December 16 – “˜On Track to the future’ : The reform is bearing fruit. It is now almost three years since the idea of reforming track cycling was first conceived within the UCI. First set up in 2003 and introduced for the 2004-2005 season, the programme to restructure the discipline is now coming to maturity. First review after the second heat of the UCI Track World Cup “Classics” that took place in Manchester from 9 to 11 December.The primary objectives of the reform (entitled “On track to the future”) were: “¢ to promote a higher media profile for the discipline, avoiding the seasonal competition with other cycling disciplines, such as Road and Mountain Bike “¢ to harmonize participation over all competitions entered in the calendar “¢ to promote professionalism within the discipline “¢ to further the emergence of new talent “¢ to encourage participation by women.Objectives achieved! “¢ The flagship events of the Track season have been moved to the winter season (November to February). Televised coverage of Track events has taken off since then!

In fact, over 90 hours of images of the UCI Track World Cup “˜”˜Classics’’ 2004-2005 were broadcast in 110 countries in five continents, whereas in 2002 media coverage was practically non-existent. “¢ Two professional Track Teams were registered with the UCI last year. This season, seven have registered!The UCI Track Teams Scienceinsport.com (GB)Recycling.co.uk/MG-XPower/Litespeed (GB)Team DFL-GB Procycling Ltd /(GB)Omnibike Dynamo Moscow (RUS)Alpha Sport Donestek Shvsmuor (UKR)Spike Professional Cycling team (USA)Tean TIAA-CREF (USA)

The Track Ranking has become an objective in its own right, since it is the new basis for qualification for the major events: the UCI World Championships and the Olympic Games. Each event entered in the UCI international calendar now awards points according to a scale divided into four classes. Rider interest and participation have thus increased. “¢ The presence of young competitors in certain national delegations has been made possible thanks to the introduction of Track Teams. Those athletes who have won the most titles race in the colours of the professional teams, thus freeing up precious places within national federations.”¢ Endurance events (Scratch, Individual Pursuit and Points) are now attracting more women than men. In Manchester, just as in Moscow, figures are significant.Great Britain:The first federation to have taken advantage of the reformThree teams — SIS, Recycling.co.uk and DFL — boast all the best British riders: Victoria Pendleton, Jason Queally, Jamie Staff, Robert Hayles, Chris Newton, etc. This gives youngsters the opportunity to compete wearing the national federation’s jersey. Thus, Great Britainwon the Team Sprint event in Manchester, with an untested team in which Ross Edgar (22) competed alongside specialists Chris Hoy and Craig McLean.In Manchester, 36 women took part to the Sratch event. As in Moscow, men were only 30.Victoria Pendleton, Sprint World Champion, is now part of the SIS Team.

International Keirin Event

In Manchester, the Japanese Keirin Association organized the second edition of a Keirin tournament that brought together the world’s best specialists. With total prize money of EUR 67’000, the event attracted not only athletes but also the media. This formula proved to be a definite success and certainly one of the favourite events of the French cyclist Mickaël Bourgain who took first place on the podium for the second time, winning a further sum of EUR 15’000.Road cyclists are back!Thanks to the recent change in the timing of the Road and Track events, road riders are now appearing again in velodromes. Nicole Cooke, second in the 2005 UCI Road World Championships in Madrid, and Magnus Bäckstedt, winner of the Paris-Roubaix in 2004, were present in Manchester.Participation in the sport has markedly increasedIn Manchester, a total of 240 riders represented 38 nations and three teams.

These figures are highly significant in terms of the growing interest in the UCI Track World Cup “Classics”, and are similar to those recorded for the UCI Track World Cup “Classics” events, heats to qualify for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

August 11, 2005 – An excellent post-Olympic year. An Olympic fortnight consisting of 14 days of fierce battling and great entertainment for both spectators and TV viewers. During the four years before the Games, interest from athletes and the media increases in order to offer the best entertainment. In theory, the years after the Olympics are more low-key than those before the biggest world sporting event.As far as the media were concerned, interest in Track cycling did not drop during the 2004-2005 season. On the contrary, the UCI Track World Cup “˜Classics’ in fact recorded its best TV audience and the UCI Track World Championships were watched on five continents.

2004-2005 UCI Track World Cup “˜Classics’: Even more TV viewers than in 2004!

From November 2004 to February 2005, the UCI Track World Cup “˜Classics’ successively went to Moscow, Los Angeles, Manchester and Sydney.

Audience: better than in 2004!

With nearly 30 million TV viewers, the 2005 UCI Track World Cup “˜Classics’ has succeeded in maintaining the level reached at the previous edition which, as a reminder, was the last opportunity for athletes to perfect their performances before the big meeting in Athens.It did even better by attracting a few thousand people more! A trans generational spectacle. A survey carried out among Eurosport TV viewers showed that Track cycling is a discipline which is popular with both young and old alike. It is therefore an ideal communicational and promotional tool. The audience share in the 20-29 age group (20%) is an excellent sign. It promises some good years of prosperity for this discipline.

Duration: almost 100 hours

The four legs of the UCI Track Classics World Cup 2004-2005 had been widely covered with a total number of 91hours and 32 minutes.

The European continent alone clocked up 52hours and 11 minutes of coverage which is 57% of the total duration.