Executing a first-of-its-kind event allows for the creation of a blueprint for future editions, not only for the event itself but also for the organizations involved in the delivery. The Cycling Worlds team was able to create and build upon existing tools to deliver an inclusive approach that can now be applied to future events in Scotland and across the UK. 

To achieve success, it must be applied with the right level of commitment, planning, and resources. The Cycling Worlds team showed huge commitment to designing an event that will contribute to a sustainable, inclusive future for cycling in Scotland, highlighting the full integration of the para-road and para-track cycling World Championships into the competition schedule, and the Elite Women’s Road Race closing the event after 11 days of exhilarating action. An Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion framework was developed to guide event planning and ensure that this event could be for everyone.

 The Championships were a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Glasgow and Scotland to bring together people from all walks of life around one common goal: the power of the bike and removing all barriers for attendance. Alongside the framework, key to this commitment was the development of the EDI Pledge, with the aim of maximizing the platform of a global event that pledged inclusion at its core to deliver a world-class event embodying the spirit of community, belonging, and equal respect.

Our partner, Scottish Cycling, was proactive in ensuring that their activation programs around the event targeted women and girls, yielding impressive results in participation levels. In total, £1.5 million was awarded through the Cycling Communities Fund, and as part of that criteria, awarded organizations were asked to reach out to new audiences and create new opportunities for cycling for people who have been traditionally marginalized from cycling, reaching women and girls, adaptive bike cyclists, and people from minority ethnic communities. 

The Championships worked with each of its event delivery partners and venues across Scotland to deliver inclusive and sustainable actions from the framework that met local community and environmental needs. Each of these venues was able to tell their own successful EDI story and be proud of their achievements at a local, national, and international level. Trudy Lindblade, CEO of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, said: "The team at the Cycling World Championships is proud to have again been recognized for the efforts in positioning equality, diversity, and inclusion at the beating heart of the inaugural Championships."