UCI releases 2021 calendar as Tour de France moved due to Olympics and men's RideLondon won't be WorldTour
After the upheaval of 2020, how will the WorldTour calendar look next year?
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The UCI has released the 20201 calendar, with the Tour de France moved to cater for the Olympics while RideLondon has not applied to be a WorldTour race.
Cycling’s governing body has released an update on how the WorldTour racing schedule will look next year, after the 2020 season was completely redesigned due to coronavirus.
For the Women’s WorldTour calendar, Paris-Roubaix will return for a second edition after the prestigious race was finally introduced for women in 2020, while the women’s RideLondon will maintain it’s WorldTour status.
Men's WorldTour calendar 2021
With the Tokyo Olympics postponed in 2020 due to coronavirus, the Games were instead pushed back to 2021, running from July 23 to August 8 with the road races taking place on July 24, 25 and 28.
This initially caused a clash with the planned dates for the 2021 Tour de France on July 2-25, but the UCI has now shifted the Tour to finish on July 18, so riders finishing in Paris will have a week to travel to Japan for the Olympics.
The Vuelta a España will also held a week earlier, to leave more time between the European Championships in September and the World Championships.
19 - 24 January: Santos Tour Down Under (Australia)
31 January: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (Australia)
21 – 27 February: UAE Tour (United Arab Emirates)
27 February: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite (Belgium)
6 March: Strade Bianche (Italy)
7 - 14 March: Paris-Nice (France)
10 - 16 March: Tirreno-Adriatico (Italy)
20 March: Milano-Sanremo (Italy)
22 - 28 March: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (Spain)
24 March: AG Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne (Belgium)
26 March: E3 BinckBank Classic (Belgium)
28 March: Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields (Belgium)
31 March: Dwars door Vlaanderen - A travers la Flandre (Belgium)
4 April: Ronde van Vlaanderen - Tour des Flandres (Belgium)
5 - 10 April: Itzulia Basque Country (Spain)
11 April: Paris-Roubaix (France)
18 April: Amstel Gold Race (the Netherlands)
21 April: La Flèche Wallonne (Belgium)
25 April: Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Belgium)
27 April -2 May: Tour de Romandie (Switzerland)
1st May: Eschborn-Frankfurt (Germany)
8 - 30 May: Giro d'Italia (Italy)
30 May-6 June: Critérium du Dauphiné (France)
6 - 13 June: Tour de Suisse (Switzerland)
26 June-18 July: Tour de France (France)
31 July: Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa (Spain)
9 - 15 July: Tour de Pologne (Poland)
14 August - 5 September: La Vuelta Ciclista a España (Spain)
15 August: EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg (Germany)
22 August: Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France (France)
30 August - 5 September: BinckBank Tour
10 September: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec (Canada)
12 September: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal (Canada)
9 October: Il Lombardia (Italy)
14 - 19 October: Gree - Tour of Guangxi (China)
Women's WorldTour calendar 2021
The Women’s WorldTour will consist of 25 events next season, including the new women’s Paris-Roubaix and new additions The Itzulia Women and the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas.
Next year’s Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta will be held a week earlier to allow riders to transition from the European Championships and the Worlds.
Organisers of the women’s Tour of California have also opted not to apply for WorldTour status next year.
30 January: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race – Elite Women’s Race (Australia)
6 March: Strade Bianche (Italy)
14 March: Ronde van Drenthe (Pays-Bas)
21 March: Trofeo Alfredo Binda – Comune di Cittiglio (Italy)
25 March: AG Driedaagse Brugge – De Panne (Belgium)
28 March: Gent – Wevelgem in Flanders Fields (Belgium)
4 April: Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres (Belgium)
11 April: Paris-Roubaix Femmes (France)
18 April: Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition (the Netherlands)
21 April: La Flèche Wallonne Féminine (Belgium)
25 April: Liège – Bastogne – Liège Femmes (Belgium)
6 - 8 May: Tour of Chongming Island (China)
14 - 16 May: Itzulia Women (Spain)
20 - 23 May: Vuelta a Burgos Feminas (Spain)
30 May: RideLondon Classique (Great Britain)
7 - 12 June: Women’s Tour (Great Britain)
2 - 11 July: Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile (Italy)
18 July: La Course by Le Tour de France (France)
7 August: Postnord UCI WWT Vårgårda West Sweden TTT (Sweden)
8 August: Postnord UCI WWT Vårgårda West Sweden RR (Sweden)
12 - 15 August: Ladies Tour of Norway (Norway)
21 August: GP de Plouay – Lorient-Agglomération Trophée Ceratizit (France)
24 - 29 August: Boels Ladies Tour (the Netherlands)
3 - 5 September: Ceratizit Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta (Spain)
19 October: Tour of Guangxi – UCI Women’s WorldTour (China)
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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