It was attended by representatives of 69 National Federations affiliated to the UCI.
At a ceremony organised during the Congress, participants were able to discover the various UCI World Championships awarded for the period 2023-2028 by the Management Committee of the International Federation. In total, the names of the host cities/regions of 14 UCI World Championships - for a total of ten countries on four continents - were unveiled:
2023 and 2024 UCI Masters Cyclo-cross World Championships: Hamburg (Germany)
2024 UCI Gravel World Championships: Flemish Brabant (Belgium)
2024 UCI Junior Track World Championships: China (venue to be confirmed)
2025 UCI Junior Track World Championships: Apeldoorn (Netherlands)
2025 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships: Ronse (Belgium)
2025 UCI Track World Championships: San Juan (Argentina)
2025 UCI Gravel World Championships: Nice (France)
2026 UCI Gravel World Championships: Nannup (Australia)
2026 UCI Track World Championships: Shanghai (China)
2026 UCI Road World Championships: Montreal (Canada)
2026 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships: Primiero San Martino di Castrozza (Italy)
2027 UCI Cycling World Championships: Haute-Savoie (France)
2028 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships: Leogang (Austria).
The French department of Haute-Savoie will be the second host of the UCI Cycling World Championships, the first of which will be held in Glasgow and across Scotland from 3 to 13 August, 2023. Haute-Savoie has a long history of hosting major international sporting events. More than a hundred cycling events are organised each year in the department, all disciplines included. The department has numerous infrastructures to host the various disciplines and intends to develop them in the future. Haute-Savoie has been the scene of several legendary UCI World Championships, notably the 1980 UCI Road World Championships won by Bernard Hinault, but also, more recently, the 2004 and 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, both organised in Les Gets.
The 2027 edition of the UCI Cycling World Championships will include a total of 19 UCI World Championships (six more than in 2023 with the addition of gravel, enduro, pump track, junior track, cycling esport and polo-bike).
A new member joined the UCI at its 2022 Congress: the latter voted in favour of the affiliation of the Bhutan Cycling Federation. The UCI now has 202 member National Federations. This number, rarely reached, demonstrates the universality of the cycling movement.
The Congress approved the 2021 UCI Annual Report, which includes the consolidated financial statements of the UCI and the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC).
The reserves of both entities at the end of 2021 amounted to over CHF 62 million. This strong increase compared to 2020 (just over 40 million) is mainly due to the income from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The Congress also approved the UCI's 2023 budget, as well as an updated forecast for 2022. The UCI's projected reserves over the Olympic cycle were also presented to the Congress. They show a very strong financial position for the end of the cycle, with an expected surplus, and, as a result, an increase in funds available for the development of cycling worldwide.
The UCI's Agenda 2030, approved by the UCI Management Committee at its meeting in Arzon (France) last June, was presented in detail to the Congress. This document - which follows on from Agenda 2022, the objectives of which have now almost all been achieved -, constitutes the UCI's roadmap for the next eight years. The objectives presented in the Agenda 2030, which aim to make cycling the sport of the 21st century, to make it more inclusive and to develop a lifestyle around cycling, are based on the following axes:
the development of cycling worldwide and the strengthening of its universality;
innovation and evolution of competitions;
the consolidation of actions in favour of National Federations and the strengthening of the UCI's solidarity programmes;
the promotion of sustainable cycling;
the protection of athletes and the guarantee of equal opportunities;
the promotion of Olympic values and the consolidation of the UCI's good governance.
The flagship projects of Agenda 2030 include the development of the UCI Track Champions League and the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup under the UCI’s partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, gravel, the UCI World Championships and World Cup for snow bike, the Urban Olympic Series and cycling esport, as well as the reform of men’s and women’s professional road cycling.
The Agenda 2030 has been published today - in nine languages - on the UCI website.
Finally, Congress awarded the UCI Merit, a distinction for personalities who have made an outstanding commitment to cycling, to the following people:
Mr Mohammed Ben El Mahi (MAR), President of the Royal Moroccan Cycling Federation since 2008 and member of the UCI Management Committee since 2013, for his contribution to cycling in his country, on the African continent and at world level, through his responsibilities within numerous bodies;
Ms Tracey Gaudry (AUS), former professional road cyclist and first woman elected President of the Oceania Cycling Confederation and Vice President of the UCI, for her decisive role in the development of women in cycling and the promotion of cycling for all, as well as for her effective action to develop cycling in Oceania
Ms Anna Meares (AUS), two-time Olympic Champion and 11-time UCI Track World Champion, for her exceptional career and her exemplary contribution to track cycling through her fighting spirit and extraordinary talent;
Mr Tony Mitchell (NZL), President of the Oceania Cycling Confederation since 2021 and member of the UCI Management Committee since 2017, for the expertise he brings to his functions in areas as varied as governance, cycling for all, equipment and new technologies, and finance;
Mr Vincent Jacquet (FRA), Director of International Relations, Development and the World Cycling Centre at the UCI until his sudden death last March, for his exceptional work, appreciated by all, in structuring the UCI's solidarity actions in the world since he took up his position in 2019.
Congress participants discovered the new UCI Anthem. It will be broadcast from tomorrow during the podium ceremonies of the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, and in the future will be used at UCI World Championships for all disciplines. This anthem, which will replace the one that has been used since its composition in 1996, aims to capture the essence of the UCI and of cycling in a unique melody and rhythm. This change is part of the UCI's desire to modernise its sound brand and ensure it keeps up with the times.
UCI President David Lappartient said: "I would like to thank the UCI member National Federations for their support for the Agenda 2030. The document they unanimously approved today will be the UCI's roadmap for the years to come. Building on an Agenda 2022, for which almost all the goals have been achieved, the Agenda 2030 places particular emphasis on strengthening the contribution of cycling to a more inclusive and sustainable world. I look forward to working with all stakeholders in the cycling world to achieve these goals.
"The UCI Congress in Wollongong awarded a record number of UCI World Championships for the 2023-2028 period. This is not only proof of the attractiveness of the major UCI events, but also offers welcome visibility, in particular for National Federations, of the major sporting events for the coming years.
"Finally, I would like to congratulate Haute-Savoie on being awarded the organisation of the second UCI Cycling World Championships, four years after the first edition, which will take place next year in Glasgow and across Scotland. With its vast experience and ideal setting, Haute-Savoie, in France, will offer the different and varied cycling disciplines optimal conditions for a successful event.”