A year after reinvigorating its Athletes’ Commission, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce that it has decided to widen the representation of its different disciplines on the Commission by modifying its electoral system. The modification will take effect with the Commissions’ renewal in 2017.
This new voting method will see the UCI Athletes' Commission, currently chaired by Bobbie Traksel, increase from 13 to 16 members. This change will ensure a perfect Men/Women balance, one of the strategic priorities of the UCI since the arrival of Brian Cookson as its President in September 2013. Previously reserved for Olympic disciplines (road, track, BMX, mountain bike) and para-cycling, gender parity will be extended to cyclo-cross, trials and indoor cycling, thus applying to all eight disciplines of our sport.
In line with the election method of the Athletes’ Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which elects its members at each Olympic Games, elections of the two representatives from each discipline will take place every four years at the UCI World Championships of the relevant discipline. The first discipline to renew its members will be cyclo-cross, during the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Bieles, Luxembourg (January 28th-29th).
As with all the other UCI Commissions, the four-year mandate of the 16 members will run from the UCI Congress in 2017 to the Congress in 2021.
Athletes participating in the Elite World Championships are entitled to vote for the two representatives of their discipline. To be eligible for election, candidates must have fulfilled determined sporting criteria during the past four years, which means they may be active or recently-retired athletes.
According to the Commission’s terms of reference, which reflect the UCI’s continued desire to give the athletes a clearer voice, the President of the Athletes’ Commission is elected by his/her peers and is co-opted onto the UCI Management Committee, the executive body of the Federation which operates under the authority of the Congress. In addition, one representative from each discipline automatically becomes a member of the Commission of his/her discipline and therefore represents the athletes on this Commission.
The Commission met for the first time in 2015 to elect its President and a second time in January 2016. The UCI has implemented an interactive platform to facilitate communication between members, who have considerable professional obligations and are widely dispersed geographically.
It is worth noting that one of the Commission members, American para-cyclist Greta Neimanas, has been named by the World Anti-Doping Agency to its Athlete Committee.
Her nomination follows the recent election of Sarah Walker (NZL), member of the UCI BMX Commission, to the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission. Our Federation is delighted by the recognition of our athletes by major international sporting bodies.