The Management Committee of the Union Cycliste Internationale held its third ordinary meeting of the year from September 20-22 in Montreal, Canada, during the 2026 UCI Road World Championships.

The UCI Management Committee confirmed several decisions made by the Professional Cycling Council (PCC) – the body that brings together stakeholders in men's and women's professional road cycling and formulates proposals for the development of the sport – during the September 4 meeting, covering various topics including the UCI Women's WorldTour and UCI WorldTour calendars, and the points scale for cyclists from road teams competing in events of other disciplines. It was also informed of the PCC's agreement to create a leader's jersey for National Tours, the final terms of which will be submitted to PCC vote on December 8.

Regarding the UCI Women's WorldTour calendar, the Vuelta España Femenina by Carrefour.es will take place from October 3-10, 2027, now immediately following the men's event. The Vuelta a Burgos Feminas (Spain) will take place from May 6-10, 2027, on the dates previously occupied by the Vuelta España Femenina by Carrefour.es. Regarding the UCI WorldTour calendar, Eschborn-Frankfurt (Germany) will return to its traditional date of May 1, 2027.

The points scale for cyclists competing in disciplines other than road cycling has been adopted. This scale, which will be introduced starting in the 2027 season, completes the system that allows road teams to score points in the UCI World Rankings for teams that field their riders in major events (UCI World Championships and UCI World Cups) of other disciplines (cyclocross, track, mountain bike and gravel – UCI World Championships only for the latter discipline).

The UCI Junior Road Nations Cup, whose new format was approved by the UCI Management Committee during the June meeting, has reached the final milestone ahead of its first edition, with the approval of the 2027 calendar and the selection of the host for its final. Eleven events – four in Europe, four in the Americas, two in Oceania and one in Africa – organized between February and July will be included in the 2027 UCI Junior Road Nations Cup program. Each of these events will comprise a men's and women's race, bringing together teams of five riders – primarily national and continental teams to encourage participation and reduce travel distances. The Asian event in the series has yet to be confirmed. Four separate classifications will be established: the men's and women's continental classifications, which determine qualification for the Grand Final, and the men's and women's national classifications, used to allocate quotas to the UCI Road World Championships. Results from junior cyclists at the five Continental Championships and previous UCI Road World Championships will also be considered in calculating the classifications.

The Piccola Tre Valli Varesine, to be held in Varese, Italy, will be the final of the 2027 UCI Junior Road Nations Cup. The competition will take place from July 29 to August 1. In total, 26 men's teams and 26 women's teams will participate in the final: for each of the two categories: ten from Europe, four from Asia, four from Africa, four from the Americas, two from Oceania, plus one team from the host country and one team from the UCI World Cycling Centre.

Also for road cycling, a second certification level for Sports Directors has been created, in addition to the one already in place for Sports Directors of UCI professional teams (UCI Women's WorldTeams, UCI Women's ProTeams, UCI WorldTeams and UCI ProTeams). In view of the 2027 UCI Cycling World Championships in Haute-Savoie Mont-Blanc (France), all Sports Directors working with their national selection will need to obtain certification by completing an online course. This will then be extended to all Sports Directors of UCI Continental Teams and UCI Women's Continental Teams for the 2028 season.

Regarding safety, the UCI Management Committee approved new rules for the barriers used during races. These rules are designed to ensure the use, in the final 200 meters before the finish line, of barriers that comply with standards derived from the study conducted by the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland Valles-Wallis. This requirement will apply to UCI WorldTour and UCI Women's WorldTour events starting in the 2027 season. The protocol will be made available to manufacturers to ensure they comply with the specifications.

The Management Committee also emphasized the urgent need to ensure widespread adoption of GPS rider safety tracking systems, enabling real-time tracking of the position of riders and vehicles during races at all professional road events, initially focusing on UCI WorldTour and UCI Women's WorldTour events. The protocols, relevant regulatory framework and implementation timeline will be developed as quickly as possible. A GPS safety tracking system was implemented for all categories at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali (Rwanda). It is being used again at the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montreal and will be employed in future editions of the event.

Cycling is a sport characterized by strong dynamism and high innovation capacity from industry manufacturers. This positive momentum reflects the growing popularity of cycling, but must still be managed appropriately to avoid excesses that could compromise safety, fairness, universality or sustainability. To achieve this, closer collaboration with economic actors has become necessary. For this reason, the UCI has decided to establish a new consultation framework with cycling industry stakeholders on equipment regulation. The objective is to consult directly with manufacturers and independent experts, without intermediaries, in order to produce objective and well-reasoned technical opinions based on solid data. This process will take into account the interests of manufacturers, in accordance with the Lugano Charter (see below), while maintaining cyclist safety as the absolute priority.

The new framework will be built around new Technical Committees (TC) dedicated to different products. For each product family (cyclist equipment, bicycles and data), several TCs will be established, each dedicated to a specific topic. For example, for cyclist equipment, one TC will be dedicated to clothing and another to protective equipment; for bicycles, one TC will be dedicated to wheels and tires, and another to frames. Cross-cutting TCs will also be created (dedicated to both procedures and various disciplines). Each TC will bring together industry representatives, independent experts and the UCI. UCI and industry representation will be balanced, with an equal number of seats within the various TCs. Opinions issued by the TCs will support the UCI Equipment and New Technologies Commission in formulating recommendations to the UCI Management Committee. Any decision will remain subject to approval by the UCI Management Committee. After a pilot phase that established TCs dedicated to tracks, gravel and wheels, the framework will be extended to all TCs starting in February 2027.

Also within the scope of equipment, the UCI Management Committee decided to initiate a process to review the Lugano Charter, the foundational text of the values and principles of international cycling adopted by the UCI in 1996. Thirty years after its adoption, given the evolution of practices, social issues and safety requirements, it has become necessary to undertake a review of its content. An updated draft of the charter will be prepared before an open consultation phase with various cycling families and manufacturers (February-April 2027). The new charter will be presented in 2027.

The Management Committee took note of the report from the UCI Medical Director, Professor Xavier Bigard, which addresses two priority themes: accidents in road cycling and female genetic testing ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

After five months of monitoring, the first data from the study on accidents in road cycling, conducted from March 2026 at UCI WorldTour and UCI Women's WorldTour events, show that injuries are generally more frequent and severe among female cyclists compared to male cyclists, with a return to competition requiring on average twice as much time. This unprecedented study, still ongoing, will help guide future risk reduction measures and validate their effectiveness based on the reference database being developed.

Regarding the implementation of female genetic testing ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) published guiding principles for the protection of the female category at the end of March 2026. On this basis, only biological women who do not carry the SRY gene will be able to compete in this category. This gene, located on the Y chromosome, stimulates testosterone production during puberty. The principles for establishing specific regulations were validated by the Management Committee; the regulation, which will be submitted for approval by year-end, will apply exclusively to IOC-recognized events and will provide for a single test throughout an athlete's career. Results of these systematic tests will be kept strictly confidential. An awareness program will soon be introduced to athletes, teams and National Federations to ensure a smooth process ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Looking ahead to the 2027 season, the UCI Management Committee approved the following UCI International Calendars and UCI Series:

2027 UCI Road International Calendar

This calendar includes all event categories, although it should be noted that the 2027 UCI WorldTour and 2027 UCI Women's WorldTour calendars had already been approved by the UCI Management Committee during the June meeting, after being validated by the Professional Cycling Council.

2027 UCI Mountain Bike International Calendar (including the HERO UCI Cross-country Marathon World Cup)
2027 UCI BMX Racing International Calendar
2027 UCI BMX Freestyle International Calendar
2027 UCI Trials International Calendar (including the UCI Trials World Cup)
2027 UCI Track Cycling International Calendar
2027 UCI Para-cycling International Calendar
2027 UCI Indoor Cycling International Calendar
2027 UCI Gravel International Calendar (including the UCI Gravel World Series)
2027 UCI Gran Fondo World Series Calendar

These calendars will be published in full in the dedicated section of the UCI website on September 29.

The venues for the UCI World Championships for future years will be announced following the UCI Congress, to be held on September 23.

Regarding the UCI World Championships already assigned, following discussions between the UCI and the event organizer, it was decided to modify the dates of the 2027 UCI Masters Mountain Bike World Championships, to be held in Nevados de Chillán (Chile). Originally scheduled for March 17-21, they will now take place from March 24-28, 2027. The dates of the 2030 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Durango (USA) have also been modified: originally scheduled for August 21-25, they will now take place from August 28 to September 1, 2030.

Finally, the UCI Management Committee has decided to include the motor-pacing race in the program of the UCI Track World Championships, which will be part of the 2027 UCI Cycling World Championships in Haute-Savoie Mont-Blanc. The motor-pacing race is a highly spectacular event in which each rider races behind a motorcycle, driven by a rider in an upright position, capable of reaching speeds of 90 km/h. The motorcycles are equipped with a rear roller that allows riders to follow closely and fully exploit the slipstreaming effect. The specialty will return to the UCI World Championships program more than 30 years after its last appearance, which took place in Palermo (Italy) in 1994. Established in 1893, the Motor-paced World Championships represent the oldest world championship in cycling. While included in UCI regulations for track cycling (art. 3.2.189 - 3.2.217), this discipline maintains its own annual European Championship organized by the UEC. Those scheduled will be the first UCI World Championships of the specialty to see participation from both men and women.

Regarding the 2027 UCI Cycling World Championships, the Management Committee welcomed the solidarity initiatives implemented together with the UCI World Cycling Centre to support the participation of as many National Federations as possible, ensuring the best conditions. In preparation for the event, a month-long training retreat will be organized in France: all National Federations from emerging cycling nations will be invited to send two young athletes, one man and one woman. The UCI Solidarity Program will also be expanded to help finance the participation of such National Federations.

At the end of the three days of meetings, UCI President David Lappartient stated: "These three days of work in Montreal have allowed the UCI to make significant progress on numerous issues crucial to the future of our sport. First, on the safety front, we have adopted new standards for race barriers and reaffirmed our commitment to ensuring the adoption, as quickly as possible, of GPS systems for tracking and safety of riders in professional road races. The first results of our investigation into accidents in road cycling will also help guide future prevention measures.

"From a regulatory standpoint, the launch of a new consultation framework with cycling industry operators, together with the review of the Lugano Charter thirty years after its adoption, testify to our commitment to evolving regulations in constant dialogue with all components of the cycling world. We have also approved the 2027 calendar for numerous disciplines, including the first edition of the UCI Junior Road Nations Cup. In view of the 2027 UCI Cycling World Championships in Haute-Savoie Mont-Blanc, several decisions have been adopted to ensure its sporting success and participation of as many athletes as possible; among these, the strengthening of solidarity initiatives with the UCI World Cycling Centre in support of national federations from emerging cycling nations and the reinstatement of the track motor-pacing specialty in the UCI World Championships program stand out."

The next meeting of the UCI Management Committee will be held on January 28-29, 2027 in Ostend, Belgium, on the occasion of the 2027 UCI Cyclocross World Championships.