The International Cycling Union (UCI) has revealed that it will award women's under-23 titles in the road race and time trial at the Road World Championships, starting with this year's competition in Wollongong. By Patrick Burke Insidegames.biz
From 2022 until 2024, medals are set to be awarded to the top-performing athletes in the under-23 age bracket in the women's race. A separate women's under-23 road race and time trial is then planned from the 2025 Road World Championships in Rwanda's capital Kigali. The move was approved at the UCI Management Committee meeting in Montreux in Switzerland, its first ordinary meeting since the elections in September last year. The UCI cited "technical and logistical reasons" and "commitments already made" for the wait before dividing the women's events into elite and under-23 categories. French official David Lappartient revealed after his re-election as UCI President in September that he hoped the organisation would be able to award a rainbow jersey for the top performing under-23 cyclist in the women's race, as reported by Cycling News. However, results from a Cyclists' Alliance survey released in December revealed that 97 per cent of respondents backed standalone women's under-23 races. Lappartient insisted that awarding elite and under-23 titles from the women's race in Wollongong is a move in the right direction. "With the award of a Women Under-23 UCI World Champion title in the road race and individual time trial at the next UCI Road World Championships, I am delighted that we have taken another step towards parity between men and women in our sport," he said. "This innovation, like the progress made in protecting the integrity of cycling and its players, makes our sport more inclusive, and we will continue our work in this respect in the coming years." Separate men's under-23 road race and time trials are currently held at the Road World Championships, with junior events also staged for both genders. The qualification system for the Road World Championships in Australia from September 18 to 25 this year was also approved by the UCI Management Committee. This is primarily based on the UCI's World Ranking by nations. The top-five nations are eligible to enter seven riders into the women's elite events, with nations ranked sixth to 15th permitted to enter six, five for those ranked 16th to 20th and three for other nations. Reigning Olympic and continental champions are eligible to compete in addition to their nation's quota, unless the country has the maximum seven qualified riders. A nation will only be eligible for one additional quota spot, even if it has more than one champion. Defending UCI world champions also qualify for an additional quota place. Last year's UCI Road World Championships were held in the Flanders region of Belgium, with Italy's Elisa Balsamo winning the women's road race and The Netherlands' Ellen van Dijk the time trial.