June 16, 2011 (Maastricht, Netherlands) – The Professional Cycling Council (PCC), presided by Mr. Vittorio Adorni (ITA) met on June 15 in Maastricht, the Netherlands. During his opening speech, the UCI President, Mr Pat McQuaid, supported by members of the Council, strongly encouraged the representatives of the AIGCP (Association Internationale des Groupes Cyclistes Professionnels) within the PCC – Messrs Jonathan Vaughters and Roberto Amadio – to begin a revision of the Code of Conduct for UCI ProTeams so that the very important element, the fight against doping, is updated, revived and applied.

On the same subject, the CCP decided to submit to the Management Committee – which will meet in Maastricht tomorrow and Friday – a proposal aiming to prevent any rider returning to competition after a suspension of at least two years for violation of the Anti-Doping Regulation to contribute to the establishment of his team’s sporting value during the registration procedure.

If the UCI Management Committee approves, this measure, which means that during a period of two years these riders’ points would not be taken into account, will take effect from this year.

Concerning riders under contract who change teams, the PCC decided to regulate “intra-season” transfers by creating a period from 1st to 15th August during which such movement will be authorised on the basis of a three-party agreement.

In principle, “inter-season” transfers will be possible between August 1st and October 20th and then – with the exclusion of the 15 riders who have contributed to the establishment of the sporting value of each team – from 21st October to 31st December.

This regulation, which will also be put to the UCI Management Committee for approval, would apply to 1st and 2nd division teams and would take effect immediately.

The PCC approved a change to the date of the Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian-San Sebastian in 2012 in order to avoid a clash with the road race at the London Olympic Games: as an exception, the UCI WorldTour event will take place on Tuesday 14th August.

The members of the PCC also expressed their support for the granting of a UCI WorldTour licence for the GP E3-Harelbeke from 2012, on condition that the race is brought forward to Friday. The organisers will apply to the UCI Licences Commission for this.

The PCC also accepted the new regulation for the team time trial – reserved for commercial teams – which will be introduced at the UCI Road World Championships from 2012, and the composition of the working groups “Technical rules and security”, “Riders – teams relations” and “Sporting evaluation”.