November 4, 2009 – The International Cycling Union (UCI) will organise a Para-cycling World Cup as from 2010. The first UCI Para-cycling World Cup will get under way in May 2010. It will consist of three rounds on two continents:

– May 21 – 23: Corrèze, France
– June 11 – 13: Segovia, Spain
– July 2 – 4: Baie-Comeau, Canada.

The organisers of the first two rounds have already organised P1 events on the 2009 UCI Para-cycling calendar. All three events are strongly backed by their respective National Federations.

Each round of the new World Cup will enable participating nations to gain qualification points for the 2011 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Roskilde, Denmark.

The three World Cup events will feature on the UCI Para-cycling calendar alongside the discipline’s major international events such as the World Championships and the Paralympic Games, organised respectively every year except an Olympic year and every four years.

Para-cycling was fully integrated into the UCI in February 2007 and is enjoying constant growth. A record number of para-cyclists participated in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, and the organisation of the UCI World Cup is an important step for the development of the discipline.

According to the UCI Para-cycling Coordinator Chantale Philie, next year’s UCI Para-cycling World Cup is just the beginning: “The UCI is confident that this first edition will be very successful. Indeed, the series should include four events from 2011. The new race should be organised in Asia or Oceania, which will contribute to the universal development of the discipline.”

More information on the UCI Para-cycling World Cup will soon be available in the Para-cycling section of the UCI website.