed to this movement through various initiatives encouraging the great global wave of mass cycling. The creation of an international calendar and the proliferation of mass participation events have stimulated the efforts of many public administrations who have recognised that this passion for cycling is a key to improving the well-being of their population through sustainable mobility. In this sense, the former UCI Golden Bike series as well as the UCI Bike City label have made concrete contributions to consolidating this new approach to cycling as a true philosophy of life.
Cycling, a sport and activity more popular than ever
Today, cycling has once again become just that in the collective minds… simply ‘cycling’. Everyone is pedalling: to escape the traffic jams, to be physically active, to compete with their friends, to test themselves on the legendary passes of the Grand Tours. On the roads or in the velodromes, getting on a bike is now socially valued in a society that is extremely attentive to the consequences of our individual behaviour.
The ultimate symbol of a way of life, the bicycle has finally achieved a status that it would never have dared hope to attain fifty years ago. For some years now, luxury bicycle getaways in small groups have headlined tourist catalogues, former champions who escort new conquerors of the Tourmalet or the Stelvio are countless, and cycling is increasingly demanding safe and privileged lanes in the heart of cities. Cycling has returned to favour after facing its demons and is now experiencing its newfound nobility.
The UCI has been able to play a leading role in this gratifying development: because it has had the merit of understanding new social needs and because it has had the courage to draw on a history essentially made up of glory and legend to put itself at the service of a progressive and responsible vision of the future.
More than ever, the cycling that we have always known and loved, the cycling of the great races and the great champions, thrills millions of spectators in the four corners of the globe. And today it has taken on a new dimension: that of an authentic, inclusive and sustainable social phenomenon.
After 125 years of an often-tortuous journey with the UCI, cycling can be proud of its proven ability to hold on to the essential while constantly reinventing itself.