[Source: Event Scotland] Craig joins the 2023 Cycling Worlds team from Scottish Cycling and will take up the position in April, reporting directly to the Championships CEO, Trudy Lindblade. With a strong track record and a career spanning over 25 years with some of Scotland’s leading sports and leisure organisations, Craig is regarded as one of the country’s most experienced and accomplished sports management professionals. Craig spent his early career within the commercial leisure industry, before moving into broader sports development roles across local, regional and national sports organisations.

Under his leadership as CEO of Scottish Cycling since 2011, the governing body has undergone transformational change resulting in significant growth and modernisation. This has delivered substantial increases in membership, participation and revenue as well as developing a talent system that continues to deliver sustained medal success from Scottish athletes on the world stage. Scottish Cycling was also awarded Governing Body of the Year in 2018.

Craig is a vocal advocate with a huge passion for cycling and is determined to ensure the  2023 UCI Cycling World Championships can add value to the great work already going on across the cycling landscape in Scotland and importantly deliver an inspiring policy led event that positively impacts across the four key policy drivers of participation, transport, tourism and economy.

Trudy Lindblade, 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships CEO, said: “I’m delighted to have Craig join the 2023 Cycling Worlds senior management team as Director of Strategy, Policy and Impacts. His extensive experience and in-depth understanding of the policy drivers, political landscape and priorities of the key partners and agencies in Scotland make him the ideal candidate to drive forward our plans for delivering a major event that delivers sustained positive impact across the four key policy areas of participation, transport, tourism and economy.  

“We have big ambitions for the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships to not only deliver an outstanding event but to also celebrate the unique power of the bike and all it can bring to our everyday lives. Craig’s work will be vital in achieving this as we work in collaboration with cycling and wider partners to amplify and unify their existing work and activity that will give everyone the opportunity to experience the freedom riding a bike can bring to their life.” 

Craig Burn said: “I’m delighted to be joining the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships team as Director of Strategy, Policy and Impacts. I genuinely believe this event, and cycling in its widest sense, can bring solutions and positive change to individuals and communities across Scotland.

 “Not only will the Championships shine a spotlight on Scotland and the UK, but it will provide a unique platform and catalyst for government, its agencies and wider stakeholders to collaborate on initiatives and key policy areas where cycling can bring about tangible, positive change before, during and after the event for decades to come.

“First and foremost, we must deliver a world class sporting event for the athletes, spectators, stakeholders and sponsors. However, the Championships must also inspire the nation to get involved and be a vehicle to promote and celebrate Scotland’s natural assets and culture of innovation to the world.

“I’m proud and honoured to be given this opportunity to play an integral part in ensuring the success of this inaugural mega event that will create history and build a blueprint for future major events in Scotland and across the globe.”

Taking place in Glasgow and across Scotland in August 2023, the UCI Cycling World Championships will be the biggest single cycling event in history, bringing together 13 existing individual World Championship cycling disciplines into one mega event, for the first time.

The Championships is more than just an event. It will celebrate the unique power of the bike and all it can bring to our everyday lives, whether it’s physical and mental health benefits, easing congestion on the road to help the environment, or simply making it easier for people to get around.

The Championships is being delivered in collaboration between the UCI, Scottish Government, Glasgow Life, UK Sport, British Cycling and VisitScotland with its EventScotland team, with the partnership creating a blueprint for future editions by ensuring the inaugural event is authentic, innovative and distinctive.

The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships has appointed Phil Heselwood, Jonathan Rigby and Kate Steven to its senior management team in the roles of Director of Sport, Director of Commercial, Marketing & Communications, and Director of Operations respectively.

Reporting directly to the Championships CEO, Trudy Lindblade, each brings a wealth of cycling and international major events experience and will work alongside Trudy, the UCI and the Event Partners to design and deliver the inaugural event in Glasgow and Scotland in August 2023.

Prior to joining the Championships team, Phil was part of British Cycling’s Major Events Team for 11 years, including two years as Major Events Development Manager, where he was responsible for the strategic development, governance, financial sustainability, growth and innovation for all the governing body’s major events. This depth of experience has meant he has been involved in major cycling events across most of the 13 major championships, including the Glasgow 2018 European Championships, 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships and the 2012 UCI BMX World Championships, that make up the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.

Jonathan brings a wealth of international commercial, marketing and communications experience to his new role having been Commercial Director at British Cycling, where he led the organisation’s commercial partnerships. He was also Commercial & Marketing Director at BBC Children in Need, helping to lift the annual total raised from £49m to £60m in just two years; and was International Head of Marketing at Manchester United for five years where he lead a team that worked alongside over 45 international commercial partners.

Kate joins having played a key role in the successful delivery of the 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire where she was Head of Operations. In the role she was responsible for the operational strategy, structure and the event-time team of more than 2,000 people delivering the championships’ operations. She was part of the organising committee for the London Olympics and subsequently Head of Events at Glasgow Life during the preparation and delivery of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. In Glasgow, she was responsible for the programme management of more than 30 major public events including the first use of the city’s race circuit for the British Road Race Championships in 2013.

Trudy Lindblade, 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships CEO, said: “I’m delighted to have Phil, Jonathan and Kate joining the Cycling Worlds senior management team. They each bring a wealth of experience to their respective roles, which will be invaluable as we develop our plans for delivering this historic event in 2023 and build a blueprint for future editions.  

“The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships is more than just an event. It is a chance to make significant change by celebrating the unique power of the bike and all it brings to our everyday lives, whether it’s for our health and well-being, our environment, tourism or the economy. Through their individual roles, Phil, Jonathan and Kate will each play a leading role in championing this vision to ensure our ambition of delivering a truly innovative and unique event is met.”

Phil said: “I am very excited to be part of such an innovative and ambitious event. Glasgow and Scotland have a well-deserved global reputation for delivering world class events, and there is no doubt they will again provide the perfect stage for the world’s best cyclists across all 13 disciplines to perform and inspire.

“The potential of this event for cycling and the positive impact it aims to have on people’s behaviours is hugely inspiring. I’m looking forward to working with all the great partners across the country to showcase both theirs, and Scotland’s, ambition to the world.”

Jonathan said: The vision for 2023 is to deliver a unique international event that also showcases and inspires people to make cycling part of their everyday lives. This presents a fantastic opportunity to not only engage communities but also for domestic and international sponsors to partner with a truly purpose-led event at a time when cycling is booming.  I’m delighted to be part of this bold ambition and I look forward to working with Trudy, the Event Partners and wider stakeholders to deliver this vision.”

Kate said: “I’m delighted to be joining the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships team. I have worked on a variety of sport operations around the world and am looking forward to working in collaboration with our national partners to build an exceptional team and operation here in my home nation. It is a privilege to help deliver the world’s largest ever cycle event and promote the power of the bike.

Phil will take up his position on the 1 December 2020, with Jonathan and Kate starting on the 1 January 2021.

Taking place in Glasgow and across Scotland in August 2023, the UCI Cycling World Championships will be the biggest single cycling event in history, bringing together 13 existing individual World Championship cycling disciplines into one mega event, for the first time.

The Championships is more than just an event. It will celebrate the unique power of the bike and all it can bring to our everyday lives, whether it’s physical and mental health benefits, easing congestion on the road to help the environment, or simply making it easier for people to get around.

Underpinned by four key policy drivers - participation, transport, tourism and economy - the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships will be a catalyst for behavioural change across Scotland moving forward.

The Championships will be delivered in collaboration between the UCI, Scottish Government, Glasgow Life, UK Sport, British Cycling and VisitScotland with its EventScotland team, with the partnership creating a blueprint for future editions by ensuring the inaugural event is authentic, innovative and distinctive.

Taking place in Glasgow and across Scotland in August 2023, the Championships is set to be the biggest single cycling event in history, bringing together 13 existing individual World Championship cycling disciplines into one mega event, for the first time.

The Championships is more than just an event and will celebrate the unique power of the bike and all it can bring to our everyday lives, whether it’s physical and mental health benefits, easing congestion on the road to help the environment, or simply making it easier for people to get around.

Underpinned by four key policy drivers - participation, transport, tourism and economy - the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships will be a catalyst for behavioural change across Scotland moving forward.

Trudy’s strong background and experience working on complex large-scale major events, designed to support government ambitions to deliver social and economic change, makes her the ideal person for the job.

Currently the Head of Event Management at Visit Victoria, Trudy will bring a wealth of event experience to the position having spent more than 20 years leading, planning and delivering major events in Australia and around the world, working with government’s, local organising committees, event hosts and international and national sports federations in the process.

In particular, her work on cycling events spans over twelve years and includes senior roles at the 2010 UCI Road World Championships, the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships as well as Cycling Australia. 

More recently she has spent over seven years working for one of the world’s leading events acquisition groups, Victorian Major Events Company (VMEC), now Visit Victoria, and was  pivotal in the establishment of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in 2015, now the opening one-day race on the UCI WorldTour and UCI Women's WorldTour calendars.

Trudy also has a strong cultural events background, taking over the reins of the all-night festival ‘White Night Melbourne’ in 2017 and overseeing the creation of supporting regional White Night events.

As CEO of the Championships, Trudy will have overall executive responsibility for the planning and delivery of the event. She will report directly to the Chair of Championships Board and will manage all the senior management positions including the Director of Sport, Director of Operations and Director of Commercial, Marketing and Communications currently being recruited. Trudy will take up her position on 26 October 2020 and will relocate to Glasgow with her family from Melbourne, Australia.

Paul Bush OBE, Chair of 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, said: “On behalf of all the partners, I would like to congratulate Trudy on her appointment as CEO of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships and we look forward to welcoming her to Scotland very soon. This is another key milestone on our journey to the Championships and concludes a global search, much of which was undertaken at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Trudy’s vast event experience, particularly in delivering both UCI and mass participation cycling events, makes her the ideal candidate to establish and lead the Championships team. We have a bold ambition to use the event as a catalyst for significant change and progress in Scotland, by continuing to transform the nation and make cycling part of people’s normal, everyday lives and Trudy is the right person to help us achieve this.”

Trudy Lindblade said: “Playing a leading role in such an innovative and unique event will be a wonderful opportunity. This is particularly so as the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships will be the single biggest global cycling event to date, and one that has transformational change at its core bringing longer term benefits to Scotland through the areas of health, transport, education, sustainability and tourism.

“I look forward to working with all Event Partners as well as local towns and regions to showcase Scotland’s world class event delivery and tourism credentials to the world through the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.”

Trudy’s appointment follows last week’s announcement of the five Non-Executive Directors and one Co-opted member to join the Championships Board of Directors. 

Rupert Dickinson, Alexandra Innes, David Hornby, Nick Peel and Susan Ahern have all taken up their roles as Non-Executive Directors on the Board, while five-times BMX and Track Cycling World Champion, Shanaze Reade, will also be joining the Board this month as a Co-Opted Board Member.

Rupert Dickinson, Alexandra Innes, David Hornby, Nick Peel and Susan Ahern all joined the 2023 Board in September, bringing with them a breadth of experience from across a range of specialisms and sectors including financial services and investment, consultancy, legal and legislative affairs, media, retail development and real estate. Rupert has also been appointed the Senior Independent Director and will be responsible for chairing the Audit and Risk Committee.

Five-times BMX and Track Cycling World Champion, Shanaze Reade, will also be joining the Board in October as a Co-Opted Board Member. Her years of experience competing at the international level will be hugely valuable to the group and the delivery of the Championships.

Commenting on the appointments, Paul Bush OBE, Chair of 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, said: “On behalf of the 2023 Board, I would like to congratulate and welcome our six new members. Their individual experience and expertise across a range of sectors and specialisms will be invaluable to the successful delivery of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow and across Scotland.

“The Championships will be a catalyst for change and progress in Scotland in making cycling part of the normal, everyday lives of people and the announcement of Shanaze and the Non-Executive Directors is a key milestone on this journey. I look forward to working with all them over the next three years.”

The Non-Executive Directors join the nominated Directors from each of principle funder and host partner organisations. They are:

•             Paul Bush OBE (Chair), VisitScotland

•             Billy Garrett, Glasgow Life

•             Danielle Every, British Cycling

•             Colin Edgar, Glasgow City Council

•             Stewart Harris, sportscotland

•             Steven Elworthy MBE, UK Sport

•             Bettina Sizeland, Scottish Government

The announcement of the new board members comes as the recruitment process for the three senior positions of Director of Sport, Director of Operations and Director of Commercial, Marketing and Communications at the Championships commenced this week.

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer and working closely with the UCI, each position will be responsible for devising and implementing the plans for their respective areas of responsibility and ensuring they meet the event’s policy ambitions.