The UCI WCC is an elite coaching and training centre providing support to developing nations from all around the world. It offers training and development for around 100 athletes every year in all Olympic disciplines (road, track, BMX and mountain bike), as well as para-cycling and cyclo-cross. Opened in 2002, it has already welcomed more than 1,000 trainees from over 100 countries, including Great Britain’s Victoria Pendleton, China’s Guo Shuang and Cuba’s Lisandra Guerra.
The event will take place between 20 and 24 July on the 200 metre Siberian pine track which has already hosted numerous competitions from the UCI International Calendar, the 2006 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships, as well as Matthias Brandle’s successful UCI Hour Record attempt in October 2014 (51.852km). Approximately 230 participants aged between 17 and 18 from 35 countries, representing the new generation of track cyclists, are expected to attend the event which will see 19 World Champions crowned, inspired by the likes of Bradley Wiggins, Laura Trott, Francois Pervis, Rohan Dennis and Anna Meares who have all worn the rainbow jersey in this category.
Welcoming the news, UCI President Brian Cookson said: “I’m delighted that the UCI World Cycling Centre will host the 2016 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships. This is good news as it offers us the opportunity to provide significant support to talented riders who otherwise would not have been able to compete. For example, we will invite – at our cost – developing nations to train at the UCI WCC four weeks before the competition starts and give them the chance to compete with the best on the planet.
“In addition, the UCI will provide mechanics before and during the competitions, as well as racing bikes and low cost local accommodation. This is all part of the UCI’s strategy to help nurture and support developing nations and to grow the sport in new markets. And given that the Tour de France will pass near to Aigle on the opening day of the Championships, there is an exciting opportunity to ensure that some of the media covering the Tour can come to the UCI WCC, discover our Home of Cycling and help to grow the profile of the event.”
The UCI WCC will invite school children from Aigle and the region to the competitions and organise various activities for them (agility courses, BMX demonstrations, etc.).
The competitions will be live streamed on the UCI YouTube channel (tv.uci.ch) which has achieved 32 million views and almost 180,000 subscribers since 2013.