The UCI renews its partnership with IMG to distribute international media rights for its major UCI World Championships

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce it has extended its long-term agreement with global sports marketing agency IMG to distribute the international media rights for its major UCI World Championships through to 2031.

The agreement covers all international territories outside Europe, MENA and China. This extension with IMG complements the renewed agreement with the European Broadcasting Union for distribution in Europe.

IMG will continue partnering with the UCI to represent the media rights for its annual UCI World Championships for road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, BMX Racing, gravel and urban cycling (BMX Freestyle and trials), as well as the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup over the period. IMG will also manage and license the UCI’s archives in their territories, featuring thousands of hours of historic footage from its events.

IMG has represented the International Federation’s media rights in their territories since 2017, significantly growing the distribution of its events.  Recently, for example, this has included, building new interest in cyclo-cross in Japan and restructuring the distribution strategy in Latin America by securing a major pay-TV agreement with DIRECTV that provides a complement to any agreements made with free-to-air broadcasters, thus ensuring even wider visibility across the region.

List of UCI events covered by the agreement:

• UCI Cycling World Championships (2027 and 2031)
• UCI Road World Championships (2025, 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030)
• UCI Track World Championships (2025, 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030)
• UCI Urban Cycling World Championships* (2025, 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030)
• UCI Mountain Bike World Championships (2025, 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030)
• UCI BMX Racing World Championships (2025, 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030)
• UCI Gravel World Championships (2025, 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030)
• UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships (2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2031)
• UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup** (2024-2025 to 2030-2031).

* This event includes BMX Freestyle (Park and Flatland) and trials.

UCI President David Lappartient said: “I am delighted that IMG will continue to distribute media rights outside Europe for our major events. Since 2017, the agency has been ensuring that fans can enjoy cycling action across our many and varied disciplines. With the extension of our agreement until 2031, we can ensure that the broadest possible audience has access to our events and also attract new fans to the sport.”

Ed Mallaburn, Senior Vice President, Sports Management, IMG, added: “We are proud to extend our longstanding partnership with the UCI and help bring the excitement and passion of cycling to audiences around the world. Cycling is a truly global sport with a deeply engaged fanbase, and we look forward to building on our shared success by continuing to expand the reach and value of UCI’s World Championship events across both traditional and digital platforms.”

IMG represents and advises on the international media rights strategy for some of the world’s biggest sport properties including Euroleague Basketball, The Wimbledon Championships, The R&A, South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), British Cycling, the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), Rugby League Commercial, and the Eredivisie, among others.