The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce the publication of its Annual Report - including the financial statement - for 2023. The document can be consulted on the UCI website.
Approved by the UCI Management Committee, the 2023 UCI Annual Report features the numerous highlights of the year under review, notably the success of the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships, which were held in Glasgow and across Scotland (United Kingdom) from 3 to 13 August and brought together 13 UCI World Championships for cycling’s different disciplines. Among other innovations in cycling included in the 2023 Annual Report are the new-format UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, the addition of snow bike to the disciplines governed by the UCI, and the first year of an expanded, new-look UCI Mountain Bike World Cup organised in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery.
The UCI continued to work towards the objectives outlined in the Federation’s Agenda 2030, including rider safety with the establishment of SafeR, an entity dedicated to safety at professional road cycling competitions, which is the fruit of collaboration with all road cycling’s stakeholders. Advancements in women’s cycling are also outlined in the 2023 UCI Annual Report, not least the approval of the establishment of a second division of women’s professional road teams - UCI Women’s ProTeams - from 2025, and the integration of stakeholders of women's professional road cycling into the Professional Cycling Council (PCC). When it comes to integrity, the UCI launched a campaign in 2023 dedicated to the protection of individuals in cycling, which is part of the Safe Cycling pillar of the Federation’s Cycling Integrity programme.
The development and solidarity activities carried out in 2023 by the UCI through the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC), its high-level training and education centre, are also detailed in the 2023 UCI Annual Report. These include the Africa 2025 project to prepare young African road cyclists for the 2025 UCI Road World Championships, which will be held on the African continent for the first time, in Kigali, Rwanda.
In keeping with its policy of transparency, the UCI also presents in its 2023 Annual Report the audited consolidated financial statements of the UCI and the UCI WCC, and the audited financial statements of the UCI for 2023, prepared and audited in accordance with Swiss accounting standards (Swiss GAAP FER).
The UCI's financial results are analysed over a four-year cycle, given that Olympic revenues are recorded in the Olympic year only. In the UCI's financial model, the non-Olympic years show an operating loss for which the UCI can afford a maximum (operating) loss of 5.5 million Swiss francs per year in order to guarantee a financial balance over the Olympic cycle aside from any impact from the financial result.
The operating loss for 2023 was 5 million Swiss francs, which is better than expected, notably thanks to a cautious and prudent management of expenditure.
The final loss, including the financial result, was 3.4 million Swiss francs, thanks to the good performance of the investment portfolio.
As a result of these good results, the UCI's reserves (excluding buildings and fixed assets) stand at 27.8 million Swiss francs, and remain well above the target of a minimum reserve threshold of 20 million Swiss francs set from 2020 onwards. They have reached an excellent level for a pre-Olympic year.
The 2023 UCI Annual Report also contains useful information about the Federation and its activities, including a presentation of the disciplines it governs, the list and composition of its governing bodies, commissions and jurisdictional bodies, the list of its 203 affiliated National Federations, and the results and rankings of all UCI events (UCI World Championships, UCI World Cups and other UCI series) for the season.
UCI President David Lappartient said: “The year 2023 was marked by the huge success of the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships. This event set a fantastic benchmark for future editions which, every four years, will bring cycling’s many and varied disciplines together at the same place and at the same time. While the staging of this first edition was one of the objectives of the UCI’s Agenda 2022, we are now working towards the goals set out in our Agenda 2030, which will see us continue to move cycling forward on all fronts.”
UCI Director General Amina Lanaya said: "Cycling continued to progress in 2023 both in the sport itself and in its governance. The UCI took decisions to further the professionalisation of women’s cycling, and set up a strategy to accelerate the development of our sport in Africa with a view to the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda. We also launched a campaign to strengthen the integrity of cycling, and continued to work to improve safety at competitions. All these initiatives are carried out in close consultation and collaboration with our stakeholders who are important for the development of our sport.”