BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
The Prudential-sponsored RideLondon-Surrey Classic pro road race is to become part of the WorldTour calendar from 2017, announced series owner the Union Cycliste Internationale.
The expanded series will consist of 37 events, including RideLondon, the Amgen Tour of California and eight other additions. As in previous years, the season will begin in January with the Santos Tour Down Under, and finish with Il Lombardia at the end of September.
A statement from the UCI said: "The application process for events to join the UCI WorldTour from 2017 was met with significant interest from race organisers, with successful applicants being awarded three-year registrations (2017-2019). They join the existing UCI WorldTour events, all of which have also been awarded registrations for the same period."
UCI President Brian Cookson said: “The publication of this new calendar is an important step in the development of men’s professional road cycling. Alongside the prestigious events which have already proven their worth, the UCI WorldTour is enriched by the addition of some truly fantastic races across the globe. I’m delighted to see this development.”
2017 UCI WorldTour calendar
New events
– 29 January: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (Australia)
– 6-10 February: Tour of Qatar (Qatar)
– 23-26 February: Abu Dhabi Tour (United Arab Emirates)
– 25 February: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (Belgium)
– 4 March: Strade Bianche (Italy)
– 22 March: Dwars Door Vlaanderen / A travers la Flandre (Belgium)
– 18-23 April: Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey (Turkey)
– 1 May: Eschborn-Frankfurt « Rund um den Finanzplatz » (Germany)
– 14-21 May: Amgen Tour of California (United States)
– 30 July: Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic (Great Britain)
Current UCI WorldTour events
– 17-22 January: Santos Tour Down Under (Australia)
– 5-12 March: Paris-Nice (France)
– 8-14 March: Tirreno-Adriatico (Italy)
– 18 March: Milano-Sanremo (Italy)
– 20-26 March: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (Spain)
– 24 March: Record Bank E3 Harelbeke (Belgium)
– 26 March: Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields (Belgium)
– 2 April: Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres (Belgium)
– 3-8 April: Vuelta al País Vasco (Spain)
– 9 April: Paris-Roubaix (France)
– 16 April: Amstel Gold Race (Netherlands)
– 19 April: La Flèche Wallonne (Belgium)
– 23 April: Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Belgium)
– 25-30 April: Tour de Romandie (Switzerland)
– 6-28 May: Giro d’Italia (Italy)
– 4-11 June: Critérium du Dauphiné (France)
– 10-18 June: Tour de Suisse (Switzerland)
– 1-23 July: Tour de France (France)
– 29 July: Clásica Ciclista San Sebastian (Spain)
– 29 July-4 August: Tour de Pologne (Poland)
– 7-13 August: Eneco Tour (Benelux)
– 19 August-10 September: Vuelta a España (Spain)
– 20 August: Cyclassics Hamburg (Germany)
– 27 August: Bretagne Classic – Ouest-France (France)
– 8 September: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec (Canada)
– 10 September: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal (Canada)
– 30 September: Il Lombardia (Italy)
