“JUNIOR CYCLING IS GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH” SAYS COOKSON AT UCI JUNIOR TRACK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ITALY
Brian Cookson believes junior cycling is getting much stronger thanks to the investment made by the UCI under his Presidency.
Since being elected in 2013, Cookson has invested considerably in young cyclists and believes that the example set by the UCI is vital for the prosperity of the sport.
UCI President Brian Cookson said: “Junior cycling is going from strength to strength and that can only be good to the sport in the future.
“Thanks to the huge progress we have made cleaning up the sport and establishing the UCI as an example of best practice, parents are no longer reluctant to see their children taking up cycling competitively.
“We have collaborated with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on a joint awareness programme entitled #IRideClean, to educate young athletes of the dangers of doping. This programme is just one of the UCI-WADA initiatives that aim to protect the rights of honest sportspeople.
“We’ve funded a number of athletes to support their training, equipment and participation at the Junior Track World Championships, where recent editions have seen the UCI World Cycling Centre’s own trainees among the medal winners, not least Mongolia’s Tegshbayar Batsaikhan, who won gold in the Men’s Scratch Race in 2016.”
The UCI has made the decision to host the Junior Championships at its headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland, every two years, as part of its ongoing strategy to help nurture and grow track cycling for young athletes by ensuring competing nations are fully supported through the state-of-the-art resources and facilities at the UCI’s Home of Cycling.
Tanya Dubnicoff, Olympian and Cycling Development Lead Coach, Canadian Sports Institute Calgary, believes Cookson’s focus on junior cycling is clear to see following the success of the Junior Track World Championships. She said: “It is impressive to see the depth present and the quality of the competition.
“It is evident that this generation is paving the way for a spectacular future in track cycling. We’ve already seen three world records, two by women, in the first two days of competition. It's a wonderful mix of youth having fun and performing to their best.”
Cookson, who became President of the world governing body for the sport of cycling in 2013, is standing for a second term to build on the significant progress that has been made during the first four years of his Presidency.
He aims to drive growth across all of cycling’s disciplines, accelerate international development, champion cycling for transport and leisure, ensure there is equal opportunity for men and women to participate and compete, build on cycling’s restored credibility and ensure the UCI continues to drive excellence in its operations.
« LE CYCLISME JUNIOR PREND DE PLUS EN PLUS D’AMPLEUR », DÉCLARE BRIAN COOKSON LORS DES CHAMPIONNATS DU MONDE SUR PISTE JUNIORS EN ITALIE