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UCI to introduce new calendar

By VeloNews.com
Published: Jan. 6, 2009

UCI officials Thursday will officially roll out the new calendar for elite men’s road racing for the 2009 season.

UCI president Pat McQuaid has called a press conference for Thursday at the Geneva International Airport to formally introduce the calendar that’s been in the works for months.

Following several feuding years between the sport’s major players, a cease-fire that took hold last fall will see the ProTour and the so-called “historic” events run side-by-side under the revised UCI “world calendar.”

Under the truce reached last year between the UCI and the “big three” race organizers, the media groups behind the three grand tours will run their events, along with their other properties, such as one-day classics Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo and weeklong stage races Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico, under the “historic” designation.

The remaining 14 events, such as Dauphiné Libéré and Tour of Flanders, will be part of the ProTour format.

Despite the designations, there are no other major changes under the new world calendar, at least in terms of when and where races are held. Most races have retained their traditional spot on the calendar despite calls for changes of some dates.

The lone exception is the Tour of Poland, which slots into August following the collapse of the Tour of Germany. Paris-Tours, held each October, is being dropped to the European calendar, which includes Europe’s other road cycling events.

UCI officials are still hopeful that a Tour of Sonchi in Russia will be organized in 2009, with a likely race date sometime in May.

2009 UCI world calendar

• Jan. 20-25 Tour Down Under (Aus) - ProTour
• March 3-15 Paris-Nice (Fra) - Historic
• March 11-17 Tirreno-Adriatico (Ita) - Historic
• March 21 Milan-San Remo (Ita) - Historic
• April 4 Ronde van Vlaanderen (Bel) - ProTour
• April 6-11 Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco (Spa) - ProTour
• April 8 Gent-Wevelgem (Bel) - ProTour
• April 12 Paris-Roubaix (Fra) - Historic
• April 19 Amstel Gold Race (Ned) - ProTour
• April 22 La Flèche Wallonne (Bel) - Historic
• April 26 Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Bel) - Historic
• April 28-May 3 Tour de Romandie (Swi) - ProTour
• May 9-31 Giro d’Italia (Ita) - Historic
• May 18-24 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (Spa) - ProTour
• June 7-14 Dauphiné Libéré (Fra) - ProTour
• June 13-21 Tour de Suisse (Swi) - ProTour
• July 4-26 Tour de France (Fra) - Historic
• Aug. 1 Clasica San Sebastián (Spa) - ProTour
• Aug. 2-8 Tour of Poland (Pol) - ProTour
• Aug. 16 Vattenfall Cyclassics (Ger) - ProTour
• Aug. 19-26 Eneco Tour (Benelux) - ProTour
• Aug. 23 GP Ouest France-Plouay (Fra) - ProTour
• Aug. 29-Sept. 20 Vuelta a España (Spa) - Historic
• Oct. 17 Giro di Lombardia (Ita) - ProTour

• Date to be determined Tour of Sonchi (Rus) - ProTour