The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) wishes to announce that its Athletes Commission will be renewed in 2021, with new members being elected by their peers at the UCI World Championships to be held in 2021 across cycling’s various disciplines.
The commission has had 20 members since 2017. Each discipline – cyclo-cross, Para-cycling, BMX Racing, MTB cross-country, MTB downhill, trial, BMX Freestyle, road, track and indoor cycling – is represented by two riders – one female and one male.
Members are elected for a four-year term that begins at the elective UCI Congress in 2021, to be held at the UCI Road World Championships in Flanders (Belgium), and comes to an end at the following elective Congress, at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Africa.
The president of the UCI Athletes’ Commission, a position currently held by Katerina Nash (Czech Republic), the female representative for cyclo-cross, is elected by the commission’s members and sits on the UCI Management Committee, the Federation’s governing body, which operates under the authority of the Congress.
The commission has a consultative role through which it submits proposals to the UCI Management Committee. The main focus of its scope is to improve conditions in elite cycling, protect athletes in all respects, promote ethics and fair play, provide a direct link with the Federation’s decision-making bodies, inform athletes of any significant regulatory changes, and provide them with advice on their future careers after leaving competitive cycling.
In the 2017-2021 period, the Commission made its voice heard during discussions on themes that led to a number of achievements: the introduction of a minimum salary for female professional road cyclists, the establishment of gender parity in terms of participation at the Olympic Games (from Paris 2024), the integration of para-cycling races at events for able-bodied athletes and the UCI World Cycling Centre’s development policy.
Its members also contributed to the modification of the status of the Commission President (full member of the Management Committee), as well as to the development of regulations and calendars of the different disciplines within their respective commissions.
Prospective UCI Athletes’ Commission members must still be competing or recently retired, aged 18 or over, fluent in English and/or French, and must never have been sanctioned for a breach of the UCI’s Anti-doping Rules. For full details on the admission requirements, please consult the Athletes’ Commission Terms of Reference.
The representatives of each discipline are elected by their peers at the respective UCI World Championships. Only athletes taking part in those UCI World Championships are eligible to vote.
The renewal of the UCI Athletes’ Commission will begin with the election of the cyclo-cross representatives, which will take place at the 2021 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, scheduled for 30 and 31 January in Ostend, Belgium. Candidates have until 19 January 2021 to submit their applications to [email protected]. The list of candidates and the results will be announced on the UCI website on 24 January 2021 and 3 February 2021 respectively.
Subject to changes enforced by the ongoing global health crisis, elections for membership of the UCI Athletes’ Commission will be held on the following dates:
The UCI Athletes’ Commission renewal process will come to an end with the election of its president, which will take place between November and December 2021.