Dubai, UAE, October 26, 2016: The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Swiss watchmaker Tissot, a company of the Swatch Group, have the pleasure of announcing the extension their partnership for a further 4 years (2017-2020). The agreement ensures that their long-term partnership will last for at least a quarter of a century. 

The latest partnership agreement, which started in 1995, sees Tissot become the first “World Cycling Partner” in the history of the UCI. Alongside this, Tissot remains the exclusive Official Timekeeper of the UCI for the totality of it events and disciplines. 

As far as Track Cycling is concerned, Tissot becomes the first ever title sponsor of the UCI Track World Cup and the first presenting partner of the UCI Track World Championships. This new status takes immediate effect from the 2016/17 season starting from the opening leg of the Tissot UCI Track World Cup, which will take place in Glasgow (GBR) from November 4-6.

In addition, Tissot will also be the presenting sponsor of all future attempts at UCI World Hour Record. Tissot’s new status in track cycling responds perfectly to the disciplines requirements for reliability and innovation, which are essential in a discipline where the difference between victory and defeat can be fractions of seconds. Tissot will also provide its timing services for all of the World Championships of the UCI’s Olympic disciplines (road, track, mountain bike and BMX) as well as for all of the legs of the UCI Track World Cup and any future attempts at the UCI Hour Record. 

At the UCI Road and Mountain Bike World Championships, the UCI’s historic partner will also provide GPS data, which play a growing role in presentation of the discipline to athletes and fans alike. As a further part of the partnership, Tissot will also present each of the future individual UCI World Champions in the Olympic disciplines with a watch in the “Tissot Watch Award”.

Regarding the agreement, UCI President Brian Cookson said: “I am extremely pleased about this historic agreement, which makes Tissot the Official Timekeeper of cycling. This partnership allies Tissot world-renowned precision with the growing popularity of our Olympic sport across the globe. All of our disciplines will benefit from this alliance and our fans will surely appreciate the technological savoir-faire of our trusted partner.”

François Thiébaud, Tissot President commented: “We are reinforcing our commitment to the UCI by becoming not only Official Timekeeper but also the first “UCI World Cycling Partner”. Our values of precision and innovation have allowed us to stay at the top of the game and to gain the trust of UCI. For us, this title proves it. We hope it will give another reason to our partners and customers to be proud of Tissot.”