30 January 2017
Press Release
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce that Katerina Nash (Czech Republic) and
Simon Zahner (Switzerland) have been elected to represent cyclo-cross on the UCI Athletes' Commission,
after a vote held during the 2017 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships this weekend in Bieles,
Luxembourg.
Nash and Zahner were chosen from a field of nine candidates - five men and four women - by athletes
participating in the UCI Elite World Championships.
Amongst the women’s candidates, Nash obtained 38,6% of the votes, while Zahner achieved 33% for men.
Participation rate has been of 82,2%.
Members of the Commission are elected with a four-year mandate running from the UCI Congress in 2017
to the Congress in 2021.
The election comes as part of the renewal of all UCI Commissions in 2017.
This year, the UCI has taken the decision to increase the representation of its various disciplines on the
Athletes' Commission by modifying its electoral system.
This new voting system will see the UCI Athletes' Commission grow from 13 to 16 members, with a perfect
Men/Women balance for each of the eight disciplines.
In line with the election method of the Athletes' Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC),
which elects its members at each Olympic Games, elections of the two representatives from each discipline
will take place every four years at the UCI World Championships of the relevant discipline.
The mission of the Commission is:
Presenting the UCI Management Committee with its wide-ranging considerations in order
to improve the role of athletes in all disciplines;
Promoting/improving the respect and rights of athletes in all forms of cycling and in all disciplines;
Promoting ethics and all fair play rules inherent to the practice of cycling at all levels;
Providing a direct link with the UCI Management Committee for major events;
Informing athletes of the range of professional training available to them during and after
their sporting careers;
Acting as ambassadors and role models for all disciplines and at all levels.
According to the Commission's terms of reference, the President of the Athletes' Commission is elected by
his/her peers and is co-opted onto the UCI Management Committee, the executive body of the Federation
which operates under the authority of the Congress. In addition, one representative on the Athletes'
Commission from each discipline automatically becomes a member of the Commission of his/her discipline,
and therefore represents the athletes on that Commission.
Union Cycliste Internationale
CH - 1860 Aigle
Switzerland
T : +41 24 468 58 11
F : +41 24 468 58 12
Service de presse
admin@uci.ch
T : +41 79 198 70 47
www.uci.ch Page 2 / 2
The renewal of the Athletes' Commission, with wider representation of disciplines, comes a year after the
Commission was overhauled - one of the key commitments of Brian Cookson, since taking up the UCI
Presidency in 2013.
Men Number of votes Percentage
Simon ZAHNER (SUI) 29 33.0%
Sven NYS (BEL) 28 31.8%
Wout VAN AERT (BEL) 13 14.8%
Francis MOUREY (FRA) 8 9.1%
Thijs VAN AMERONGEN (NED) 6 6.8%
*** Abstention *** 4 4.5%
Women Number of votes Percentage
Katerina NASH (CZE) 34 38.6%
Sophie DE BOER (NED) 18 20.5%
Katherine COMPTON (USA) 17 19.3%
Marianne VOS (NED) 16 18.2%
*** Abstention *** 3 3.4%
For more information
Louis Chenaille
UCI Press Officer
+41 79 198 7047
louis.chenaille@uci.ch
John Zerafa
VERO Communications
+44 7813 814 816
jzerafa@verocom.co.uk
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