It is with great sadness that we share the sudden passing of Geert Penez, chairman of Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, and scrutateur of AOICC,
Geert passed away yesterday at the age of 67 after illness.
Geert was the heart and soul of our beloved springclassic, and his dedication & warmth touched many.
Our thoughts are with his family, friends and all who had the honour of knowing him
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AIOCC’s board and all members
© Yves Perret / YP Médias
The Professional Cycling Council (PCC) – the body bringing together the stakeholders of men’s and women’s professional road cycling – met on 26 March at the headquarters of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in Aigle, Switzerland. Members discussed several important topics concerning men’s and women’s professional road cycling.
Regarding regulatory changes, all the families represented within the PCC – organisers, teams and riders – had jointly submitted a request that the number of teams participating in the men’s Grand Tours (Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and La Vuelta Ciclista a España) be increased to 23 starting this year. Until now, their number has been limited to 22 (the 18 UCI WorldTeams, the two best UCI ProTeams in the UCI World Team Ranking, which benefit from a compulsory invitation, and two UCI ProTeams chosen by each organiser). The request was examined by the PCC today and the proposal was accepted by the majority of its members. It will now be submitted to the UCI Management Committee, which will make a final decision on the matter by 31 March. The other regulatory issues addressed will be decided at the UCI Management Committee meeting in June.
With regard to the calendars, preparatory work for the renewal of the registration of events on the UCI WorldTour and UCI Women’s WorldTour calendars for the 2026-2028 period has begun. The procedure will be finalised at the next PCC meeting. The 2026 calendars and the list of events that will appear on the 2027 and 2028 calendars will then be submitted to the UCI Management Committee for approval in June. As part of the registration applications received, the PCC took note of bids for new events within the One Cycling project in respect of which the families expressed their wish for the continuation of the ongoing discussions but with their formal participation and under the authority of the UCI to establish the UCI International Calendar, define its different tiers and allocate events. The members of the PCC underlined that the official representative organisations (AIGCP, AIOCC and CPA) must be implicated in the decision-making process related to the UCI WorldTour and UCI Women’s WorldTour and that they must be adequately consulted in relation to the One Cycling project, given its implications for all stakeholders and for the calendar as a whole.
As part of the support for the development of women’s cycling, the members of the PCC voted in favour of an increase in the participation and accommodation allowances granted to women’s teams during the 2026-2028 cycle.
SafeR is pleased to announce that its Supervisory Board held its first meeting of the year on 4 March 2025 at the headquarters of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in Aigle, Switzerland.
SafeR is a body dedicated to safety in men’s and women’s road cycling, and brings together representatives of the various stakeholders in road cycling: organisers (AIOCC), teams (AIGCP), riders (CPA and CPA Women) and the UCI. The SafeR Supervisory Board meets four times a year to make strategic and budgetary decisions.
The following representatives attended the meeting on 4 March:
for the organisers: Kiko García (ESP) and Mauro Vegni (ITA);
for the teams: Emily Brammeier (GBR) and Brent Copeland (RSA);
for the riders: Adam Hansen (AUS);
for the UCI: Rocco Cattaneo (SUI) and Amina Lanaya (FRA/MAR/SUI).
© Yves Perret / YP Médias
2025 Annual General Assembly : meeting on 21 November in Copenhagen (Denmark)The next AIOCC General Assembly will take place on 21 November 2025 in Copenhagen.
Candidature for the Executive Committee The Executive Committee is made up of twelve AIOCC members who are responsible for the organisation of their event. The twelve candidates who received the most votes at the extraordinary General Meeting are elected. The letter of application must include :
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© Yves Perret / YP Médias
“A new season has just begun.
For us, as organisers, it’s all about delivering events that fit in with an increasingly professional world.
We are constantly highlighting the beauty of our sport, the exciting races that an exciting generation of athletes magnify, the breathtakingly scenic courses that we offer roadside fans and television viewers.
Professional cycling is a pyramid with the biggest races at the top and dozens of races organised over the years by passionate volunteers at the bottom. Without them, there would be no professional cycling.
The safety of everyone – riders, followers and spectators – is the most important issue for us. It’s a constant obsession.
The road is a stadium that does not belong to us, a public space that we share and to which we invite ourselves, with our constraints.
The incidents during the Etoile de Bessèges race and the reaction of certain teams must continue to fuel our thinking and our work, in the same way as those carried out every week within Safer, in which the AIOCC is a very committed player.
Our sport is magnificent. It is sometimes cruel.
Organisers are more united than ever, federated by the AIOCC, which has 11 new members this year, and determined never to give up on key issues.
Have a great season! “
Christian Prudhomme
AIOCC President