During this meeting, the dates of several UCI World Championships, that had already been awarded, were approved by the Management Committee. The 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships, awarded to Flemish Brabant (Belgium) in September 2022, will take place on 5 and 6 October 2024, and the 2025 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships, awarded to the state of Victoria (Australia) in September 2020, will take place from 15 to 19 October 2025.
Following its approval by the Management Committee, the UCI also publishes today the full calendar for the 2024 UCI BMX Racing World Cup.
The discipline's flagship series will get underway in Rotorua, New Zealand, with two rounds, on 10 and 11 February. This will be the first time that the country - which hosted the 2013 UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Auckland - will host BMX Racing’s flagship series. Built in 2019, the current track at Rotorua BMX Club - home club of London 2012 Olympic silver medallist Sarah Walker - measures 440m and was the venue for the 2023 Oceania BMX Racing Championships. Rotorua is also known for hosting mountain bike events, most notably the discipline’s UCI World Championships in 2006.
The third and fourth rounds of the series will take place in Brisbane on 24 and 25 February. This will be a first for the Queensland capital. Australia becomes a regular stopover for the UCI BMX Racing World Cup, having staged rounds in 2008 (in Adelaide, which also hosted the 2009 UCI World Championships) and again in 2020 (in Shepparton and Bathurst). The Brisbane BMX Racing track is part of the Sleeman Sports Complex, the Olympic training centre for Australian BMX Racing and track cycling specialists, as well as athletes from many other sports.
After Oceania, the UCI BMX Racing World Cup will head to America, specifically to the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the USA - a country that has hosted many major UCI BMX Racing events - for rounds five and six (27 and 28 April). Tulsa is a new addition to the UCI World Cup calendar. Home to USA BMX, the complex includes an indoor track (opened in 2022) as well as a museum dedicated to BMX Racing. The event will conclude the qualification period for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Finally, the last two rounds of the 2024 edition of the UCI BMX Racing World Cup will be held in Papendal on 22 and 23 June. The Netherlands’ national Olympic training centre and home of the Dutch national team will see the UCI World Cup stop for the 12th time on its famous track. The event is expected to conclude the series on a festive note, with the simultaneous organisation of a true BMX Racing festival open to all (participants and spectators).
2024 UCI BMX Racing World Cup calendar:
Rounds 1 and 2: Rotorua (New Zealand), 10-11 February 2024
Rounds 3 and 4: Brisbane (Australia), 24-25 February 2024
Rounds 5 and 6: Tulsa, USA, 27-28 April 2024
Rounds 7 and 8: Papendal (Netherlands), 22-23 June 2024.
The UCI is also pleased to announce part of the calendar for the 2024 Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup. The dates and venues are as follows:
Round 1: venue and dates to be confirmed
Round 2: Hong Kong (China), 15-17 March 2024
Round 3: Milton (Canada), 12-14 April 2024.
Several changes concerning UCI World Cups have been approved by the UCI Management Committee. The dates of two rounds of the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup powered by citymountainbike.com have been modified, as have those of two rounds of the 2023 UCI E-Mountain Bike Cross-country World Cup, whose calendar sees the addition of four new rounds: in Val Seriana (Italy) on 15 and 16 July, and in Bielstein (Germany) on 2 and 3 September.
The dates and venues for the second half of the 2023 UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup have been set as follows:
Round 4: venue and dates to be confirmed
Round 5: Doha (Qatar), 30 November to 2 December - Park and Flatland
Round 6: Al Ula (Saudi Arabia, 7-9 December - Park
Finally, an event has been added to the 2023 UCI Trials World Cup calendar: the final round of the series will take place in Aarhus, Denmark, from 1 to 3 September.
The updated calendars of the UCI World Cups mentioned can be consulted on the UCI website.
The Management Committee noted with satisfaction the progress of preparations for the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, which will take place in Glasgow and across Scotland (Great Britain) from 3 to 13 August 2023, bringing together 13 separate UCI World Championships. The event's organising committee and the UCI staff involved are in the home stretch leading up to this inaugural event and continue to work closely according to the established schedule.
Regarding indoor cycling, the UCI has decided to introduce a women's cycle-ball tournament into the UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships programme, starting with the 2023 edition of the event, which will take place from 11 to 13 August as part of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships. This is another step towards gender parity in the programme of international cycling.
Also in the sports programme, the distances of several track events were adapted. For example, the Women Elite individual pursuit will be raced over 4km instead of 3km (the distance will increase from 2km to 3km for the Women Junior category). The 500m time trial (Women Elite and Women Junior) will become the kilometre time trial. The Scratch event will be raced over a distance of 10km for the Elite categories (Men and Women), and 7.5km for the Juniors (Men and Women); the traditional men's distances were previously 15km (Elite) and 10km (Junior). Finally, the distance of the women's tempo race, one of the specialities in the omnium programme, will be aligned with that of the men, increasing from 7.5km to 10km for the Women Elite and Women Junior (previously 7.5km for both categories). These rule changes will come into force on 1st January 2025.
The UCI Management Committee approved its 2022 Financial Report. This is in line with the financial plan for the current cycle and shows an expected operating loss of CHF 4 million. The final annual result for the year was significantly affected by the decline in the UCI's investment portfolio, as a result of the impact of the geopolitical and economic environment on the financial markets. The loss amounted to CHF 9.1 million.
The financial situation is analysed over a four-year cycle, taking into account the recognition of Olympic revenues in the Olympic year alone. The operating result over four years is expected to show a surplus of approximately CHF 0.6 million.
Despite the temporary loss in the investment portfolio, the UCI's reserves remain above the target of a minimum reserve threshold (excluding buildings and fixed assets) of CHF 20 million from 2020 onwards (current amount: CHF 30.3 million).
The financial plan up to the end of 2024 continues as planned, and the UCI remains in a good position to face the end of the current Olympic cycle. The UCI's balance sheet at the end of 2022 is still solid and allows for the best possible planning and definition of the financial resources for the implementation of the UCI Agenda 2030, the Federation's roadmap for the next eight years.
The UCI 2022 Financial Report will be published at the end of May on the Federation's website along with its full 2022 Annual Report.
The UCI Management Committee welcomed the UCI's latest initiatives to promote the integrity of cycling, in particular the Federation's recent launch of a campaign dedicated to the protection of individuals in cycling, as part of the Cycling Integrity programme. The aim of this campaign is to encourage all those involved in our sport - athletes, coaches, organisers, officials and staff of the various structures - to play an active role in protecting the physical and psychological integrity of all involved in cycling, notably by using the secure "UCI SpeakUp" reporting platform. Most recently, the UCI celebrated "Play True Day", dedicated to clean sport and to raising awareness, particularly among athletes and the public, of the importance of doping prevention. To mark this day, the UCI deployed a campaign on its social media.
The subject of the participation of transgender athletes in international competitions was discussed at the UCI Management Committee meeting. The Management Committee decided to analyse the current situation by reopening consultation with the athletes and National Federations. Members therefore agreed to debate and take an eventual decision at its next meeting, in Glasgow, in August. The UCI's objective remains the same: to take into consideration, in the context of the evolution of our society, the desire of transgender athletes to practise cycling. The UCI also hears the voices of female athletes and their concerns about an equal playing field for competitors, and will take into account all elements, including the evolution of scientific knowledge.
In December 2022, the Professional Cycling Council had approved the setting up of a training compensation system whereby UCI WorldTeams will be required to pay compensation to UCI Continental Teams and clubs that have contributed to the training of their neo-professional riders. To complete the system, the UCI Management Committee has now extended this obligation to UCI ProTeams (men's 2nd professional division) and UCI Women's WorldTeams (women's 1st division). These teams will pay compensation to the UCI Continental Teams, UCI Women's Continental Teams and clubs concerned. The implementation of this system, which marks the conclusion of a long process of collaboration between stakeholders, will begin for the 2024 season. A dedicated communication on this subject will be made at a later date.
At the end of the three days of meetings, UCI President David Lappartient said: "The equalisation of distances for men and women in several track cycling events where it is possible, as well as the launch of a women's cycle-ball tournament at the next UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships, where the speciality was previously reserved for men, are further steps towards gender parity in cycling, in line with the UCI's convictions in this field, both in sport and governance.
"Regarding competitions, the dates and hosts - or some of them - of several UCI series have been announced, such as those of the 2023 UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup, the 2024 BMX Racing World Cup and the 2024 Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup. These calendars reflect the wide geographical diversity of venues hosting our major UCI events.
"Together, we are now ready to experience another historic moment for our sport, the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, which will bring together 13 separate UCI World Championships in Glasgow and across Scotland from 3 to 13 August."
The next meeting of the UCI Management Committee will be held from 31 July to 2 August in Glasgow, Scotland (Great Britain), on the occasion of the first edition of the UCI Cycling World Championships.