The UCI announced that it has, for the first time in its history, added representatives from the women's peloton to their Professional Cycling Council (PCC).
In 2023, the UCI Management Committee decided to add stakeholders from women's teams, riders and race organisations.
At the meeting during the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Tábor, the UCI officially appointed CPA Women director Alessandra Cappellotto to represent riders, FDJ-Suez manager Stephen Delcourt and EF Education-Cannondale manager Esra Tromp for teams, Sonia Martinez as the representative for the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas and Wim Van Herreweghe from the Tour of Flanders to speak for race organisers.
Ruth Edwards neé Winder was appointed to the UCI Athletes' Commission. She returned to the WorldTour this season after a two-year absence with Human Powered Health.
The PCC is involved in drafting rules, drawing the WorldTour calendars, and other decisions that are key to professional cycling.
Although the governing body has taken numerous steps to support women's cycling, with the creation of the Women's WorldTour, minimum salaries, and other measures, women have complained that they had no say in the adoption of new rules such as the ban on the super-tuck and puppy-paws riding positions.
"I would like to welcome the new members of the Professional Cycling Council," UCI President David Lappartient said. "Their arrival means that the main components of women's road cycling are now represented on this body, which plays a central role in the development of the sport at the highest level.
"From now on, its prerogatives will also encompass the women’s sector. This is a great step forward for both the governance and development of women's cycling."
At the same meeting, the Management Committee crafted a new facet to its Extreme Weather Protocol, specifically dealing with extremely high temperatures in WorldTour, Women's WorldTour and Pro Series events in preparation for climate change.
The High Temperature Protocol will work in a similar way, with specific conditions sparking an emergency meeting to put into place countermeasures such as moving staging to shaded areas, providing additional water and ice from neutral motorbikes, or changing start times.
"I am also delighted with the new measures taken, in collaboration with our stakeholders, to protect the health and safety of riders with our new High Temperature Protocol," Lappartient said.
