Dubai: The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world governing body for cycling has taken another step towards getting the international cycling season back up and running, with the Il Lombardia in Italy, from August 15, set to kick things off.
The UCI Management Committee met on video-conference earlier in the week and took a series of decisions, notably concerning the update of the international calendar following the after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic, and the strengthening of the fight against doping.
The UCI Management Committee endorsed the decisions taken earlier by the Professional Cycling Council – a body comprising representatives of riders (CPA), teams (AIGCP) and organisers (AIOCC) – concerning upcoming races on the 2020 UCI World Tour calendar.
With Il Lombardia kicking off the calendar afresh on August 15, the Gree-Tour of Guangxi, China that was previously scheduled from October 15-20, will now take place from November 5-10. The EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg (Germany) has now been scheduled to take place on October 3, while another German race, the Eschborn-Frankfurt has been cancelled for this year along with another two competitions – the Prudential Ride London-Surrey Classic (Great Britain) and A Travers la Flandre (Belgium).
A few changes have also been made in the 2020 UCI Women’s World Tour calendar with a change of date for the Tour of Guangxi (China) from October 20 to November 10, while the Postnord UCI WWT Vargarda, West Sweden TTT and the Postnord UCI WWT Vårgårda West Sweden RR and the Ladies Tour of Norway all stand cancelled for 2020.
“The good thing is that we have moved forward towards a resumption of the 2020 cycling season that will be as smooth as possible. I would like to acknowledge the general spirit of the members of the cycling family which largely contributes to a return to normal that we are all hoping for,” UCI President David Lappartient said at the end of the two-day meeting.
“I am also pleased with the approval of the contract between the UCI and the ITA (International Testing Agency). This is the last formal step towards the transfer of our anti-doping operational activities to the ITA as of January 1, 2021.”
Based in Lausanne, the ITA is an international organisation constituted as a non-profit foundation with its mission to offer comprehensive anti-doping services, independent from sporting or political powers, to International Federations (IFs), Major Event Organisers (MEOs) and all other anti-doping organisations requesting support.
The next UCI Management Committee meeting will take place on September 22-24 in Montreux, Switzerland, during the Aigle-Martigny 2020 UCI Road World Championships.
