Union Cycliste Internationale

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) was founded on 14 April 1900, in Paris, France, with five founding members: Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, and the United States. The organization was established as an alternative to the International Cycling Association (ICA), which had been set up in 1892.

The ICA was the first international governing body for cycle racing, created to standardize the definition of amateurism and to organize world championships. However, tensions arose due to the ICA’s structure, which allowed Great Britain to field multiple teams (representing England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales) because each had its own cycling federation. This arrangement was perceived by other nations, particularly France, as giving Britain an unfair advantage in international competitions. Additionally, disputes over the strict British interpretation of amateurism further strained relations. These issues culminated in the formation of the UCI, which aimed to provide a more equitable and unified framework for international cycling governance.

In 1965, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) required the UCI to split into an amateur and a professional organization, resulting in the creation of the Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC) and the Fédération Internationale de Cyclisme Professionnel (FICP), respectively. In 1992, the FIAC and FICP rejoined within the UCI.

Among its disciplines, the UCI governs five Olympic cycling disciplines: Track, Road, Mountain Bike, BMX Racing, and BMX Freestyle.

The first Track Cycling World Championships for men were staged in 1893, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and the discipline was also present at the inaugural edition of the Olympic Games, at Athinai 1896, even before the creation of the UCI. The first UCI Track Cycling World Championships including women events were held at its 1958 edition, in Paris, France, but women track cyclists would only début at the Olympics at Seoul 1988.

As with track cycling, road cycling was also present at Athinai 1896, with a single men’s individual event. The inaugural UCI Road World Championships for men amateur cyclists took place in København, Denmark, in 1921, and its first edition including events for professionals would come in 1927, in Nürburgring, Germany. Women road cyclists débuted at the World Championships in 1958, in Reims, France, and their appearance at Los Angeles 1984 was the first cycling event ever contested at the Olympics for women.

The first UCI Mountain Bike World Championships were held in 1990, in Durango, CO, United States, with events for both genders. Mountain bike became an Olympic discipline for men and women cyclists at Atlanta 1996.

The 1982 BMX World Championships, held in Dayton, Ohio, United States, were the first such competition in BMX racing, by then overseen by the International BMX Federation (IBMXF). The first BMX Racing World Championships organized by the UCI were staged in 1985, in Jesolo, Italy. BMX Racing would become an Olympic discipline for men and women cyclists at Beijing 2008.

Lastly, BMX Freestyle has been contested at the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships since its inaugural edition in Chengdu, China, in 2017. The discipline entered the Olympic programme at Tokyo 2020, with events for men and women.

Road cycling is the only UCI’s discipline always contested at the Youth Summer Olympics since the event’s début at Singapore 2010. At the competition’s third edition, Buenos Aires 2018, mixed BMX racing and BMX freestyle events were also part of the programme.

Besides these five disciplines, the UCI also governs Indoor Cycling, Trials, Cyclo-Cross, Gravel Cycling, Cycling Esports, and Para Cycling. The latter has been a part of the Paralympic Games programme since its first appearance at Los Angeles 1984. All these non-Olympic disciplines have their own World Championship events organized by the UCI.

Another sport from the cycling world, Bicycle Polo, was demonstrated at the London 1908 Games. Although the sport is governed by the International Bicycle Polo Federation, established in 1995, it also received official recognition from the UCI in 2001.

The UCI headquarters transferred from Lausanne to Aigle, Switzerland, in 2002, along with the inauguration of the UCI World Cycling Centre there. As of January 2026, the UCI has 206 member national federations and four associate members, and its current president is France’s David Lappartient.