The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is currently in the middle of a controversy after a journalist who has previously published articles that are critical of cycling's governing body was denied accreditation to cover the UCI Road World Championships.
Iain Treloar, a writer for the Cyclingtips website, had rejected two applications to cover the UCI Road World Championships in Australia. Both times, the championships were held in Australia.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has asserted that Treloar was not granted accreditation because more than three media representatives permitted no publication at the Championships due to space reasons. Cycling tips had already reached their quota of accredited journalists. UCI claims that this was the reason why Treloar was not granted accreditation. This point was brought up again during a press conference held during the World Championships on Saturday by UCI President David Lappartient.
Treloar has investigated several complicated matters about the UCI, one of which was the organization's connection to the controversial Russian billionaire Igor Makarov, sanctioned by Australia and Canada concerning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"It may be just an accumulation of several stories building a perception in their minds that I'm a troublemaker, or whatever," he said. "It's possible that it's just an accumulation of stories." However, I believe the questions I have regarding sports administration are reasonable.
The UCI allegedly did not respond to questions regarding "whether Treloar's previous reporting influenced its decision," as reported by The Guardian. Australian media also reported that the press center for the World Championships has been "relatively empty" this week. Another outlet reported this.
The Association of International Cycling Journalists (AIJC) announced that they had sent two emails to the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in which they "expressed our displeasure with this situation" and "urged the UCI to still give Iain Treloar an accreditation for the World Championships."
The American International Judo Commission (AIJC) issued a statement on Sunday: "The UCI claims that only three accreditations are given per medium." We emphasized to them that UCI has double standards regarding this rule, as evidenced by the fact that the previous year, several Belgian media outlets had more than three journalists accredited in Leuven for [the World Championships].
