AIGLE, Switzerland (BRAIN) — The UCI is planning a fourth and possibly a fifth "satellite" World Cycling Center, to be built somewhere in Central or South America in the next few years. The facility would complement the UCI's current Cycling Center in Switzerland, which houses the organization's headquarters as well as elite training and coaching facilities. The UCI already has satellite World Cycling Centers in South Africa, Japan and South Korea.
First-year UCI president Brian Cookson confirmed plans to build at least one new facility in a speech at the Confederacion Panamericana de Ciclismo (COPACI) last week in Mexico. He said the facility would "help ensure that riders from as many disciplines as possible, from right across the continent, are able to develop into world class athletes capable of winning medals in World Championships, starring at the Olympic Games and wearing the yellow jersey in the Tour de France."
"To help facilitate this, the UCI is committed to creating at least one World Cycling Center satellite venue in the COPACI region. This will be an important development, not just for the nation that will host the WCC satellite, but for aspiring athletes across the Americas who will benefit from world class training, coaching and support facilities."
