September 27/07 3:28 am - UCI Press Release Regarding 2008 ProTour, 2008 Pro Calendar
Posted by Editoress on 09/27/07
UCI Clarifies 2008 ProTour
The UCI ProTour Council (CUPT) met today at the site of the World Road Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
During its meeting, it decided on the format of the UCI ProTour from 2008, taking into account the fact that the organizers of the three major tours have confirmed that they do not wish their events to be part of the series.
From 2008, the changes will be as follows:
• The world calendar will consist, as it has until now, of the UCI ProTour (made up of races with a UCI ProTour licence), the UCI World Road Championships and the Olympic Games.
• The Tour de France will also be registered on the world calendar, but not as part of the UCI ProTour. The 18 UCI ProTeams will have the right to participate, following a request from the teams.
• The other races organized by ASO, RCS and Unipublic will be integrated into the UCI Europe Tour. Six of these (Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Españ a, Milano-Sanremo, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège et Giro di Lombardia) will be registered in a new class at the top of this calendar's hierarchy. Participation in these events will be unrestricted. The remaining races (Tirreno-Adriatico, Paris-Nice, La Flèche Wallonne and Paris-Tours) will be integrated into the existing hors-classe. The limit that is currently imposed, according to which a maximum of 50% of UCI ProTeams can participate in the events in this class, will be abandoned.
The development of the UCI ProTour will continue, in the name of globalization.
The 2008 UCI ProTour will start on January 22 in Adelaide (Australia) with the Tour Down Under.
A final is envisaged on October 5 2008.
This worldwide development will continue over the next years. Other countries are already interested: a letter of intention has been signed with the Chinese National Federation for a future Tour of China. Discussions are also currently taking place with the Russian Federation and Russian Government.
A lot of interest is also being shown as far as the teams are concerned: new initiatives are currently being launched in Australia, Russia and Great Britain.
In addition, only the continental professional teams that have obtained the new quality label administered by the Licences Commission will be eligible for an invitation to participate in a UCI ProTour event.
As is the case for the UCI ProTour licence, the criteria will be of a sporting, ethical and structural nature. In order to benefit from this label, the teams will have to undergo the same measures in the fight against doping as the UCI ProTeams.
Finally, the UCI ProTour Council was informed of the decisions taken by the UCI's Management Committee regarding the fight against doping. It fully supports these and will work towards the setting up of new measures that will apply to all UCI ProTour cyclists, teams and organizers.
| UCI ProTour | Country | Start | End | |
| Tour Down Under | (AUS) | 1/22/08 | 1/27/08 | |
| Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres | (BEL) | 4/6/08 | 4/6/08 | |
| Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco | (ESP) | 4/7/08 | 4/12/08 | |
| Gent-Wevelgem | (BEL) | 4/9/08 | 4/9/08 | |
| Amstel Gold Race | (NED) | 4/20/08 | 4/20/08 | |
| Tour de Romandie | (SUI) | 4/29/08 | 5/4/08 | |
| Volta a Catalunya | (ESP) | 5/19/08 | 5/25/08 | |
| Crité rium du Dauphiné Libé ré | (FRA) | 6/8/08 | 6/15/08 | |
| Tour de Suisse | (SUI) | 6/14/08 | 6/22/08 | |
| Contre la montre par é quipe / team time trial | (NED) | 6/22/08 | 6/22/08 | |
| Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian - San Sebastian | (ESP) | 8/2/08 | 8/2/08 | |
| Eneco Tour | (---) | 8/20/08 | 8/27/08 | |
| GP Ouest France - Plouay | (FRA) | 8/25/08 | 8/25/08 | |
| Deutschland Tour | (GER) | 8/29/08 | 9/6/08 | |
| Vattenfall Cyclassics | (GER) | 9/7/08 | 9/7/08 | |
| Tour de Pologne | (POL) | 9/15/08 | 9/21/08 | |
| Finale / final | (tbc) | 10/5/08 | 10/5/08 | |
| Races entered on the UCI World | Start | nd | ||
| Tour de France | (FRA) | 7/5/08 | 7/27/08 | * |
| Olympic Games - ind. RR | (CHN) | 8/13/08 | 8/13/08 | |
| Olympic Games - ind. TT | (CHN) | 8/9/08 | 8/9/08 | |
| World Champ. - ind. TT | (ITA) | 9/25/08 | 9/25/08 | |
| World Champ. - ind. RR | (ITA) | 9/28/08 | 9/28/08 | |
| Races entered on the UCI Europe Tour | Start | End | ||
| Paris - Nice | (FRA) | 3/9/08 | 3/16/08 | Hors Classe |
| Tirreno - Adriatico | (ITA) | 3/12/08 | 3/18/08 | Hors Classe |
| Milano - Sanremo | (ITA) | 3/22/08 | 3/22/08 | * |
| Paris - Roubaix | (FRA) | 4/13/08 | 4/13/08 | * |
| La Flè che Wallonne | (BEL) | 4/23/08 | 4/23/08 | Hors Classe |
| Liè ge - Bastogne - Liè ge | (BEL) | 4/27/08 | 4/27/08 | * |
| Giro d'Italia | (ITA) | 5/10/08 | 6/1/08 | * |
| Vuelta a Españ a | (ESP) | 8/30/08 | 9/21/08 | * |
| Paris - Tours | (FRA) | 10/12/08 | 10/12/08 | Hors Classe |
| Giro di Lombardia | (ITA) | 10/18/08 | 10/18/08 | * |
| *new class at the top of the calendar's hierarchy |
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