The men's and women's team time trials at UCI Road World Championships will now have equal prize money ©Getty Images

Men and women will have the same prize money in all International Cycling Union (UCI) World Championship events after the governing body’s Management Committee agreed to introduce equal prizes for team time trials at their Road World Championships.

Equal prize money across all events at the Championships, bar the team time trials, had been introduced back in 2012.

The difference between men’s and women’s prize money in the competition had been largely due to the event being contested by trade teams, with their commercial influence leading to a higher prize pool for the men.

At last year's World Championships in Richmond, BMC Racing earned a total of €33,333 (£26,100/$37,900) for winning the men’s crown, while Velocio-SRAM, who secured a fourth straight women’s title, received €10,666 (£8,400/$12,100).

The decision by the UCI Management Committee in Lausanne at their second meeting of the year will now see the prize pools for the event become equal.

They also agreed to introduce equal prize money at BMX class one events, while money will also be awarded to the rider who completes the fastest lap at each race of the 2016-2017 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup season.

The UCI have also agreed to adopt a new Code of Ethics, which will include all UCI staff, consultants and event organisers.

It is claimed the Code of Ethics covers integrity, neutrality, non-discrimination and conflicts of interest, will increases the field of competence of the UCI Ethics Commission, who are tasked with ensure the code is respected.

The UCI Management Committee agreed to a new Code of Ethics and approved plans for the organisation's President to have a term limit for the first time in its history ©Getty Images
The UCI Management Committee agreed to a new Code of Ethics and approved plans for the organisation's President to have a term limit for the first time in its history ©Getty Images

The UCI revealed that the membership of the Commission will increasingly be composed of “experienced professionals independent from the sport of cycling.”

“The adoption of the newly strengthened Code of Ethics is another very important step towards ensuring the very highest standards of good governance at the UCI,” said UCI President Brian Cookson.

A final version of a revised constitution, which could see term limits for the UCI President introduced for the first time, was approved and is due to be put forward at the world governing body’s Congress in October.

The decision was also taken to award the 2017 Junior Track Cycling World Championships to Shenyang in China, while the Andorran resort of Vallnord will host both the 2017 and 2018 editions of the Masters Mountain Bike World Championships.

Dornbirn in Austria was awarded the hosting rights for the 2018 Indoor Cycling World Championships.