Ahmedabad in India — which is set to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games — and Doha, Qatar are the two favorites to host the 2036 summer Games, though Turkey and South Africa are also widely reported to be tabling their own bids. The IOC will decide on the outcome in mid-2029.

“We must go into every international event with the mindset that we are showcasing to the world what we are capable of, and every little block is leading up to the bidding for the ‘36 Olympics,” Maninder Pal Singh, the secretary general of the Cycling Federation of India (CFI), told The Athletic one week before the official announcement.

“If we get the (Cycling) World Championships I think the whole perspective of the world (will change) because cycling is one of the core sports in the Olympics that has a lot of eyeballs on it.”

Significantly, Lappartient is also one of only 106 IOC voting members and his enthusiasm for India to host the World Cycling Championships may suggest he also has sympathy for the Ahmedabad Olympic bid.

There is a personal element to this, too. Lappartient lost to Kirsty Coventry in the IOC presidential election in spring 2025, but he is thought to be open to the idea of contesting the next election slated for 2033.

Lappartient is an IOC member by virtue of being the president of the UCI. Last September a motion was passed by the UCI congress changing the maximum number of four-year term limits for UCI presidents to four. It means that Lappartient, who was first elected in 2017, will be eligible for re-election one final time in 2029. If he wins that, he will still be an IOC official in 2033, and thus eligible to run for IOC president again.

This article was published by The Athletic in September 2026. To read the full article click here.