News – Women’s World Tour

ALPS_BANNER

The Aviva Womens Tour is revealed as being part of the UCI Women’s World Tour calendar in 2016 with events around the world

RST Cycle Clothing & Trigon Bikes

News – Women’s World Tour

UCI PRESS RELEASE

The Union Cycliste Internationale has announced the events in the UCI Women’s WorldTour (WWT) signifying a major step forward for women’s cycling. The Tour, which will be launched in 2016, will become the leading series of races for professional women road cyclists replacing the former UCI Women Road World Cup which ran from 1998 to 2015.

2015_WomensTour_Stage1_14

The WWT will comprise a combination of one-day and stage races and will run for 35 days from March (Strade Bianche, Italy) to September (with the recently formed one-day La Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta), increasing the number of competition days by more than 60%.

The 2016 calendar (see below) will take the peloton to 17 events across Europe, the United States and China, including for the first time multi-day events such as the Aviva Women’s Tour of Britain and the historical Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile. The popular Amgen Tour of California and the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic will be staged in the United States.

The top 20 UCI Women’s Teams will be invited to participate in each event with some organisers choosing to increase the size of the peloton by offering a greater number of teams the chance to race. There will be WWT leader and young (U23) leader jerseys and individual stage races will also be allowed to introduce their own jerseys. As well as competing for victories in the individual races, the riders will also battle to position themselves in the overall WWT rankings.

Increased media exposure is at the heart of UCI’s strategy for the development of women’s cycling and there will be substantial live broadcast and streaming as well as highlight packages. Organisers will also provide a news clip to be distributed to international broadcasters after the race finishes and the UCI will ensure that each event is promoted across social media, including its dedicated women’s cycling channel.

2015_WomensTour_Stage5_12

Already in 2014, the UCI invested in improving the broadcast of women’s professional cycling, resulting in an eight fold increase in viewership that year. Further progress is anticipated in 2015 when the audience analysis is concluded, and the WWT will bring substantial further growth.

The UCI has spent a full year consulting with event organisers, teams, rider representatives, media and sponsors before setting up the WWT. Improvements in women’s cycling are also made towards the professionalization of team structures carried out through a UCI Women’s Teams Working Group created in 2015.

UCI Vice-president and Chair of the UCI Women’s Commission Tracey Gaudry added: “The UCI Women’s WorldTour will present a season-long calendar of events that will help build a strong narrative around our sport. With riders battling for honours in one-day classics and stage races as well as for overall WWT rankings, I’m convinced we now have a premier product that will bring a whole new set of fans to women’s cycling. This is an important moment for women’s cycling.”

WOMENS TOUR in WORLDTOUR

The Aviva Women’s Tour has been announced as a part of the new UCI Women’s WorldTour for the 2016 season taking place from Wednesday 15 to Sunday 19 June.
It will be one of two events in Britain (see below).

“We are proud that the Aviva Women’s Tour has been named on the new UCI Women’s WorldTour calendar after just two editions and are excited by the prospect of being a part of this new competition,” said Mick Bennett, Race Director of the Aviva Women’s Tour.

“The team at SweetSpot look forward to working with the UCI and other organisers to make the Women’s WorldTour a success and to continue to raise the profile of women’s cycling. The Aviva Women’s Tour has already proved to be hugely popular in the first two years and this news is another welcome boost for the race.”

WORLDTOUR STATUS FOR RIDELONDON WOMEN’S RACE
As well as the Aviva Women’s Tour, the UCI, the international cycling federation, has awarded WorldTour status to the women’s pro road race at next year’s RideLondon.  The new series replaces the current UCI Women’s Road World Cup and has been established to accommodate the fast growth of women’s cycling.

“We are delighted to be awarded WorldTour status for 2016,” said Mick Bennett, Race Director. “With its stunning route in the centre of London and live TV coverage, this event is one that every cyclist wants to race. This year, the women’s event saw a world first with live coverage from cameras on bikes and we are planning more innovations for 2016.”

The women’s road race at the 2016 RideLondon festival of cycling will take place on Saturday 30 July in central London.

The UCI Women’s WorldTour in short:
35 days of racing
4 stage races
13 one-day races
9 countries
8 races broadcast live

EVENTS
1 – Strade Bianche, ITA – 05/03/16
2 РUCI WorldTour F̩minin Ronde van Drenthe, NED Р12/03/16
3 – Trofeo Alfredo Binda – Comune di Cittiglio, ITA – 20/03/2016
4 – Gent-Wevelgem des Flandres, BEL – 27/03/16
5 – Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres, BEL – 03/04/16
6 РLa Fl̬che Wallonne F̩minine, BEL Р20/04/15
7 – Tour de Chongming Island, CHN – du 06/05/16 au 08/05/16
8 – Amgen Tour de Californie, USA – du 19/05/16 au 22/05/16
9 – Philadelphia International Cycling Classic, USA – 05/06/16
10 – Aviva Womens Tour, GBR – du 15/06/16 au 19/06/16
11 – Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile, ITA – du 01/07/16 au 10/07/16
12 – La Course par Le Tour de France, FRA – 24/07/16
13 – Prudential Ride London, GBR – 30/07/15
14 РCrescent Vargarda UCI WorldTour F̩minin, SWE Р19/08/16
15 РCrescent Vargarda UCI WorldTour F̩minin TTT, SWE Р21/08/16
16 – GP de Plouay-Bretagne, FRA – 27/08/16
17 – LA MADRID CHALLENGE par La Vuelta, ESP – 11/09/16

Send your results as well as club, team & event news here

Other Results on VeloUK (including reports containing results)

Other News on VeloUK

Tags: