In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has today published a protocol for the resumption of the 2020 mountain bike season. The protocol focuses mainly on health procedures.
The document applies to all UCI-registered international competitions, in particular the UCI World Championships and the UCI World Cup. Mountain bike has been hit hard by Covid-19, with more than 60 per cent of events on the UCI International Mountain Bike Calendar having been cancelled or postponed. Drawn up by the UCI’s medical department, the document is designed to provide organisers, riders and teams with the measures that will enable a return to competition in conditions that safeguard the safety of everyone involved.
The UCI wishes to make the following initial points about the protocol:
Like the protocol introduced for road cycling, the document is based on the principle of the “competitors’ bubble”, which is made up of the riders, management staff and doctors. During competition, the competitors’ bubble should be protected as far as possible from the risk of contamination by appropriate measures.
The document is based on a series of recommendations, which the UCI strongly encourages to be applied, including:
In order to ensure that stakeholders are provided with relevant information prior to the event, organisers are also required to:
UCI President David Lappartient said: “This protocol for international mountain bike events is an important piece in the puzzle as we look to get our sport started again. The principle of the ‘team bubble’, adopted by road cycling, has been developed here for off road cycling, with aspects specific to MTB. The UCI, organisers, teams and riders have the responsibility of applying these measures so that the resumption of mountain bike in particular and cycling in general is not in any way compromised. Given the current global health situation, this resumption is by no means guaranteed. The protocol remains dependent upon the laws and provisions of the countries hosting our events, but it does represent another step towards a return to normality for our sport.”