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 September 18)

Individual riders
1 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott, 3,072pts
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe, 2,992 pts
3 Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, 2,539 pts
4 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky, 2,534.25 pts
5 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing, 2442.14 pts
6 Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors, 2399 pts
7 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb, 2,393.19 pts
8 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors, 2,161.12 pts
9 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, 1,956.68 pts
10 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb, 1975.62 pts

Teams
1. Quick-Step Floors, 12,863.97 pts
2. Team Sky, 9753 pts
3. Bora-Hansgrohe, 8,459 pts
4. Mitchelton-Scott, 8,423.03 pts
5. BMC Racing, 8,270.97 pts

UCI WorldTour women’s ranking (as of September 18)

Individual riders
1. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott, 1,411.86 pts
2. Marianne Vos (Ned) Waowdeals Pro Cycling, 1,394.88 pts
3. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Boels Dolmans, 1,323.33 pts
4. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, 1,213.86 pts
5. Coryn Rivera (USA) Team Sunweb, 1,036.33 pts
6. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) Cervelo-Bigla, 1,012.95 pts
7. Amy Pieters (Ned) Boels Dolmans, 922.9 pts
8. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM, 887.67 pts
9. Jolien D’hoore (Bel) Mitchelton-Scott, 685.86 pts
10. Ellen van Dijk (Ned) Team Sunweb, 671.57

Teams
1. Boels-Dolmans, 4,329.99 pts
2. Mitchelton-Scott, 3,973.02 pts
4. Team Sunweb, 3,269.97 pts
4. Waowdeals Pro Cycling, 2,380.00 pts
5. Canyon-SRAM, 2,365.02 pts

Men’s UCI WorldTour 2018 calendar

Women’s UCI WorldTour 2018 calendar