UCI’s World Cycling Centre has a vision for India

Aigle: snuggled at the pick of the swiss people the alps, this scenic ithiel town is also known as the global home of cycling. It houses both the UCI headquarters and the World Cycling Centre (WCC). Right now, the town is buzzing with even more activity as the Mountain Bike World Championships in cross-country disciplines take place in nearby Crans-Montana.

The WCC hosts trainees from around the world as part of the UCI’s development initiatives. It plays a crucial role in helping cyclists from emerging nations gain the skills and experience to compete with Europe’s best. The Aigle centre is a state-of-the-art hub, equipped with a 200m indoor velodrome, a BMX track, a high-end workshop, and a gymnasium.

“We do athlete development here. We have athletes coming for BMX, track cycling, road, mountain biking, etc. Our role at the World Cycling Centre is predominantly to work with emerging nations. We work with national federations for the most part who have shown the willingness to grow the sport,” UCI World Cycling Centre Director Jacques Landry told HT.

The UCI has also been focusing on expanding cycling in Asia and Africa. Kigali, Rwanda, is set to host the UCI Road World Championships this year. India, too, has shown promise—its historic men’s team sprint gold at the 2019 World Junior Track Championship sparked hopes for the sport’s growth in the country.

In fact, WCC ran a satellite centre at the IG Stadium in Delhi from 2016, in collaboration with the Cycling Federation of India (CFI). With talent development, coach training programmes, and modern facilities, the centre helped raise the performance of junior Indian cyclists at the world level. However, it was shut down this year due to a lack of activity.

“Unfortunately, we had to shut it down this year after a few years of wanting to get more activities there through the satellite centre,” said Landry, an Olympian who participated in Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 and now expert in high-performance cycling

“It was sad for us to do that because in the region there is a real need for such a centre, which would benefit not only India but also neighbouring countries. We have 11 satellites around the world and are really missing a centre in that part. At the same time, we didn’t want to have a centre that was just idle.”

At its satellite centres, the WCC replicates its core programmes—training camps, talent identification, and coaching courses—helping emerging nations build a system where young cyclists can showcase their potential.

India remains part of the UCI’s long-term plans to grow the sport and prepare riders for the Olympics.

“All of Africa is an emerging continent. We are looking at Asia as well. There is a programme running in China. What we would like to do is what we started doing with China—help develop a strategic plan for cycling development. China has a sprint history. In countries without a road cycling culture, they can look at newer disciplines such as BMX racing and BMX freestyle. If you focus on BMX racing, which is still a niche, you have more chances of developing. It doesn’t take as long to mature compared to road cycling and you face less competition.”

“The centre in Delhi is still a National Centre of Excellence (NCOE). There is also a track in Patiala. We are having discussions with the Indian federation on how we can help and invest. Hopefully, we can get the conversation going. It’s a large country and there is plenty of talent.”

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