uci

 Manchester is to host the fourth round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics between 18 and 20 February 2011.

It is the third successive year British Cycling have hosted a round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Manchester and the announcement comes on the back of a sell out success in November 2009 which saw British riders win 10 gold medals in front of an audience of nearly 10,000 spectators.

A month after cycling’s governing body, the UCI, agreed with ASO, organisers of the Tour de France, not to use France’s anti-doping agency, the AFLD, on this year’s race, there is little sign of a thaw in their relationship with the news that the UCI has declined an offer from AFLD to collaborate on next month’s Paris-Nice race.

Cycling's profile as a major world sport continues to rise with the news that UCI president Pat McQuad has been elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee.

The 60-year-old Irishman is one of six candidates nominated for the post at the 122nd IOC Session held in Vancouver in conjunction with the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

His election as a Member of the IOC follows his distinction in being returned unopposed last September for a second four-year term as UCI President.

Skil-Shimano has announced its intention to annul the contract of Japanese rider Fumiyuki Beppu after the cyclist breached its terms by negotiating a verbal contract with Team RadioShack without informing his current team.

The news comes less than a fortnight after UCI President Pat McQuaid said that the sport’s governing body was examining current rules regarding pro riders switching teams, giving rise to the prospect of a football-style transfer market.

2009 the year of Lance Armstrong's comeback, Wiggo's emergence as a Tour rider, mucho love for cyclists in the Daily Mail (or something like that) Mayor Boris everywhere… Team Sky, golly it was one memorable moment after another, but here's my most memorable bits of the past year… 

The UCI has announced the names of 20 Professional Continental teams that have applied for wildcard status for the 2010 season, making them eligible for invitation to ProTour events such as the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, Vuelta and the Spring classics.

The list includes Cervélo TestTeam, whose riders include Tour de France green jersey victor Thor Hushovd and former overall winner Carlos Sastre, and US-based BMC Racing, which has signed world road champion Cadel Evans and US national champion George Hincapie.

As expected, the International Olympic Committee this afternoon ratified proposals by cycling’s governing body, the UCI to shake up the track cycling programme for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The move sees two events – the individual pursuit and points races – dropped from both the men’s and women’s schedules, and the men’s Madison is also consigned to the scrapheap.

Cycling’s governing body, the UCI, has confirmed the registration for the 2010 season of 19 Professional Continental, the second-highest level in the sport after the ProTour.

A number of the world’s leading track riders have sent an open letter jointly addressed to cycling’s governing body, the UCI, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) asking that proposed changes to the track programme at London 2012 be reconsidered.

No British riders are among the 22 signatories to the offer, and the fact that British Cycling recently modified the programme at the National Championships in Manchester suggests that Team GB is continuing its preparations for London on the assumption that the proposals are a fait accompli.