The different stakeholders of the UCI Women’s WorldTour and UCI WorldTour – the leading series for women’s and men’s professional road cycling – met on 9 and 10 December in Montreux (Switzerland) for their annual seminar organised and led by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
The seminar, which took place in strict respect of the restrictions in force to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, gathered together 130 participants representing, as well as the UCI, organisers, teams and riders. They included the President of the Association Internationale des Groupes Cyclistes Professionnels (AIGCP) Richard Plugge, the President of UNIO – the association of women’s cycling teams – Esra Tromp, the President of the Association Internationale des Organisateurs de Courses Cyclistes (AIOCC) Christian Prudhomme, the President of Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA) Gianni Bugno and the Manager of CPA Women Alessandra Cappellotto.
The principal themes of the two-day programme were the development of the UCI Women’s WorldTour and the UCI WorldTour, progress made regarding rider safety, innovation, the UCI’s sustainable development strategy, the Federation’s activities in the medical field, cycling’s anti-doping programme and the UCI’s initiatives in the domain of integrity. Moreover, PwC, the external auditor appointed by the UCI for the registration of UCI professional teams, and Nielsen Sports respectively presented the latest economic and media trends relating to cycling.
The participants noted with satisfaction the recent developments, and those to come, for the UCI WorldTour and UCI Women’s WorldTour. The women’s series is currently undergoing significant progress, such as the increase in the number of UCI Women’s WorldTeams (first division teams) for the 2022 season, from 9 to 14, and the progressive increase in minimum salaries (by around 38% between 2022 and 2025), and the introduction of a minimum salary for neo-professional women athletes, a new status that will be introduced in 2023.
The latest updates in the UCI’s action plan for safety were the object of a detailed presentation, in particular course protection and a study of barriers currently underway in collaboration with the HES-SO Valais-Wallis – School of Engineering, and the use of software tools in the assessment of the danger of routes with a view to making them safer, in collaboration with Ghent University (Belgium).
The UCI’s Sustainability Strategy, based on cycling’s role as a catalyst for climate action, was explained to participants, who all have an important role to play in encouraging populations to use bikes on a daily basis and fighting against climate change and other modern-day issues (namely lack of activity and traffic congestion).
Another part of the seminar concerned integrity, (the fight against doping and technological fraud, prevention of manipulation of competitions and the protection of athletes). The UCI is firmly committed to educating the cycling community and raising its awareness of integrity issues, and has appointed a Manager of Integrity and Education to widen its action in this domain. The UCI’s new whistleblowing platform, making it possible to anonymously and confidentially signal cases of abuse, harassment or manipulation of competitions, was presented to participants.
Finally, participants were given a full overview of the situation concerning the Covid-19 pandemic, both from a general point of view and relating to the professional peloton. A new health protocol, currently being finalised with stakeholders, will be published before the beginning of the 2022 season.
At the end of the seminar, UCI President David Lappartient declared: “I am pleased that the UCI Women’s WorldTour and UCI WorldTour Seminar could take place this year, as opposed to last year when it had to be cancelled due to restrictions in force to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The last two days saw open and constructive discussions between the main actors of women’s and men’s professional road cycling, and I would like to thank them. Today there is a real desire to move forward together on all the discipline’s essential themes, be it growth of the sector, rider safety, sustainability or integrity. This common desire and the passion that motivates us all bodes well for the future, and I look forward to continuing our work with all members of the cycling family.”