January 26, 2008 – Following yesterdays decision by the UCI Management Committee, President Pat McQuaid, accompanied by a delegation from the Management Committee, met the Presidents of the Belgian, French, Italian, Spanish and Luxembourgeoise National Federations this morning at the UCI World Cyclo Cross Championships in Treviso.

The meeting took place in an open and constructive atmosphere and addressed the current situation regarding races organized by ASO, RCS and Unipublic.

The attendees of the meeting expressing their unreserved respect for cycling’s heritage and in this context the creation of a special calendar dedicated to races that make up this heritage was proposed.

In the context of this, the Presidents of the National Federations concerned hoped that the race organizers would for their part respect the UCI ProTour and that this development would contribute to putting an end to the differences that have opened up following the reorganization of professional cycling.

The Presidents of the five National Federations also expressed their wish that this special calendar should be reserved for the Grand Tours and “monuments” organized by ASO, RCS and Unipublic:

– Tour de France — Giro d’Italia — Vuelta a Espana
– Milan-Sanremo — Paris-Roubaix — Liège-Bastogne-Liège — Tour de Lombardie.

For his part the President of the UCI, reaffirming his desire to restore the unity of the cycling family, hoped this move would lead to recognition of the UCI’s authority as head of this family and in particular respect for the UCI’s current rules of participation and system of rankings as well as an end to all disagreements, whether in the legal system or in the press.

The participants at the meeting in Treviso gave their personal commitment to put this initiative to their respective organizations. Furthermore, the Presidents of the National Federations will support this project in front of the heads of ASO, RCS and Unipublic to gain their support.

The President of the UCI and the representatives of the National Federations also decided that from now on they should meet regularly to discuss important subjects concerning all the disciplines of cycle sport.

At the conclusion of this meeting the President of the UCI and the Presidents of the National Federations, who all approved this press release, expressed their wish that this day should represent an important departure point in the reestablishment of serenity at the heart of professional cycling in the years to come.