49-759: An Post–Chain Reaction ( UCI team code: SKT ) was a UCI continental professional cycling team that participated on the UCI Europe Tour . The squad was managed by Kurt Bogaerts and Sean Kelly . It contested one-day and stage races at events across Europe, with riders taking overall victories on the UCI Europe Tour at races including Vuelta a Extremadura in Spain, Rás Tailteann in Ireland and Ronde de l'Oise in France. There were also successes in higher-category races including
98-620: A championship or series of championships was required to pay the UCI 30 per cent of ticket receipts from the track and 10 per cent from the road. Of this, the UCI kept 30 per cent and gave the rest to competing nations in proportion to the number of events in which it competed. The highest gate money in this pre-war era was 600 000 francs in Paris in 1903. There were originally five championships: amateur and professional sprint, amateur and professional road race, and professional Motor-paced racing . The road race
147-442: A fine year with victory on stage seven ahead of a high-quality field at the 2011 Tour of Britain . An Post also signed the promising Irish sprinter Sam Bennett who quickly showed his quality with second place on stage one of An Post Rás. The future winner of stages at all three Grand Tour races would take his first victory for the team at Grote Prijs Stad Geel . Andrew Fenn took a stage at Le Tour de Bretagne Cycliste and won
196-588: A further four riding for the Lithuania national team. These included his first Lithuanian National Road Race Championships title, two stages of An Post Rás and victories in the one-day Memorial Philippe Van Coningsloo and Ronde van Noord-Holland races. He also won three stages and the overall victory at the Baltic Chain Tour representing his national team, came 59th in the 2012 Olympic Games road race , finished 3rd in his national time trial championships and took
245-717: A legal defense fund was set up to assist him. Under approval of the UCI, the Free Rate Downhill Race took place in May 2015 on Crimea , an internationally recognised Ukrainian territory that was annexed by the Russian Federation in March 2014. By officially overseeing an international competition with Russian license on the Ukrainian peninsula, the UCI was the first and only international sports governing body which undermined
294-444: A process to review and allow Russian and Belarusian riders to participant UCI events under Individual neutral athlete. The UCI organises cycling's world championships, administration of which it gives to member nations. The first championships were on the road and on the track. They were allocated originally to member nations in turn, on condition the country was deemed competent and that it could guarantee ticket sales. A nation given
343-443: A row over whether Great Britain should be allowed just one team at the world Championships or separate teams representing England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Britain found itself outflanked, and it was not able to join the UCI – under the conditions the UCI had imposed – until 1903. There were originally 30 countries affiliated to the union. They did not have equal voting power and some had no vote at all. Votes were distributed by
392-544: A season-long competition of elite-level. The UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships for men and women offers individual and team championships in several track cycling disciplines. Each UCI-sponsored event feeds into the season-long competition known as the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup . In addition, a series of single-day events are held each year to determine the Cyclo-cross World Champion at
441-480: A second-place finish at the prestigious Dwars door Vlaanderen . Steven Van Vooren took the other win with overall victory at Ronde de l'Oise . The team switched registration from Ireland to Belgium for the 2010 season. Despite being based in Flanders, the team's owners and sponsors were Irish and had maintained its official domicile there since launching in 2006. However, being a foreign-registered team competing below
490-532: A stage at the FBD Insurance Ras . Lithuanian rider Gediminas Bagdonas joined the team for 2011 and quickly established himself as a stand-out performer. Bagdonas delighted the team's title sponsor at Rás Tailteann , known that year as An Post Rás, with wins on stages two and four on his way to the overall victory. He won a stage and also the overall at Ronde de l'Oise before taking his second Lithuanian National Time Trial Championships title. He rounded out
539-478: Is the most important international event for boys and girls under 16 years old, the first edition of which took place in 2000. The UCI sponsors world championships for artistic cycling and cycle ball at an annual event known as the UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships . The national federations form confederations by continent : Ronde de l%27Oise The Ronde de l'Oise
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#1733093518874588-555: Is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle , Switzerland. The UCI issues racing licenses to riders and enforces disciplinary rules, such as in matters of doping . The UCI also manages the classification of races and the points ranking system in various cycling disciplines including road and track cycling , mountain biking , Gravel, and BMX , for both men and women, amateur and professional. It also oversees
637-658: The Olympic Games , and FIAC cyclists competed against FICP members on only rare occasions. In 1992, the UCI reunified the FIAC and FICP, and merged them back into the UCI. The combined organisation then relocated to Aigle, close to the IOC in Lausanne. In 2004, the UCI constructed a 200-metre velodrome at the new World Cycling Centre adjacent to its headquarters. In September 2007 the UCI announced that it had decided to award ProTour status for
686-542: The UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships . In mountain bike racing , the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships is the most important and prestigious competition each year. This includes the disciplines of cross-country and downhill . In addition, this event consists of world championship events for bike trials riding . In 2012 the first cross-country eliminator world championship
735-714: The UCI Women's WorldTeams , who are invited to all UCI World Tour races. Between 1998 and 2015, the UCI Women's Road World Cup served as a season-long competition of elite-level one-day events. From 2016, the competition was replaced by the UCI Women's World Tour - which includes stage stages as well as one-day events, including many races used in the World Cup. The UCI Track Cycling World Championships for men and women offers individual and team championships in several track cycling disciplines. The UCI Track Cycling World Cup serves as
784-713: The World Championships . After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the UCI said that Russian and Belarusian teams were forbidden from competing in international events. It also stripped both Russia and Belarus of scheduled events. UCI was founded in 1900 in Paris by the national cycling sports organisations of Belgium, the United States, France, Italy, and Switzerland. It replaced the International Cycling Association (ICA) by setting up in opposition in
833-643: The territorial integrity of Ukraine. Yet, in the aftermath of this "scandal of sports and international law" the UCI negotiated with the Cycling Federation of Ukraine and, in November 2015, announced to remove the Free Rate Downhill Race officially from the UCI international calendar. Turkmenistan 's authoritarian leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow was awarded the highest award of the Union Cycliste Internationale for his country's commitment to
882-531: The Chain . In 2004 the UCI won the case, and in 2006 won the appeal. Voet had made various claims about UCI and Verbruggen's behavior related to the Laurent Brochard Lidocaine case at the 1997 UCI Road World Championships . In 2006, according to Cycling News, the UCI contacted Greg LeMond after an interview he did in 2006 with L'Equipe , and threatened to sue him for defamation. LeMond mentioned
931-814: The International Professional Cycling Federation ( Fédération Internationale de Cyclisme Professionnel or FICP). The UCI assumed a role coordinating both bodies. The FIAC was based in Rome , the FICP in Luxembourg, and the UCI in Geneva . The FIAC was the bigger of the two organisations, with 127 member federations across all five continents. It was dominated by the countries of the Eastern Bloc which were amateur. The FIAC arranged representation of cycling at
980-455: The Newlyn group as a co-sponsor. Kurt Bogaerts rode for the team in 2006, his final year as a professional cyclist. He was appointed general manager of the team for the 2007 season. For the 2008 season, the team now known as An Post–M Donnelly–Grant Thornton–Sean Kelly became more international with four Belgians, two Britons, one Swede and one German joining the six Irish riders. Daniel Lloyd
1029-576: The Professional Continental level meant the team was ineligible for many Belgian races, including the Tour of Belgium and E3 Harelbeke . Team General Manager Kurt Bogaerts noted that moving to Professional Continental level would be prohibitively expensive, but switching to Belgium was possible as long as there were at least eight Belgian riders in the squad. He expected this would allow the team to compete in 10-20 more races per season. A rider from
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#17330935188741078-661: The UCI Ethics Committee to investigate Pat McQuaid actions after the UCI Licence Commission denied team Katusha a place in the 2013 WorldTour – the action which was promptly reversed. Kimmage had been a racer and had a long history of investigating doping in the sport, including a book and, more recent to the suit, articles for the Sunday Times and L'Equipe which discussed doping and UCI. Greg LeMond, David Walsh and others voiced their support for Kimmage and
1127-666: The UCI World Tour. To expand the participation and popularity of professional road bicycle racing throughout the globe, the UCI develop a series of races collectively known as the UCI Continental Circuits for each region of the world. The UCI organize the Road World Championships (road race first held in 1959, time trial first held in 1994), as well as administer the premier tier UCI Women's World Tour races. The highest level teams in women's road cycling are
1176-584: The UCI administered the UCI Road World Cup , a season-long competition incorporating all the major one-day professional road races. In 2005 this was replaced by the UCI ProTour series which initially included the Grand Tour road cycling stage races (the Tour de France , Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España ) and a wider range of other one-day and stage races. However, the three Grand Tour races withdrew from
1225-625: The UCI-commissioned Vrijman report, as well as Operacion Puerto , and called the body "corrupt". Another lawsuit was by Hein Verbruggen against WADA Chief Dick Pound in Swiss court regarding his comments about doping and the UCI. The lawsuit was settled by the parties in 2009. In 2011, the UCI sued Floyd Landis in Switzerland after Landis accused the body of several misdeeds, including
1274-463: The aforementioned alleged coverup involving Lance Armstrong and the 2001 Tour de Suisse . In 2012 Cycling News reported that a District Court had ruled for UCI against Landis. In 2012 UCI president Pat McQuaid and former president Hein Verbruggen , as well as the UCI itself, sued journalist Paul Kimmage in Switzerland for defamation . In 2013, the President of Cycling Federation of Russia called
1323-421: The cuffs and collar of their clothing. For decades, professional road cyclists refused to wear helmets . The first serious attempt by the UCI to introduce compulsory helmet use was the 1991 Paris–Nice race, which resulted in a riders' strike, and the UCI abandoned the idea. After the death of Andrei Kivilev in the 2003 Paris–Nice, new rules were introduced on 5 May 2003, with the 2003 Giro d'Italia being
1372-528: The first major race affected. The 2003 rules allowed for discarding the helmets during final climbs of at least 5 kilometres in length; subsequent revisions made helmet use mandatory at all times. The UCI was accused of accepting a bribe in the 1990s to introduce the keirin , a track cycling race, into the Olympics. An investigation by the BBC claims that the UCI was paid approximately $ 3,000,000 by Japanese sources to add
1421-467: The first sport to introduce the test for EPO". The UCI has sued or threatened to sue several cyclists, journalists, and writers for defamation after they accused it of corruption or other misdeeds related to doping. Many, though not all, of these suits are heard in the Est Vaudois district court of Vevey , Switzerland In 2002 UCI sued Festina soigneur Willy Voet over claims in his book Breaking
1470-654: The first time ever to an event outside of Europe; the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia. The announcement followed negotiations between UCI President Pat McQuaid and South Australian Premier Mike Rann . In 2013 Tracey Gaudry became the first woman appointed as vice president of the UCI. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the UCI said that Russian and Belarusian teams are forbidden from competing in international events. It also stripped both Russia and Belarus of scheduled events. In 3 May 2023, UIC approved
1519-617: The number of tracks, or velodromes , that each nation claimed. France had 18 votes, the highest number, and Germany and Italy 14 each. Britain had eight, a number the writer Bill Mills said was acquired "by including many rather doubtful grass tracks." In 1965, under the pressure of the IOC , when the Olympics was an amateur event, the UCI created two subsidiary bodies, the International Amateur Cycling Federation ( Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme or FIAC) and
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1568-693: The one-day Schaal Sels in the Netherlands and two stage wins at the Tour of Britain . Six elite and five junior national road and time trial championships were won by riders contracted to the team. The squad was based at the Sean Kelly Academy in Merchtem , Flanders . It was registered in Ireland before switching to Belgium between 2010 and 2013 to gain access to more races in that country. The team became Irish-registered again in 2014 and declared an ambition to move up to professional continental level. However,
1617-449: The one-day race Memorial Philippe Van Coningsloo . Nico Eeckhout had a quieter season, his sole victory coming early in the season at Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen . Mark McNally claimed overall victory at the Mi-août en Bretagne . The team name changed to An Post–Sean Kelly for the 2012 season. Gediminas Bagdonas had another strong season, taking five victories representing An Post and
1666-618: The one-day world championships for BMX racing (bicycle motocross) cycling. Unlike other types of cycling disciplines, trials is a sport where the main factors are the stability and the control of the bike in extreme situations where speed also plays an important role. The first UCI Trials World Championships took place in 1986. Fourteen years later, in 2000, the UCI Trials World Cup made its debut. The most World Champions titles have been won by riders from Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. The UCI Trials World Youth Games
1715-570: The points jersey at An Post Rás. Nico Eeckhout scored one-day wins at Omloop der Kempen and Schaal Sels , and Roy Jans claimed the Kattekoers . Kenneth Vanbilsen took the win at Ronde van Vlaanderen U23 representing the Belgian National Team. Bagdonas left the team at the end of 2012, joining Ag2r–La Mondiale . The SKT team was UCI ranked 31st out of 125 teams at the end of the 2009 UCI Europe Tour season with 481 points. The team
1764-495: The race to the Olympic programme, something denied by the UCI. When Floyd Landis confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career in May 2010, he alleged that the UCI had accepted a bribe from Lance Armstrong to cover up an EPO positive after the 2001 Tour de Suisse. Discussing doping in 2012, UCI president Pat McQuaid emphasised the fact that his organisation was "the first entity to introduce blood tests,
1813-511: The series, and in July 2008 all the major professional teams threatened to quit the series, putting its future in doubt. The ProTour was replaced as a ranking system the following year by the UCI World Ranking , which added the three Grand Tours , two early season stage races, and five more one-day classics to the 14 remaining ProTour events. The World Ranking and ProTour merged in 2011, becoming
1862-482: The sort that affected Graeme Obree in the 1990s and the banning in 2000 of all frames that did not have a seat tube. The winner of a UCI World Championship title is awarded a rainbow jersey , white with five coloured bands on the chest. This jersey can be worn in only the discipline, specialty and category of competition in which it was awarded, and expires on the day before the following world championship event. Former champions are permitted to wear rainbow piping on
1911-563: The sport. The UCI organize the Road World Championships (road race first held in 1921, time trial first held in 1994), as well as administer the premier tier UCI World Tour and second tier UCI ProSeries races. The highest level teams in men's road cycling are the UCI WorldTeam , who are obliged to take part in all UCI World Tour races. On top of having organized the Road World Championships since 1921, from 1989 until 2004,
1960-484: The team after the 2008 season, both joining Cervélo TestTeam . The team took six professional victories in 2009, of which five went to Niko Eeckhout . He followed up the team's 2008 general classification win at the Vuelta a Extremadura with two stage victories, and took a stage and the points jersey at Rás Tailteann. He also scored one-day race wins at Grote Prijs Stad Zottegem and Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen , as well as
2009-577: The team claimed a national championship for the first time when Matt Brammeier took the first of his four consecutive victories in the Irish National Cycling Championships road race. Liverpool-born Brammeier had previously represented Great Britain but switched his allegiance to Ireland prior to the 2010 season. Nico Eeckhout took stage wins in the Ronde de l'Oise and Etoile de Bessèges , and Mark Cassidy and David O'Loughlin both won
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2058-599: The team disbanded at the end of the 2017 season after failing to find sponsorship for 2018. Vuelta a España and seven-time Paris–Nice winner Sean Kelly launched the first Irish professional cycling team in 2006 with the name Sean Kelly ACLVB–M Donnelly. Its sponsors were ACLVB , the General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium, and M Donnelly, a Dublin-registered company with interests in various technical, sporting and commercial lines of business. Murphy & Gunn–Newlyn, another Irish continental team,
2107-441: The track: unpaced, human-paced and mechanically paced. They were promoted for three classes of bicycle: solos, tandems and unusual machines such as what are now known as recumbents, on which the rider lies horizontal. Distances were imperial and metric, from 440 yards and 500 metres to 24 hours. The UCI banned recumbents in competitions and in record attempts on 1 April 1934. Later changes included restrictions on riding positions of
2156-703: Was held in Saalfelden. The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup is a series of races, held annually since 1991. At the 2011 World Championships held in Champéry, Switzerland the UCI announced a controversial new sponsorship deal with the previously unheard of RockyRoads Network. The season-long competition is known as the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup and the UCI BMX World Championships serves as
2205-642: Was launched later in 2006. For the 2007 season, these two teams merged to form the Murphy & Gunn–Newlyn–M Donnelly–Sean Kelly squad. The team achieved several good results including second overall in the Rás Tailteann for Paídi O'Brien . At the end of 2007, it was announced that the team would retain three title sponsors as well as the name of its founder for 2008. An Post , the national postal service of Ireland, would replace Murphy & Gunn as main sponsor while professional services company Grant Thornton replaced
2254-400: Was ranked 46th out of 110 teams on the UCI Europe Tour rankings for 2010 with 314 points. It improved ranking to 21st out of 114 teams in 2011 with 648 points, with the team's highest points scorers being Mark McNally with 125 and Andrew Fenn , who scored 122. The team had their best ever season in 2012, finishing 16th out of 125 teams in the final rankings on 879 points. Gediminas Bagdonas
2303-480: Was the general classification winner and the team was victorious on stage 1, a team time trial , at the 2008 Vuelta a Extremadura . Paidi O'Brien , Benny De Schrooder and Lloyd all wore the leader's jersey during the race, the latter taking overall victory by 36 seconds. 2008 also saw overall victories for Stephen Gallagher at the FBD Insurance Ras in Ireland and Daniel Fleeman at the Tour des Pyrénées which raced from France to Spain. Lloyd and Fleeman left
2352-514: Was the team's highest points scorer with 346 points, a tally that was good enough to put him in tenth place in the individual standings. Niko Eeckhout contributed 187 points to the tally, while Kenneth Vanbilsen scored 131. In 2013 the team finished 28th overall with a total of 341 points. As at 31 December 2017 Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cycliste Internationale ( French pronunciation: [ynjɔ̃ siklist ɛ̃tɛʁnɑsjɔnal] ; UCI ; English: International Cycling Union )
2401-508: Was traditionally a massed start but did not have to be: Britain organised its road championship before the war as a time trial, the National Cyclists Union believing it best to run races against the clock, and without publicity before the start, to avoid police attention. Continental European organisers generally preferred massed races on circuits, fenced throughout or along the finish to charge for entry. The original records were on
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