The UCI has revealed that 21 candidates from four different continents have applied for places in the 2017 WorldTour race calendar.
Under new rules, races and teams can obtain three-year licences, with the hope that this gives the sport better financial stability. The UCI does not clarify if the 21 candidates are one-day or stage races.
The decision to award three-year licences is part of the UCI’s reform of men’s professional cycling. However with Tour de France organizer ASO refusing to accept the reforms, it is unclear if the WorldTour will be viable in 2017 and beyond.
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ASO has so far refused to accept the democratically voted changes and is threatening to pull its major races from the WorldTour and register them in the lower Europe Tour. This would give ASO a much greater control on the teams it invites and possibly allow the French organiser to overlook teams who are against their dominant position in the sport, including the Velon business venture of 11 leading teams that has recently signed an agreement with the Infront sports marketing and broadcast company.
The UCI has not revealed the names of the races that have requested WorldTour status but Cyclingnews understands that possible candidates include the Tour of Qatar, Strade Bianche, the Presidential Tour of Turkey, Tre Valli Varesine, the end of season Abu Dhabi Tour and others.
“These events will now be assessed throughout the 2016 season based on a range of criteria including technical quality of the races, their role in the strategic development and promotion of the UCI WorldTour, and the narrative of the season,” the UCI’s press release reads.
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