The Management Committee of the International Cycling Union (UCI) met for the first time this year today in Tabor, the Czech Republic, on the eve of the 2010 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships which will be held this weekend.
During the meeting, the Management Committee awarded the following UCI World Championships:
The award of the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships – with candidatures from Veneto Dolomiti (ITA) and Willingen (GER) – has been deferred until the Management Committee meeting of 11 June in Birmingham (GBR).
With regards to the choice of Louisville to host the 2013 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, the UCI President, Mr Pat McQuaid, emphasised the major significance of this decision: “For the first time since this event was established some 60 years ago, the Cyclo-cross World Championships will take place in the United States, where the discipline is currently experiencing very strong growth. We are extremely happy with the award of this event as it is a clear illustration of the UCI’s strategy to globalise cycle sport. I would like to congratulate the promoters of this initiative, as well as the city of Louisville, and wish them the best of luck with their work.”
The Management Committee also approved the following calendars (details are available at www.uci.ch):
· 2010 UCI Mountain Bike International Calendar,
· 2010-2011 UCI Track Cycling International Calendar,
· 2010-2011 UCI Cyclo-cross International Calendar,
· 2010-2011 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Calendar,
· 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Pre-calendar.
The Management Committee also approved the qualification systems for the 2012 London Olympic Games’ mountain bike and BMX competitions, the 2012 London Paralympics’ cycling competitions and 2010 UCI Road World Championships (men’s road races). Details of these qualification systems will soon be available on the UCI website.
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MORE UCI NEWS:
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected an appeal by one of Germany's top cyclists, Stefan Schumacher, They also upheld the worldwide two-year suspension that the UCI had imposed on the German rider in extension of the sanction by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) regarding competition in France. Today – there has been another extremely important legal reaffirmation of the fight against doping.
The Third Section of the Provincial Court of Almería, Spain, completely rejected the appeal by the Spanish rider Carlos Roman Golbano, who had challenged the legitimacy of the Whereabouts Information System that is used to gather vital information on the location of sportspeople who are subject to out-of-competition doping controls.
According to the ruling, which confirms the first judgment in the case issued by Almería Civil Court No. 6 in September 2007, the implementation of the programme does not breach individual rights guaranteed by the Spanish Constitution, in particular in respect of the protection of privacy.
The UCI, having defended the legitimacy of the Whereabouts Information System in conjunction with the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) during the hearing, expressed its profound satisfaction at the ruling; it certainly represents a major step forward in case law in the fight against doping.
UCI President, Pat McQuaid, said: "Cycling has been at the forefront of the fight against doping for many years. We are once again proud that our commitment offers benefits to the sports movement as a whole. We are ever more convinced that our joint efforts against the scourge of doping will become increasingly effective, in particular as a result of rulings such as this, which recognise the basic principles upon which our strategies and actions are based."
The UCI also thanked the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which played an important part in the first stage of the case, and also points out that some 850 professional cyclists come under the remit of the Whereabouts Information System through the biological passport programme.
