Professional Cycling Council Approves 2018 UCI WorldTour Calendar

23 June 2017 11:22
The Professional Cycling Council (PCC) held its second meeting of the year in Geneva, Switzerland.


High on the agenda was the calendar for the 2018 UCI WorldTour. Following the success of new events coming into the series in 2017, the calendar for 2018 is substantially the same. The success of the Abu Dhabi Tour has led to the extension of this race to five days for 2018 as it continues its place as one of the early season UCI WorldTour races before the series moves to Europe.

To minimise the disruption resulting from the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the PCC has agreed that the Tour de France should take place one week later than originally planned. This change also leads to some other amendments in calendar dates for events in the second half of the season. Details of the provisional 2018 UCI WorldTour calendar are available below. The full UCI men’s road calendar, including races at HC, Class 1 and Class 2 levels, will be published in September.

The PCC also considered a number of topics centred on race safety and security. In particular the size of teams taking part in the three Grand Tours will be reduced from the current 9 to 8, thereby reducing the peloton size to a maximum of 176 and assisting in efforts to ensure the safety of the peloton and the rest of the race convoy. In addition, it is intended that the maximum peloton size for other races in the UCI WorldTour and the UCI Continental Circuits will also be reduced to 176, with the regulations to put this into effect being submitted for approval in due course. These changes will be effective from the 2018 season.

Also in line with the focus on rider safety, the PCC reviewed the recent test of a revised protocol for the calculation of time gaps in stages expected to have bunch sprint finishes held at the Tour de Suisse. The revision changes the time gap for a split to three seconds – instead of one – and is intended to address the issue of increased stress and risk during Grand Tour bunch sprints, while retaining the sporting integrity of the sprint and stage. The revised protocol will now be tested in the 2017 edition of the Tour de France.

A range of other topics were addressed by the PCC. Among these were the organisational requirements for both organisers and teams which have been developed in recent years. The updated versions will be available shortly on the UCI website. Also regarding UCI WorldTeams, it was agreed that the challenge system envisaged as part of the development of the UCI WorldTour would now be put into effect for the 2020 and subsequent seasons.

The next meeting of the PCC will take place in September.


16-21 Jan 18Santos Tour Down Under AUS ME 2.UWT  
28 Jan 18Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race AUS ME 1.UWT
21-25 Feb 18Abu Dhabi Tour UAE ME 2.UWT
24 Feb 18Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite BEL ME 1.UWT
03 Mar 18Strade Bianche ITA ME 1.UWT
04-11 Mar 18Paris-Nice FRA ME 2.UWT
07-13 Mar 18Tirreno-Adriatico ITA ME 2.UWT
17 Mar 18Milano-Sanremo ITA ME 1.UWT
19-25 Mar 18Volta Ciclista a Catalunya ESP ME 2.UWT
23 Mar 18Record Bank E3 Harelbeke BEL ME 1.UWT
25 Mar 18Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields BEL ME 1.UWT
28 Mar 18Dwars door Vlaanderen - A travers la Flandre BEL ME 1.UWT
01 Apr 18Ronde van Vlaanderen - Tour des Flandres BEL ME 1.UWT
02-07 Apr 18Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco ESP ME 2.UWT
08 Apr 18Paris-Roubaix FRA ME 1.UWT
15 Apr 18Amstel Gold Race NED ME 1.UWT
18 Apr 18La Flèche Wallonne BEL ME 1.UWT
22 Apr 18Liège-Bastogne-Liège BEL ME 1.UWT
24-29 Apr 18Tour de Romandie SUI ME 2.UWT
01 May 18Eschborn-Frankfurt - Rund um den Finanzplatz GER ME 1.UWT
05-27 May 18Giro d'Italia ITA ME 2.UWT
13-19 May 18Amgen Tour of California USA ME 2.UWT
03-10 Jun 18Critérium du Dauphiné FRA ME 2.UWT
09-17 Jun 18Tour de Suisse SUI ME 2.UWT
07-29 Jul 18Tour de France FRA ME 2.UWT
29 Jul 18Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic GBR ME 1.UWT
04 Aug 18Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian ESP ME 1.UWT
04-10 Aug 18Tour de Pologne POL ME 2.UWT
13-19 Aug 18Binck Bank Tour --- ME 2.UWT
19 Aug 18EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg GER ME 1.UWT
25 Aug 18 - 16 Sep 18La Vuelta ciclista a España ESP ME 2.UWT
26 Aug 18Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France FRA ME 1.UWT
07 Sep 18Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec CAN ME 1.UWT
09 Sep 18Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal CAN ME 1.UWT
01-12 Oct 18Jeux Olympiques de la Jeunesse / Youth Olympic Games ARG JOJ   
06 Oct 18Il Lombardia ITA ME 1.UWT
09-14 Oct 18Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey TUR ME 2.UWT
16-21 Oct 18Gree-Tour of Guangxi


Source: DSG