New Dawn for Cycling as a Sport After UCI President Promises Climate Action in the Races

Cycling is considered the most eco-friendly mode of transport, but did you ever imagine it being bad for the environment? Yes, cycling too leaves carbon footprints. Carbon emissions already heating up the planet, dragging us towards a dystopian future. Most of the world?s biggest organizations are constantly in search of ways to reduce their footprints to ensure we don’t get there. This is also been the case for the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).?

To make the sport more sustainable, the UCI has come up with an array of plans that they are looking to implement soon. So without further ado, let?s open our wisdom eye and learn about the environmental nuances of cycling and how to prevent it.?

Cycling Community Set to Go Green

According to the latest reports, cycling as a sport has accumulated only 4 out of 10 in terms of long-term sustainability. This has made the UCI concerned and forced them to take necessary steps.? While investigating the reasons, a number of them popped up immediately. One of the main reasons was found to be the hectic schedule. Players had to travel a lot in between spans of a few days. This led to an increased number of carbon emissions from vehicles and aircraft, which contributed to a larger carbon footprint.?

Another reason was that the athletes were kept in separate hotels for different tournaments at the same time. This not only elevated the cost of living but also resulted in a larger consumption of electricity and other sources of energy, thus, getting the emission levels higher. So, to tackle the said situation, the UCI president has decided to implement a couple of changes. Let us quickly take a look at what the changes are.??

Reforms coming thick and fast

David Lappartient, the president of UCI addressed these concerns and agreed that the emissions needed to go down fast. He also vowed that the cycling community will look to have a 10 on the score when it comes to sustainability in the future. Lappartient stated that the entire calendar needed to be rescheduled to prevent frequent traveling for the athletes. He also emphasized the need to allot a single hotel to athletes when the competition is at the same time. The President of UCI rolled out Agenda 2030, where the aim is to trim down emissions by 50%.?

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Lappartient further added, ?We have to organise the WorldTour calendar in a way that reduces our emissions, and so that we’re not moving from one part of the globe to the other every month. In the Agenda 2030 booklet, it’s written that we have to reschedule the WorldTour and other calendars. So [starting from January] it goes from Oceania, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America and then Asia. By reshaping the calendar, we can help reduce the sport’s carbon footprint.?

In conclusion, we can say that the world is changing rapidly and each one of us must be responsible enough in our actions. If we are not eager to protect our planet, humankind as we know, might soon cease to exist.?

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