UCI announces gravel series and championships, raises minimum salaries for some pro women

BRUGES, Belgium (BRAIN) — Meeting here during the Road World Championships this week, the Management Committee of the Union Cycliste Internationale announced a number of decisions. They include the creation of a UCI Gravel World Series and a Gravel World Championships event. 

UCI also announced that starting with the 2023 season, the minimum salary will be the same for women on top-ranked road teams (women's WorldTeams) as it is for men on second tier teams (ProTeams). In the following season, the minimum salaries for the top womens teams will be adjusted upward. The UCI said the objective was for the minimum salaries to become identical for UCI Women's WorldTeams and UCI WorldTeams "as quickly as possible."

In other updates:

• Starting next season in the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, cross-country short track (XCC) will have its own overall ranking, as is already the case for cross-country Olympic (XCO) and downhill (DHI). That means that a UCI World Cup winner for this speciality will be crowned at the end of the season in both the men's and women's competitions. XCC will continue to play a role in deciding the positions of the riders on the starting grid for the XCO events. Points gained in the XCC will also continue to count towards the UCI World Cup ranking for XCO.
• Gravel racing will join the UCI Cycling for All International Calendar in 2022. The UCI will collaborate with events organiser Golazo a UCI Gravel World Series with events enabling athletes to qualify for a UCI Gravel World Championships. Races in the UCI World Series will be mass participation events.
• A test cyclo-cross team relay will be held at the 2022 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, being held in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Jan. 29-30, 2022. 
• The UCI said it is "exploring" organising a UCI Snow Bike World Cup and UCI Snow Bike World Championships for the 2022-2023 winter season. An analysis is underway, and its results will be presented to the UCI Management Committee in January 2022.
• Starting in 2023, the UCI will create a neo-professional status for women in WorldTeams, on the same model as the men's neo-pro category. It is for riders under 23 on the first contract with a Wormens' WorldTeam.
• A women's version of the Tour de Romandie, a UCI WorldTour stage race in Switzerland, will join the UCI Women's WorldTour in 2022.
• The UCI said it would appoint a Integrity and Education Manager." This person will be in charge of implementing education and awareness courses for all cycling's families. The person will also manage the reporting system, notably for harassment and abuse. The Integrity and Education Manager's mission will be to support potential victims of harassment by guiding them in the right direction to take appropriate action. In terms of education, this person will be in charge of implementing a programme that will inform stakeholders of the types of conduct that breach the UCI Code of Ethics and ensuring that they are aware of the applicable sanctions in case of violation. As education is key in all activity linked to integrity, the appointment of a reference person for the different parties concerned is a decisive step forward."
• The UCI worked on the next stages of its sustainable development strategy, including the calculation of the UCI's carbon footprint, with specific reduction measures to be defined in the coming months. "The UCI will continue to work with its stakeholders to finalise a list of (sustainability) objectives for cycling's families (event organisers, National Federations, teams, riders, etc) which will be presented to the UCI Management Committee in 2022."