Stefano BERTOLOTTI
Press Officer | Attaché de Presse
s.bertolotti@uec.ch
The Union Européenne de Cyclisme is looking forward to the future and many new innovations, and over the next few years will offer an events calendar which will be even fuller and action-packed.
In the last few days, the UEC Management Board has approved the following European Championships:
2023: Juniors/Under 23 Track European Championships – Anadia (Portugal). This event is part of a long-term project between the UEC, Portuguese Federation and City of Anadia from 2023-2030 that includes the organisation of a European Championships or a European Cup each year. The World Cycling Centre’s Satellite Centre is based in Anadia and is a centre of excellence in terms of facilities (with a velodrome, BMX and MTB track and other facilities). Therefore, the Union Européenne de Cyclisme’s focus is on all associated activities, especially by supporting training sessions for athletes, commissaires and coaches like last summer at the Juniors and Under 23 European Championships.
2023: BMX European Cup. Proposals for the 2023 edition of the BMX European Cup were approved, The event which has developed considerably over the last few years in terms of participation and media coverage, will include 12 events which, after confirmation and new entries, will be raced in six countries. The new feature in 2023 is that the last two rounds, scheduled in Anadia (Portugal), will award double points for the final ranking of the BMX European Cup, the prize total of which is over 50,000 Euros, proving the UEC’s investment in this discipline.
Rounds 1 & 2: Verona (ITA), 18-19 March
Rounds 3 & 4: Zolder (BEL), 8-9-10 April
Rounds 5 & 6: Valmiera (LAT), 6-7 May
Rounds 7 & 8: Benátky nad Jizerou (CZE), 27-28 May
Rounds 9 & 10: Sviland (NOR), 17-18 June
FINAL ROUNDS: Anadia (POR), 2-3 September
2024: MTB European Championships – Romania. Thanks to the interest of the Minister for Sport, Eduard Novak (former President of the Romanian Cycling Federation) and the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă, Romania will host a European Championships for the first time in its history, also thanks to the close co-operation with the Romanian Cycling Federation and its President Alexandru-Niculae Ciocan. The venue will be chosen in the next few weeks from a few sites especially equipped and adapted for MTB and which have already had an initial technical and logistical inspection.
2024: BMX Racing European Championships – Verona (Italy). The BMX Olympic Arena, a big and modern facility built in 2013 is regarded as one of the best in Europe and elsewhere. Over the years, it has hosted a European Championships (2016), rounds of the UEC BMX European Cup and World Cup. The awarding of these Championships is fully supported by the City of Verona, and especially its newly elected mayor Damiano Tommasi, demonstrating his vocation to sport, the Italian Cycling Federation and its President Cordiano Dagnoni, who we have close ties with, and who believes in this discipline which, although it is young in terms of cycling tradition, is already one of the key disciplines on the Olympic programme.
2024: Juniors/Under 23 European Championships – Cottbus (Germany). This will be a welcome return to this velodrome which hosted the 2007 Elite European Championships. It is a major centre for the development and specialisation of athletes including the multi-titled Lea Sophie Friedrich, Emma Hinze, Maximilian Dörnbach and Nik Schröder, thanks to the passion and renowned experience of RSC Cottbus e.V. which organise numerous international competitions at the Cottbus velodrome throughout the season. It is one of the most popular events on the European circuit with the first-hand involvement of the German Cycling Federation, thanks to the foresight of the President Rudolf Scharping and General Secretary Martin Wolf, and is regarded as strategic in terms of the development and training of young talent.
2025: MTB European Championships – Melgaço (Portugal). The city of Distrito de Viana do Castelo, in the north of Portugal on the border with Spain, has a good MTB track record thanks to its permanent MTB track and for many years has hosted a race which is included in the 2023 UCI calendar in class C1. The city of Melgaço, is especially renowned for its great vocation to the multi-sports culture and is getting ready to welcome this event with great enthusiasm thanks to the involvement and passion of the local council lead by its President Manuel Batista. The Portuguese Cycling Federation, presided by Delmino Pereira, with the Associação de Ciclismo do Minho and its President Joaquim Jorge Gonçalves Mendes and Melsport with its Executive Director Jorge Domingues are the main supporters of these Championships.
2025: BMX Racing European Championships – Valmiera (Latvia). It is one of the most active centres, especially for young people, in the home city of the double Olympic champion Māris Štrombergs. The track is located in a complex including hotels, a sports hall, swimming pools and many other facilities. In the last few years it has hosted a European Championships (2019) and a few rounds of the BMX European Cup. It is an event which once again demonstrates the Latvian Cycling Federation’s great focus on and forward thinking approach to BMX, especially for the youngest riders which is lead successfully by the President Sandis Āķis.
New features in 2023 – Road European Championships
With a view to development and especially the widening of equal opportunities, among the other initiatives planned, after the success of Anadia 2022, the introduction of a Mixed Relay European Championships in the Juniors categorywas approved from 2023 in Drenthe (Netherlands). It is a new step forward putting youth activity at the heart of the UEC’s sporting policy.
Europe is a huge continent with significant sporting differences between the various countries, but in an increasingly globalised world making the most of these differences can become an opportunity. For this reason, a major innovation has been approved with a view to inclusion and equality, i.e. to give National Federations from the Union Cycliste Internationale groups 3 and 4, the possibility of creating “multinational” teams in the Juniors and Elite Team Mix Relay. It is a message which demonstrates cycling’s great sensitivity as a sport which promotes integration, socialisation and mutual respect.