UCI President Pat McQuaid has said that he will consider reforming the European race calendar to enable the Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC) to host its own road and cyclo-cross championships.
McQuaid said that that idea, which has been mooted by senior figures within the UEC in order to promote cycling, had significant merit in terms of protecting and enhancing Europe’s place at the heart of cycling.
The UCI President has also voiced his opposition to proposals to introduce a privately run league or so called ‘Champions League of Cycling’ which, he said, would be the death-knell for cycling.
“The UCI has a duty of care to realise cycling’s global potential but we must respect the traditions and heritage that have made our sport what it is today,” said McQuaid.
“The greatest races on the global stage have been fought out in Europe for generations. Europe is cycling’s heartland – or to be more precise – Europe is the beating heart of world cycling,” he added.
McQuaid said that he did not support proposals to develop race events outside of the UCI or those who did not support and respect the European traditions of cycling.
“Creating 10 new cookie-cutter four-days races to sit alongside the one-day classics and three Grand Tours is the death-knell for cycling,” he said.
“Unlike my opponent in the UCI Presidential election I have no association with those who support such a strategy and I am very clear on where I stand on this threat to undermine the European race calendar,” he added.
“I do not see why races that are steeped in cycling history, like the Four Days of Dunkirk, Tour de Suisse, Tour de Romandie, Giro Trentino, Fleche du Sud and Route du Sud – to name but a few – should be relegated to some meaningless second tier calendar while those who seek only to profit from cycling fatten their bank accounts,” he said.
McQuaid said that his priority was to assist the UEC in overcoming the consequences of the economic crisis which has left race organisers struggling to maintain the level of investment required to promote race events.
“The cancellation of the Giro de Piemonte after 100 years along with the Giro Reggio Calabria and the Circuit de Lorraine and the threat to the future of the Baby Giro, Tour of the Basque Country and San Sebastian Classic are all cold reminders of the many challenges to be overcome in Nations throughout the UEC,” said McQuaid.