UCI WorldTour events are top-level races for professional cyclists. They form a series, with riders competing for the overall title as well as individual wins. The UCI Women’s WorldTour was launched in 2016, replacing the original World Cup and therefore adding stage races to the calendar.

There were some significant changes to the top-level men’s road racing calendar in 2017, with the WorldTour gaining 10 new events. The number of WorldTour events totals 37 races, with 15 countries visited from January to October.

The Tour Down Under in Australia (January 16-21) is the traditional WorldTour season opener followed by the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (Australia) on January 28, and the Abu Dhabi Tour (February 21-25), Omloop Het Niewusblad in Belgium (February 24) and Strade Bianche in Italy (March 3).

Milan-San Remo (March 17) kicks off the Classics season proper in Europe, which runs well into April and includes highlights such as the Tour of Flanders (April 1), Paris-Roubaix (April 8) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (April 22).

The opening Grand Tour of the season is the Giro d’Italia over May 5-27, and the Tour of California in the same month (May 13-19) – the USA’s only WorldTour event.

The Tour de France takes place over July 7-29, with the sole British WorldTour event, the RideLondon-Surrey Classic, taking place on July 29.

The final Grand Tour of the year, the Vuelta a España brings the three-week stage races to a close over August 25 to September 16 with the WorldTour season ending in China with the Tour of Guangxi (October 16-21).

Points are awarded to riders who finish highly in races as well as wearing the leader’s jersey in stage races and topping major classifications, with the season-long WorldTour ranking updated after every event for individual riders and teams. Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) topped the table in 2017.

The Women’s WorldTour calendar gains three races for 2018: Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde, WWT Emakumeen XXXI. Bira and Tour of Guangxi to extend the number of races from 20 in 2017 to 23 in 2018.

The women’s calendar commences with Strade Bianche in Italy on March 3 and concludes with the Tour of Guangxi on October 21.

UCI WorldTour men’s ranking (as of June 17)

Individual riders
1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe, 1984 pts
2. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, 1682 pts
3. Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott, 1472 pts
4. Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors, 1397 pts
5. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing, 1345 pts
6. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors, 1303 pts
7. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Quick-Step Floors, 1297 pts
8. Michael Valgren (Den) Astana, 1215 pts
9. Primož Roglič (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo, 1211 pts
10. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, 1205 pts

Teams
1. Quick-Step Floors, 8499 pts
2. Mitchelton-Scott, 6143 pts
3. Team Sky, 5994 pts
4. Bora-Hansgrohe, 5805 pts
5. BMC Racing, 5470 pts

UCI WorldTour women’s ranking (as of June 17)

Individual riders
1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Boels Dolmans, 977 pts
2. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, 745 pts
3. Amy Pieters (Ned) Boels Dolmans, 576 pts
4. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) Cervelo-Bigla, 571 pts
5. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM, 563 pts
6. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott, 563 pts
7. Chantal Blaak (Ned) Boels Dolmans, 543 pts
8. Jolien D’hoore (Bel) Mitchelton-Scott, 525 pts
9. Marianne Vos (Ned) Waowdeals Pro Cycling, 509 pts
10. Coryn Rivera (USA) Team Sunweb, 410 pts

Teams
1. Boels-Dolmans, 2768 pts
2. Mitchelton-Scott, 2178 pts
3. Canyon-SRAM, 1476 pts
4. Waowdeals Pro Cycling, 1222 pts
5. Team Sunweb, 1060 pts

Men’s UCI WorldTour 2018 calendar

Women’s UCI WorldTour 2018 calendar