February 01, 2014 (Hoogerheide, Netherlands) – At its first meeting of the year, held at the World Championships in Hoogerheide, Netherlands, the UCI Management Committee released a joint statement about the on 2014 UCI Road World Championships in Ponferrada, Spain and approved the regulations for the Cycling Independent Reform Commission. A number of measures for the development of cycling in 2014 and beyond were also announced.

UCI and CSD joint statement on Ponferrada 2014

The Spanish Department of Sports (El Consejo Superior de Deportes, “CSD”) is today delighted to report on a significant phase in the organisation of the UCI World Championships, 2014, to be held in Ponferrada.  This comes in particular through the excellent cooperation between the UCI and its President, Brian Cookson, with the president of the CSD, Miguel Cardenal, and the Director General, Ana Munoz, working throughout with Jose Luis Lopez Cerron, President of the Spanish Cycling Federation.

This strong relationship has been cemented through the recent visit by the UCI’s President, Brian Cookson, to the CSD headquarters in December, 2013.  As confirmed by the CSD, the strong leadership shown in this process and close understanding with the UCI has ensured the full launch of the UCI Road World Championships, Ponferrada 2014.  This, together with the continued institutional support which has been welcomed by CSD, guarantees the organisation of the event, scheduled for 21-28th September, 2014.

The clear commitment of the Assembly of Castilla y Leon has been decisive in assuring the success of this event, and of particular importance has been the agreement reached by the Assembly on 30th January.

Miguel Cardenal expressed his great satisfaction at the partnership with the UCI, and wished to highlight the key role played by the President of the Assembly of Castilla and Leon, Juan Vicente Herrera, for his personal involvement and contribution.  “Without his help, this great moment for Spanish cycling would not have been possible”, underlined Cardenal.

Brian Cookson added his great pleasure at the strong relationship established with the CSD, and at the exciting prospect of this iconic event in Ponferrada. “I was delighted to visit the CSD in December to present UCI WorldTour awards to Spanish teams and riders, reflecting the importance of this sport in a country rich in the history of cycling.  We are very much looking forward to adding to this great history in Ponferrada later this year. The World Championships is a monument of cycling, and I am sure we will be privileged to see some fantastic racing over an excellent and challenging course.”

Next Tuesday, 4th February, the Organising Committee of the UCI Road World Championships will be received in Madrid, by the President of the CSD, Miguel Cardenal, and by the Director General, Ana Munoz.

UCI Management Committee Agrees Key Decisions

At its first meeting of the year, held at the World Championships in Hoogerheide, Netherlands, the UCI Management Committee took the following steps:

– It approved the regulations under which the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) will operate. The regulations, effective for a year from 1 February 2014, cover all aspects of the CIRC’s work including the procedures in place to enable it to offer reduced sanctions to people admitting to past doping offences whilst assisting the CIRC in its investigation. This follows the announcement in January of the composition of CIRC, headed by Swiss politician Dick Marty.

– The Management Committee noted also the strong support recently re-affirmed from the Spanish authorities for the organisation of the UCI Road World Championships, Ponferrada 2014. This support was also expressed in a joint statement published by the UCI and the Consejo Superior de Deportes earlier today.

– The registration of La Course by the Tour de France as a category 1.1 event on the 2014-2015 Elite Women calendar, scheduled for 27th July 2014. The Management Committee thanks and congratulates the organiser, Amaury Sport Organisation, for this new event which is to be raced in Paris on the final day of the Tour de France. This initiative is perfectly in line with the UCI’s strategy for the development of women’s cycling.

– A new approach by the UCI in favour of innovation and technology, which begins with the new composition of the Equipment Commission : Brian Cookson (President), Martijn Swinkels (Commissaires), Carsten Jeppesen (ProTeams), WFSGI (Industry), Professor Jan Anders Manson (EPFL), Alex Roussel (Mechanics) and Martina Schär (wider public). This follows the recent announcement of the arrival of aerodynamics engineering specialist Dimitris Katsanis as UCI consultant.

– The commitment to international development by endorsing the ambitions of the World Cycling Centre which has seen the rise of exceptional athletes across the world such as Eritrean Natnael Berhane recent winner of the Tropicale Amissa Bongo event.

The Management Committee also approved:

– The awarding of the 2018 UCI MTB & Trials World Championships to Lenzerheide (Switzerland) and the 2016 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships to Pietermaritzburg (South Africa).

– The 2014-2015 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup calendar: Valkenburg (NED, 19/10/2014), Koksijde (BEL, 22/11/2014), Milton Keynes (GBR, 29/11/2014), Namur (BEL, 21/12/2014), Heusden-Zolder (BEL, 26/12/2014), Roubaix (FRA, 18/01/2015), Hoogerheide (NED, 25/01/2015); as well as the international UCI Cyclo-cross calendar

– The international 2014-2015 UCI Track calendar
The next Management Committee will take place on June 12 and 13 at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

At the end of the Management Committee meeting, the UCI President Brian Cookson declared: “Our Management Committee has started the year with some great steps for our sport. In particular, we have further developed on my commitment to an independent investigation with the approval of the regulations under which the CIRC will work. Additionally, we have ensured an increased visibility for women’s cycling, made great progress on delivering the UCI Road World Championships, Ponferrada 2014 as the great event it will be, and set in motion the modernisation of our approach to the use of technology in our sport.”