The UCI has announced that it will offer financial incentives in a bid to encourage whistleblowers to provide information on the use of motors in cycling.
The governing body outlined the details of its ‘rewards programme’ for information on technological fraud on Friday after the scheme was ratified by the UCI Management Committee at the Road World Championships in Zürich this week.
“The aim of the programme will be to encourage people with information on this subject to share it – confidentially – with the UCI in exchange for a financial reward,” the UCI said.
A whistleblowing programme with possible financial rewards was previously initiated across all sports by the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2016. This new UCI policy, specific to technological fraud in cycling, was outlined in a document published on Friday, which stated that information to help target testing and investigations would be “facilitated through financial motivation, assistance, and/or reward for information".
The rewards programme will be open to informants, whistleblowers and sources “who provide actionable information on technological fraud in cycling voluntarily and in good faith".
The UCI outlined three levels of compensation for informants – material assistance, financial assistance and monetary award.
The document did not specify the level of financial remuneration that would be offered for information, but it stated that the confidential disbursements “may include monetary payments or value-in-kind (VIK) rewards, such as items or access to events".
No more professional riders at under-23 Worlds
The UCI Management Committee meeting also brought formal confirmation that riders contracted to professional teams (at WorldTour and ProTeam level) will no longer be permitted to race in the under-23 category at World and Continental Championships after this season.
Riders registered with WorldTour and ProTeam development squads will still be allowed to race in the under-23 category.
“As far as the UCI Worlds are concerned, this decision will apply for the first time at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali (Rwanda),” the UCI said.
Elsewhere, Milan-San Remo Women has been formally added to the UCI calendar for 2025, with the race set to take place on March 22, the same day as the men’s event. The Trofeo Binda is set to move a week earlier in the calendar, to Sunday, March 16.
The dates of the 2026 Gravel World Championships in Nannup, Australia have been shifted by a week to October 10-11, while the hosts of a number of future World Championships in various disciplines are set to be announced following Friday’s UCI Congress.
The UCI Management Committee also stated that it has “strengthened” the selection criteria for WorldTour events for the period 2026-2028, when the calendar is due to be reformed.
“Greater emphasis will be placed on the strategic fit of events on the UCI WorldTour calendar, on the assessment of their commercial value - including on the basis of engagement on social networks and television broadcasting -, on the sporting level of teams and riders in previous editions, and on the organisers' compliance with the UCI Regulations,” read the statement.
