The Union Cycliste International (UCI) is the world governing body of cycling as a sport encompassing road racing, track and mountain bike, cyclo-cross, BMX, trials, paracycling and indoor cycling. Founded in Paris in 1900 the organisation is now based in Aigle, Switzerland and is recognised by the IOC (International Olympic Committee).
The current President is Brian Cookson, former President of the British Cycling Federation, who took over from Pat McQuaid following a bitter election battle in 2013. At the time the UCI was still reeling from the aftershock of the Lance Armstrong confession and multiple allegations of corruption.
The UCI sets the regulations for the competitive aspects of the sport of cycling and oversees the enforcement of them from racing to anti-doping (the UCI is signed up the the WADA code) and equipment. All the rules can be downloaded from the UCI's website.
The Tour de France is the flagship event in the UCI's WorldTour calendar that includes all three Grand Tours as well as the one-day classics, Milan - San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Tour of Lombardy. The UCI's licence commission oversees the registration of professional cycling teams.
UCI world championships are held annually in each of the disciplines as well as World Cups (excluding men's road racing, but including women's). Road, track, mountain bike and BMX are the four cycling disciplines included in the Olympic programme.
External links: History of the UCI | UCI YouTube channel
Latest
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London to host 2022-23 Cyclocross World Cup
The announcement raises the possibility of van der Poel, Van Aert and Vos making a winter appearance in London.
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UCI tightens rules for transgender cyclists: Two year wait before competition allowed
Changes following Emily Bridges's move to compete will come into effect on 1 July 2022
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UCI president David Lappartient defends promotion and relegation system: 'It certainly has its advantages for the competition'
The top-18 teams of the UCI's rankings based on results over the past three seasons will be awarded a three-year WorldTour licence
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What do the UCI's rules for Russian and Belarusian teams and riders actually mean?
Cycling's governing body announced sanctions on teams and riders in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
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UCI will allow drones to film races from March 1, but only 'if prior admission is requested'
This decision comes after the governing body banned a drone mid-race at the Superprestige cyclocross race last Saturday
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TV drone has short-lived debut in live broadcast after UCI intervenes to ban them mid-race
The drone didn't even have enough time to run out of charge before it was yanked out of the sky by cycling's governing body
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Female pros want a separate Under 23s World Championships, not a race within a race, The Cyclists' Alliance says
Limited support for UCI plan to introduce an U23 jersey, awarded from the elite road race
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UCI announces teams for the 2022 WorldTour with six new women's teams joining the top tier
The women's top division of the sport is growing every year with yet more teams joining
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UCI reveals it has refused Qhubeka-NextHash's WorldTour licence for 2022
The South African team has struggled with financial issues for the last few years
