UCI expands WorldTour to 37 events

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The UCI announced an expanded WorldTour calendar for 2017, with 10 new events including the Amgen Tour of California, Tour of Qatar, Abu Dhabi Tour and Tour of Turkey, and one-day races Dwars door Vlaanderen, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Prudential RideLondon, Eschborn-Frankfurt and Strade Bianche.

The UCI was able to include three-year licences to every WorldTour event after long and contentious negotiations with the Tour de France organisers ASO, but next year will see a reduction in WorldTour teams to 17, with further reductions to 16 for 2019 and beyond.

“The publication of this new calendar is an important step in the development of men’s professional road cycling," UCI President Brian Cookson said. "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.”

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The season begins again with the Tour Down Under from January 17-22, followed by the Great Ocean Road Race on January 29 before heading to its newest races in Qatar and Dubai.

The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad overlaps with Dubai, however, as the UCI continues to have conflicting WorldTour events rather than separate them further on the calendar.

Strade Bianche comes on March 4, one day before the start of Paris Nice (March 5-12), which still overlaps with Tirreno-Adriatico (March 8-14). Dwars door Vlaanderen (March 22), E3 Harelbeke (March 24) and Gent-Wevelgem (March 26), during the Volta a Catalunya (March 20-26). The Tour of Flanders (April 2) and Paris-Roubaix (April 9) bookend the Vuelta al Pais Vasco (April 3-8).

• 17-22 January: Santos Tour Down Under (Australia)
• 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)*
• 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)
• 22 March: Dwars Door Vlaanderen / A travers la Flandre (Belgium)*
• 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)
• 18-23 April: Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey (Turkey)*
• 19 April: La Flèche Wallonne (Belgium)
• 23 April: Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Belgium)
• 25-30 April: Tour de Romandie (Switzerland)
• 1 May: Eschborn-Frankfurt « Rund um den Finanzplatz » (Germany)*
• 6-28 May: Giro d’Italia (Italy)
• 14-21 May: Amgen Tour of California (United States)*
• 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)
• 30 July: Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic (Great Britain)*
• 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)

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