The UCI launches its Fair Cycling campaign
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) today launches a campaign aimed at ensuring that all cycling stakeholders – athletes, coaches, organisers, officials and different members of the riders’ entourage – contribute to keeping our sport fair.
The Fair Cycling campaign raises awareness about all forms of competition manipulation, which is any arrangement aimed at an improper alteration of the result of a cycling event, removing the unpredictable nature of our sport with the goal of obtaining a benefit. Competition manipulation occurs when athletes underperform or lose intentionally, or when officials deliberately make wrong decisions to affect the competition and its results; this could be for a financial or other advantage.
Cycling must remain free from any such manipulation so that athletes can be confident they are taking part in competitions where the rules will be observed and where their aim is to do their best. Through this vast campaign, the UCI issues a reminder that we all have a responsibility to protect our sport and the integrity of cycling competitions in line with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Code of conduct.
This latest campaign is part of the UCI’s Cycling Integrity programme, which brings together all the UCI's actions dedicated to promoting and strengthening integrity in cycling at all levels (athletes, entourage and competitions). Cycling Integrity comprises three pillars: Clean Cycling, Safe Cycling and Fair Cycling, each of which has a preventive component, notably through an educational programme, and a reactive component, enabling misconduct to be reported and treated.
As a reminder, the UCI launched a campaign in April 2023 dedicated to the protection of individuals in cycling and encouraging the use of the UCI’s secure reporting platform, UCI SpeakUp. Likewise, anyone who witnesses or suspects a case of competition manipulation should use this platform to report their concerns.
The UCI’s Fair Cycling campaign will be prominent across its social media platforms and via a series of posters that will be on display at different cycling venues and sites.
This awareness campaign is in addition to the UCI’s existing and continuing efforts in the domain of Fair Cycling. The UCI takes part in the IOC’s Integrity Betting Intelligence System (IBIS). This allows for the exchange of information on potential competition manipulation, particularly concerning sports betting, with the aim of preventing any such activity at UCI World Championships. The UCI also strongly encourages everyone to educate themselves on this important topic and learn how to handle different situations in order to protect themselves and cycling.
UCI President David Lappartient said: “The UCI’s Cycling Integrity programme is dedicated to ensuring our sport is safe, clean and fair. Ten months after launching our campaign to protect individuals in cycling, we are now highlighting the importance of guaranteeing cycling competitions are fair. There is no place in our sport for any form of competition manipulation and we must be true to our sport. Everybody must be sure that the best athlete on the day is the winner. This is essential for the credibility of our sport.”
UCI Director General Amina Lanaya added: "Cycling’s champions inspire fans worldwide with their impressive performances, tactical nous and physical strength. We must therefore be absolutely sure that all our sport’s competitions are free of any kind of manipulation and that all participants give their best and compete on a level playing field. Keeping cycling fair is hugely important for our sport’s integrity and we strongly encourage anyone who witnesses or suspects any form of competition manipulation to report it on the UCI SpeakUp platform.”