The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) today launches a campaign aimed at encouraging all cycling’s stakeholders - athletes, coaches, organisers, officials and staff members of different structures - to play an active role in protecting the physical and psychological integrity of those involved in our sport.
This campaign is part of the Cycling Integrity programme, which brings together all the UCI's actions dedicated to promoting and strengthening integrity in cycling at all levels (athletes, entourage and competitions). Cycling Integrity comprises three pillars: Clean cycling, Safe cycling and Fair cycling, each of which has a preventive component, notably through an educational programme, and a reactive component, enabling abusive conduct to be reported and treated.
As a vehicle for strong and positive universal values, cycling is an effective tool for the development of individuals and populations, as well as for sustainable and inclusive development. To play this constructive role, cycling must be safe for its actors: each member of the cycling family, whether a rider or not, must be able to evolve in an environment in which they feel safe and respected. The UCI must therefore do its utmost to fight against harassment and abuse in all its forms: psychological and physical abuse, sexual harassment and abuse, and negligence. Such occurrences simply have no place in cycling - professional or amateur - and cannot be tolerated.
In the fight against such conduct, it is essential that everyone, whether a victim or a witness of wrongdoing, feels free to express their concerns and has the necessary channels and support to do so. Everyone's contribution is valuable in helping the UCI to create a safer environment for all.
To this end, in 2021, the UCI created a secure reporting platform, UCI SpeakUp, where anyone can raise the alarm to help the UCI keep cycling safe and fair.
This platform can also be used by people wishing to report matters related to technological fraud and competition manipulation. Suspected doping incidents should be reported on the International Testing Agency (ITA) platform REVEAL.
To encourage all concerned to use the UCI SpeakUp reporting platform, the UCI has launched a vast campaign on its various digital platforms, as well as out in the field via awareness courses and posters.
Watch the campaign video:
Campaign posters:
The UCI encourages its affiliated National Federations to develop similar reporting platforms and procedures within their own organisations. It also encourages people licensed to National Federations that have such a system to use it as a priority.
UCI President David Lappartient said: "Integrity is a fundamental value of sport, and cycling is a fantastic sport, which also has the power to inspire hundreds of millions of people around the world to adopt cycling as a healthy leisure activity and sustainable means of transport. Cycling upholds strong values such as hard work, perseverance and solidarity, but it is also open to abuse. Such abuse has no place in our sport, and the UCI does not tolerate it. We want our sport to contribute to building a better society, and to this end, we do everything possible so that victims and witnesses of abuse know that we are on their side, and to encourage them to help us make cycling a sport that strives to be exemplary at all levels.
UCI Director General Amina Lanaya added: "The campaign we are launching today is the second launched in the framework of Cycling Integrity after the promotion of REVEAL. While prevention is fundamental to avoid abuse in our sport, it is also necessary to provide reporting tools and support to victims and witnesses of such acts. The secure reporting platform UCI SpeakUp sends a strong message to cycling stakeholders: everyone must be respected, and no objective justifies degrading treatment. The UCI wants to listen to and help victims, and get rid of abusers. We will continue to develop our Cycling Integrity programme to ensure that cycling plays its full and positive role in society and for individuals."