At a video conference meeting organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in the context of the current coronavirus pandemic, which saw the participation of all the principal representatives of professional road cycling’s families – organizers (AIOCC, and leaders of ASO, RCS, Unipublic and Flanders Classics), teams (AIGCP) and riders (CPA) –, several decisions concerning the revision of the 2020 UCI International Road Calendar were unanimously agreed by the different parties concerned:
-The period of suspension of competitions on the UCI International Road Calendar was extended by one month, until 1st July, and until 1st August for UCI WorldTour events.
-The Tour de France is postponed and will take place this year from August 29 to September 20. Holding this event in the best conditions possible is judged essential given its central place in cycling’s economy and its exposure, in particular for the teams that benefit on this occasion from unparalleled visibility.
-The 2020 UCI Road World Championships in Aigle-Martigny (Switzerland) are maintained at the scheduled dates, 20-27 September. The competition programme does not change.
-The Giro d’Italia will take place after the UCI Worlds and will be followed by the Vuelta Ciclista a España.
-The National Championships, organised by the National Federations, will take place on the weekend of 22-23 August.
-The UEC European Road Championships are maintained.
-The most prestigious one-day road races (the Monuments), ie Milano-Sanremo (Italy), the Tour des Flandres (Belgium), Paris-Roubaix (France), Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Belgium) and Il Lombardia (Italy), will all take place this season, at dates still to be defined.
-As many events as possible on the UCI International Calendar, and notably the UCI WorldTour, will be rescheduled later in the season.
The UCI, in parallel and in close collaboration with the different parties concerned, continues its work to be able to announce, on 15 May 2020 at the latest, a revised version of the UCI Women’s WorldTour calendar and a new version of the entire UCI International Calendar (men’s and women’s races across all cycling disciplines). This calendar will nevertheless remain dependant on the world health situation.
Moreover, the UCI is pleased with the agreement signed yesterday by the UCI, the CPA and the AIGCP, all three represented in the ad hoc working group established by our Federation, concerning the framework that will enable teams that find themselves in serious financial difficulty to take measures necessary for their survival, while preserving the rights of their riders and staff in this uncertain context. This agreement is testimony to the sense of responsibility of cycling’s different players in a period where unity is essential to limiting as far as possible the negative effects of the crisis.
The UCI President David Lappartient declared: “I would like to pay tribute to the representatives of the organisers, teams and riders for their collaboration and their commitment in these difficult times. We still have work to do to finalise the establishment of an entirely revised 2020 UCI International Calendar given the coronavirus pandemic that has shaken the world, but a first very important step has been taken today. Likewise, we have established a framework that will allow the fundamental rights of teams’ riders and staff to be preserved, while enabling the measures necessary for the survival of these teams to be taken. Together, we will manage to get through this crisis and rebuild cycling post-Covid-19.”
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