The UCI have responded to the news that Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) would be registering its World Tour races as Hors Categorie races from 2017.
ASO confirmed the news yesterday that it would be withdrawing the Tour de France, the Vuelta a Espana, Paris-Nice, the Critérium du Dauphiné, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and La Fleche Wallonne from the WorldTour. ASO stated that the reform of the World Tour calendar is “characterised by a closed sport system.”
The UCI have since responded that they remain committed to implementing the reforms which they feel “will allow our sport to grow sustainably while protecting the interests of existing stakeholders.”
The UCI’s statement is as follows:
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) takes note of the intention of Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) to register its currently registered UCI WorldTour events as Hors Classe on the UCI calendar for 2017.
The reform of men’s professional road cycling, which will enable sensible and gradual evolution of this important part of our sport, was approved by the Professional Cycling Council (PCC) in June and ratified by the UCI Management Committee in September. It has been developed over two years of very detailed and open dialogue and consultation amongst a diverse group of stakeholders, including race organisers, teams and riders.
The reform will offer stability for all, and will allow our sport to grow sustainably while protecting the interests of existing stakeholders.
The UCI remains committed to implementing the reforms which were agreed as part of this extensive consultation process and which the UCI believes properly balances the interests of all those involved in professional cycling.
