The Oceania Cycling Confederation (OCC) congratulates Mr David Lappartient on his election as President of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in Bergen, Norway on Thursday September 21.

OCC Vice President and Cycling New Zealand Chairman Tony Mitchell was elected to the UCI Management Committee joining Confederation President Tracey Gaudry with Oceania represented by two members for the first time in history.

UCI Management Committee member and OCC President Tracey Gaudry said “The OCC congratulates David Lappartient on his election as President of the UCI. Having worked alongside him for the past four years I know he will make a great impact in cycling globally.

“Today marks an important moment in history for the Oceania region with a second representative elected to the UCI Management Committee for the first time. I congratulate Tony Mitchell on his election. He will be an active champion for cycling on the world stage,” concluded Gaudry.

New UCI Management Committee member Tony Mitchell said, “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to serve on the UCI Management Committee. I am looking forward to working with Tracey and David on the progressive agenda outlined for global cycling over the next four years.”

Cycling in Oceania will continue to grow in 2018 with eight UCI Road Cycling events for men and women across January and February.

Australia will host the opening two rounds of the UCI World Tour with the Santos Tour Down Under (16-21 January 2018) and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (28 January). Both events feature UCI Women’s races – the Santos Women’s Tour (11-14 January) and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (27 January).

The UCI Oceania Tour will expand to include the Gravel and Tar race in New Zealand (27 January) joining the New Zealand Cycle Classic (17-21 January) and Herald Sun Tour (31 January-4 February).

In a sign of the continued growth of women’s cycling in the region, the Herald Sun Tour will also feature a UCI Women’s race for the first time with the two-day event running January 31 to February 1.

Gaudry said, “We are proud of the progress in the hosting of international cycling events in Australia and New Zealand with a raft of UCI sanctioned MTB and BMX events, and now two new UCI Road events.”

Dates and locations of the 2017/18 Oceania Track, Mountain Bike and BMX Championships have also been announced with New Zealand and Australia both hosting events. The 2018 Road Championships will be announced in the coming months.

April will also see Australia host the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast with riders competing in Road, Track and Mountain Bike disciplines.

2018 Oceania Continental Championships
2018 Oceania Track Championships: 20-23 November 2017 – Cambridge, New Zealand
2018 Oceania Mountain Bike Championships: 9-11 February 2018 – Dunedin, New Zealand
2018 Oceania BMX Championships: 21 March 2018 – Bunbury, Australia