Entrance of UCI headquarter at Aigle (Switzerland)

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is a professional cycling union that oversees cycling events in the international community. The UCI is headquartered in Aigle, Switzerland. The English translation is the International Cycling Union (ICU) but the UCI acronym is the one used most extensively, perhaps due to another meaning of ICU. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 484 KB) World Cycling Center (UCI) - Aigle / Switzerland. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 484 KB) World Cycling Center (UCI) - Aigle / Switzerland. ... Aigle is a commune in Switzerland of the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Aigle, of which it is the chief town. ... Cycling is a recreation, a sport, and a means of transport across land. ... Aigle is a commune in Switzerland of the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Aigle, of which it is the chief town. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Intensive care medicine or critical care medicine is concerned with providing greater than ordinary medical care and observation to people in a critical or unstable condition. ...

The UCI issues racing licenses to riders and enforces disciplinary rules, such as in matters of doping. The UCI also manages the classification of races and the points ranking system in various cycling disciplines including mountain biking, road and track cycling, for both men and women, amateur and professional. It also oversees the World Championships — in which different countries compete instead of trade teams — in various disciplines and in different categories. The winners of these races have the right to wear a special rainbow jersey for the following year, and have the right to wear an armband in the same rainbow pattern for the remainder of their careers. In sports, doping refers to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids, particularly those that are forbidden by the organizations that regulate competitions. ... Mountain biking is an exciting sport that involves riding bicycles anywhere off paved roads. ... Road bicycle racing is a popular bicycle racing sport held on the road (following the geography of the area), using racing bicycles. ... Track cycling is a form of bicycle racing usually held on specially-built banked tracks or velodromes (but many events are held at older velodromes where the track banking is relatively shallow). ... The Rainbow jersey is the distinctive jersey worn by the reigning world champion in a bicycle racing discipline. ...

History

The UCI was founded April 14, 1900 in Paris by the national cycling organisations of Belgium, the United States, France, Italy, and Switzerland. April 14 is the 104th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (105th in leap years). ... 1900 is a common year starting on Monday. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

Presidents

• Emile de Beukelaer, Belgium, 1900-1922
• Léon Breton, France, 1922-1936
• Max Burgi, Switzerland, 1936-1939
• Alban Collignon, Belgium, 1939-1947
• Achille Joinard, France, 1947-1958
• Adriano Rodoni, Italy, 1958-1981
• Luis Puig, Spain, 1981-1990
• Hein Verbruggen, Netherlands, since 1991 (term ends in 2006)

UCI World Cup and ProTour

From 1988 until 2004, the UCI administered the UCI World Cup, a season-long competition incorporating all the major one-day professional road races. In 2005 this was replaced by the UCI ProTour series which includes the Grand Tour road cycling stage races (the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España) and a wider range of other one-day and stage races. 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The UCI World Cup was a season-long competition for European professional racing cyclists, organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing body of competitive cycling. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... The UCI ProTour is a competition comprising of a series of road bicycle races and a number of ProTour cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the competition. ... In bicycle racing a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European cycling races: Tour de France - Tour of France Giro dItalia - Tour of Italy Vuelta a España - Tour of Spain Collectively they are termed the Grand Tours. ... The Tour de France (French for Tour of France), often referred to as La Grande Boucle, Le Tour or The Tour, is an epic long distance road bicycle racing competition for professionals held over three weeks in July in and around France. ... The Giro dItalia, also simply known as the Giro, is a long distance road bicycle race for professionals held over three weeks in May or early June in and around Italy. ... The Vuelta a España bicycle race is one of the three Grand Tours of Europe and, after the Tour de France and the Giro dItalia, the third most important road cycling stage race in the world. ...

The 2005 UCI Mountain Bike World Championship is in Livigno, Italy, August 28 through September 4.

External link

• Official website
• UCI Mountain Bike World Championship website