1900-1922: Émile de Beukelaer (BEL) – the Belgian colossus
Like many of the leaders of the emerging sport at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Émile de Beukelaer (1867-1922) is the son of a respected family, upholders of the ideals of sport, in this case cycling. His father, François-Xavier de Beukelaer, when still a chemistry student, developed the Elixir d'Anvers in 1863, an artisanal liqueur that is still popular today. His intended successor, Émile, develops a passion for the bike as a teenager, and at the age of 15 joins the Bicycle Club of Antwerp, which had been founded by the young sportsmen of the city’s liberal bourgeoisie. Émile is crowned amateur road race National Champion in 1885 and 1886, and also distinguishes himself on the track, where his stature and light frame work wonders. He nevertheless gives up his sporting career in 1889 to support his father in the family business, where he demonstrates qualities of authority and conciliation that are more than useful to him in the role of sports leader that he takes on from this period onwards. In 1890, he becomes President of the Sports Commission of the Royal Belgian Velocipede League and in 1893, President of the Bicycle Club of Antwerp. He then oversees the construction of the city's velodrome in Zurenborg, since demolished. He is a member of the organising committees for the Antwerp World Fair in 1894 and the World Championships for track cycling held the same year. He also holds senior positions in motor sports and aeronautics in his country.
When the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is founded in Paris on 14 April 1900, he demonstrates his authority and diplomatic skills to become the institution's first President. He is able to find the means to end the United Kingdom's control over the International Cycling Association, then in charge of world cycling, and to create a new and more representative body. Under his leadership, the UCI becomes the undisputed governing body of cycling and, in 1921, the first UCI Road World Championships are held in the form of a time trial for amateurs. He dies of influenza in 1922, at the age of 54. Paying tribute to him on his death, the newspaper Auto writes: “Always cool-headed, he managed to calm overexcited spirits even in the most difficult moments. Thanks to him, we could see things more clearly in discussions that were becoming particularly heated. The Belgian colossus impressed everyone.”
1922-1936: Léon Breton (FRA) – the self-made man
The son of hoteliers in the small town of Cravant (in the French department of Yonne), near Auxerre, Léon Breton (1861-1940) had made a name for himself as a self-made man. It is in fact by marrying Aline Vansteenbrughe, heiress to a great family of bandage makers, that the young man, a cycling and mountaineering enthusiast, had embarked on the sale of medical equipment and, having moved to Paris, made a significant personal fortune. While in the French capital, he never forgot his love of cycling and continued to ride a bicycle until a ripe old age. This passion led him to join the Union Vélocipédique de France at a very early stage, becoming Vice-President in 1900 and President ten years later. In this capacity, he was President of the organising committee of the World Championships for track cycling in 1907, 1924 and 1933, UCI International Commissioner at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (United States of America), and Vice-President of the National Sports Committee - the body representing French sports federations to the government - until 1939. Vice-president of the Union Cycliste Internationale from its creation in 1900, he became its President after the death of Émile van Beukelaer in 1922. Consensual and determined during his first ten years in office, he then made enemies, both abroad and in his own country, where he was criticised in particular for not using his wealth to serve the interests of cycling. Highly controversial, he was ousted in 1936 during a stormy UCI Congress where, despite the support of the French delegates and his refusal to relinquish his mandate, he was forced to give way to the Swiss Max Burgi and settle for the title of Honorary President. We owe it to him in particular the creation of the World Championships for professionals in 1927, despite opposition from supporters of amateurism and race organisers. Léon Breton died in 1940 in the small village in the French Pyrenees where he had taken refuge during the war. His remains were transferred to the Montmartre cemetery in Paris in 1946.
1936-1939: Max Burgi (SUI) – a transitional president
Max Burgi (1882-1946) belongs to the fairly widespread species of journalists who are also in sports management. From a very young age, he writes sports news for his classmates. An amateur cyclist, rugby player, runner, boxer and fencer, he trains as a printer before becoming the Geneva (Switzerland) correspondent for the two main sports newspapers in France, Vélo and Auto. Then, taking on more responsibility, he becomes editor-in-chief of the cycling magazine La Suisse sportive, which is published until 1932. In 1905, Max Burgi also founded Genève-sport, which he runs until his death, and in 1938 La Semaine à Genèea. He is a member of several sports associations and creates a Swiss cyclists' union. In 1912, he is one of the co-founders of the Swiss National Olympic Committee, of which he remains a member for life. From 1920 to 1930 and from 1939 to 1946, he serves as President of the Swiss Cycling Union, which later merges with its German-speaking counterpart to form Switzerland’s current National Federation. A delegate of his National Federation to the Union Cycliste Internationale from 1906, he becomes its President in 1936, establishing himself as the most consensual successor to the Frenchman Léon Breton, who was the subject of internal disputes. His one-year term is eventually extended to three years but, according to a tacit agreement reserving the post for a Belgian delegate at the end of this period, he hands over to Alban Collignon in 1939.
1939-1947: Alban Collignon (BEL) – action hampered by the war
Alban Collignon (1876-1955) naturally continued the line of journalists at the head of the Union Cycliste Internationale by unanimously succeeding the Swiss Max Burgi at the head of the institution. He was considered, like his predecessor, as a ‘pioneer’ of the UCI, since he was a member of the Ligue Vélocipédique Belge (Belgian Cycling League) and one of the pillars of the international body since 1905. Alban Collignon had founded the newspaper Les Sports in 1907, considering that the Belgian general press did not talk enough about cycling. This newspaper, now part of La Dernière Heure, is still in circulation. As the newspaper Auto noted at the time of his appointment: “He is a fanatic, he is dedicated, he is hard-working, he is a man who knows cycling. Alban Collignon will make a good President of the UCI.”
Also a motor sport enthusiast, Alban Collignon created the National Trophy for Sporting Merit in 1928, which became the main sporting award in Belgium.
His work at the head of the UCI was obviously hampered by the war, as the UCI World Championships could not be held between 1940 and 1945. However, he managed to maintain the link between the various National Federations before handing over in 1947.
1947-1957: Achille Joinard (FRA) – A conservative open to the world
The only candidate to succeed Alban Collignon, the President of the French Cycling Federation, Achille Joinard (1889-1957), is elected President of the UCI by acclamation on 8 February 1947. Although, like his two predecessors, he is a journalist, his career is much more atypical and his character more complex. A fervent nationalist and active member of far-right leagues in his youth, he edits Le Mousquetaire, the mouthpiece of the Ligue de la Rose Blanche, a royalist and Catholic splinter group. His political activity earns him a few run-ins with the police, but he settles down during the 1930s, working in a bank while remaining a member of the Ligue des Patriotes. His militant fervour is equalled only by his passion for cycling, and he creates several ‘patriotic’ cycling clubs in Paris. This activity leads him to the Vice-presidency of the Union Vélocipédique de France. Between 1942 and 1943, he is instrumental in transforming the latter into the French Cycling Federation, of which he becomes President in 1945. The UCI Presidency follows two years later, a role in which he proves to be bold, particularly in his dealings with the countries of Eastern Europe. He thus enables French riders to participate in the Peace Race, but above all he decides, despite the hostility of many, to integrate women's cycling, which finally has its UCI World Championships for road and track from 1958.
Following the death of Achille Joinard and until the election of his successor, the position of President of the UCI was held by Juan Bautista Soler Seuba (ESP), the longest-serving Vice-President at the time.
1958-1981: Adriano Rodoni (ITA) – The longest reign
Brought to the head of the UCI following the death of Achille Joinard, Adriano Rodoni (1898-1985) was already an eminent figure in the institution when he finally presided over its destiny. The two men, who also respected each other, had often been at odds, particularly due to the dispute between their National Federations over advertising, with the Italians wanting to allow advertisers with no connection to cycling on the jerseys, while the French, under pressure from cycle manufacturers, were opposed to this. The friendly rivalry between the two men reflected the state of post-war professional road cycling, where the Italians Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali on one side, and the Frenchmen Louison Bobet and Jacques Anquetil on the other, dominated proceedings. Like Achille Joinard, Adriano Rodoni had his dark side: his detractors did not hesitate to show a photograph of him wearing a black Mussolini shirt, but the Milanese man had managed to distance himself from the fascist regime. His term at the head of the UCI remains the longest of all to date, and cycling underwent many upheavals during the twenty-three years of his presidency. Thus, in 1965, the only International Federation to manage both amateur and professional sport, the UCI had to split momentarily into the International Amateur Cycling Federation (Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme - FIAC) and the International Federation of Professional Cycling (Fédération Internationale du Cyclisme Professionnel - FICP), under pressure from the International Olympic Committee. It was also under his presidency, in 1969, that the UCI left Paris for good and moved to Geneva, in Switzerland.
1981-1990: Luis Puig (ESP) – The Valencian Samaranch
Passionate about sport, particularly field hockey – he was a Spanish international –, the man that the press in his country nicknamed ‘the Valencian Juan-Antonio Samaranch’ never really shone on a bicycle: “I only took part in one race, for the Sant Antoni festivities in Alcúdia, and halfway through I sat down under a fig tree,” the close friend of the former IOC President told a journalist. No matter, the passion was there, and cycling, perhaps his least good sport as an athlete - he was also an accomplished swimmer - turned out to be the sport of his life.
A medical student, Luis Puig (1915-1990) gives up his vocation because his parents cannot afford to pay for his studies and those of his brother at the same time. But his talent for hockey decides his destiny: he distinguishes himself first as a player, but also very quickly as a leader, since he takes over the management of the National Federation. He goes on to manage almost all the sporting bodies in the Valencian community, including his football club. It is at this point that his passion for cycling is born, and he sets about forming a team and then organising a stage race for amateurs, the Tour of Valencia. Having become a pillar of Spanish cycling, he manages his country's teams in the Grand Tours, then contested by national teams. In 1979, he saves the Tour d’Espagne at the last minute, 48 hours before it is due to start, after the organisers went out of business.
He becomes President of the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) in 1968, and remains at its head for more than 16 years. During this period, his international stature grows: elected member of the Technical Commission of the International Federation of Professional Cycling (FICP) in 1974, he is appointed President of the International Federation of Amateur Cycling (FIAC) in 1981. In the same year, the fragile health of Adriano Rodoni, President of the UCI, forces the organisation of elections. Luis Puig becomes the first Spanish President and is regularly re-elected until his death from a stroke in 1990. Those who knew him speak of his natural authority, but also of his simplicity: once turned away from the finish line of an amateur race by a young volunteer, he congratulates him for doing his job. His dream was to organise the UCI World Championships in the Valencian community: it would come true, but unfortunately two years after his death, in 1992, when the UCI Road World Championships are held in Benidorm.
Following the death of Luis Puig and until the election of his successor, the position of President of the UCI was held by Valéry Syssoev (URS), the longest-serving Vice-President at the time.
1991-2005 - Hein Verbruggen, the builder
Moving into the presidency of the UCI following the death of Luis Puig, Hein Verbruggen (1941-2017) would restore the institution, stripped of its substance after being split into the FIAC and FICP, to its former glory. Supported in this endeavour by the President of the International Olympic Committee, Juan-Antonio Samaranch, who is working on his side to bring amateur and professional sports closer together, this cunning Dutchman not only reunites the two bodies, but also develops the Union into one of the most powerful International Federations in the world. Nothing predisposed Hein Verbruggen to occupy the highest offices of the world cycling organisation. Born in Helmond, a small town famous for its medieval castle, in a country with more bicycles than inhabitants, he is Sales Manager at a major food company when, on his initiative, the company becomes the sponsor of the Flandria-Mars cycling team, led by Belgian cyclist Roger de Vlaeminck. He catches the bug, and Hein Verbruggen joins the Royal Dutch Cycling Union in 1974, then the FICP in 1979, being elected its President in 1984 after beating the Frenchman Germain Simon by one vote. He then sets about bringing together the professional and amateur cycling bodies under the aegis of the UCI, which at the time is only a modest organisation with two employees responsible for liaising between the two worlds. This is achieved in the early 1990s: in 1991 Hein Verbruggen takes over as head of the UCI, then in 1993, the FICP and FIAC are dissolved. From then on, he applies marketing methods to his new role and attempts to organise a sport that at the time was based on strong traditions and sometimes contradictory influences. This leads to the creation of the FICP Ranking (which later became the UCI Ranking), then the UCI Road World Cup, organised along the lines of Formula One and bringing together the major Classics, including those that are now known as the Monuments. This overhaul of the calendar and the resulting distribution of rights leads to a period of conflict with the long-standing organisers, particularly Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), owner of the Tour de France, and RCS, owner of the Giro d'Italia. Hein Verbruggen is also behind the UCI World Cycling Centre, inaugurated in 2002 in Aigle, Switzerland, and a tool in one of his major battles: the globalisation of his sport. He joins the IOC in 1996, becoming one of its most influential members (Honorary member from 2008), in particular as head of its Evaluation Commission. He remains the indisputable architect of the modern UCI, even if his reign coincided with the emergence of EPO in the professional peloton and with the affairs that would ultimately make the UCI a pioneer in the fight against doping.
Hein Verbruggen died of leukaemia on 4 June 2017.
2005-2013 - Pat McQuaid, the enthusiast
Elected comfortably to the head of the UCI in September 2005 with the backing of Hein Verbruggen, who had withdrawn his candidacy to devote himself to his missions at the IOC and in particular the coordination of the Beijing Olympic Games, Pat McQuaid initially appeared to be the man of continuity. But this warm-hearted Irishman quickly demonstrated that he was more than that. He can already pride himself in being the only President of the UCI to date to have had a career as a professional cyclist. Irish Champion in the road race in 1974, he also won the Tour of Ireland twice, in 1975 and 1976. He was born into a family of cycling enthusiasts, as his father, uncle, six brothers and one of his cousins were all riders, at national and international level, and he brought this passion to the UCI along with an intimate knowledge of the world of cycling. There was certainly continuity during his term of office, particularly in the desire to push the boundaries of cycling - creating major races in Australia, China, Africa and Canada, for example - but there were also breaks with the past. The fact is that Pat McQuaid, perhaps less direct but sometimes more diplomatic than his predecessor, brought to the post of President of the UCI a keen sense of the need to develop the institution. This enabled him, from 2007, to impose an anti-doping charter on riders that marked the beginning of the end of a decade of turmoil, to create the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) before burying the hatchet with Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) in 2008. Also in the field of doping, Pat McQuaid introduced the biological passport, making the UCI a forerunner in the field. His bonhomie and the know-how acquired in his previous positions as head of the Irish National Cycling Federation and as a race organiser (Tour of Ireland and Tour de Langkawi) enabled him to defuse many crises. However, he was not re-elected for a third term, succeeded in September 2013 by British cyclist Brian Cookson, who won by 24 votes to 18. After his term as head of the UCI, Pat McQuaid moved to the south of France, where he organised cycle-touring trips for amateur cyclists, before returning to Ireland.
2013-2017 - Brian Cookson, the discreet reformer
The presidency of the UCI has often coincided with the geopolitical status of cycling. Bearing this in mind, the election of Brian Cookson as President of the institution in September 2013 made perfect sense: President of British Cycling from 1997 to 2013, this true cycling enthusiast had transformed a sport relatively unknown in his country into a winning machine. Under his leadership, British cycling triumphed on all terrains, particularly on the track with successes at the Beijing and London Olympic Games, and then on the road, where the crazy gamble of seeing a Briton win the Tour de France had just paid off with Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome. Although Brian Cookson only served one term, he did a great deal more than just put in an appearance. His two predecessors, although they had taken cycling to a higher level, had not been able to reconcile all the sometimes-contradictory interests of the sport. It was this task that Brian Cookson set about, with definite success. He is himself a passionate cyclist – he was a good amateur and continues to race in the Masters category – and he thoroughly reorganised the UCI, providing it with structures and safeguards that shielded it from the criticism and controversy that had sometimes paralysed its work. Brian Cookson was therefore a discreet reformer, but one who was particularly effective at rationalising and purifying a sport in the throes of change. One of his greatest successes was undoubtedly, as he had already done at British Cycling, to restore women's cycling to its rightful place and prepare for its irresistible rise. He bequeathed to his successor a Federation respected in the sporting world and a sport with strengthened credibility.
2017 - David Lappartient, the visionary
President of the UCI since 2017, President of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) since 2023, President of the Morbihan Departmental Council since 2021, former President of the French Cycling Federation (FFC) and former Mayor of the pretty Breton town of Sarzeau, David Lappartient’s CV is one of a hyperactive man. And that he is. If this politically astute cycling enthusiast – he cycles regularly – has decided to take on all these responsibilities, it is because his appetite for action would appear insatiable. His involvement in cycling dates back to 1997, when he becomes President of Vélo Sport de Rhuys and joins the Board of Directors of the FFC. In 2009, after joining the UCI, he takes the reins of French cycling, where he is involved in the construction of the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome, which would open in January 2014 and go on to host the track events at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games ten years later. His rise continues with the Presidency of the European Cycling Union (UEC) at the expense of former Moldovan cyclist Andrei Tchmil. Vice-President of the UCI and President of the Professional Cycling Council, in 2017 he faces Brian Cookson for the presidency of world cycling and is elected by a large margin before seeing his term renewed by acclamation for four years in 2021. Since his election, he has continued the work of his predecessor to bring a reign of calm to world cycling. He has also taken far-reaching action to assist National Federations, emphasised the international solidarity work of the UCI World Cycling Centre, and professionalised women's road cycling, a sector that has enjoyed a spectacular and well-deserved development as a result.
Among his many major achievements at the head of the UCI, is the organisation in 2023 of the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow and across Scotland, bringing together all cycling disciplines in a true cycling festival to be held every four years in the year preceding the Summer Olympic Games, but also the organisation of the first UCI Road World Championships in Africa, in 2025, in Kigali, Rwanda.
A member of the International Olympic Committee since February 2022, he stands for election as President of the institution in 2025, but is beaten by Zimbabwean former swimmer Kirsty Coventry, the first woman elected to the head of the IOC.