September 23, 2014 – The Professional Cycling Council (PCC) has today agreed to the 2015 UCI WorldTour calendar [here] and the next steps of the reform of men’s professional cycling at its two-day meeting in Ponferrada, Spain where the 2014 UCI Road World Championships are taking place.

The 2015 UCI WorldTour calendar builds on the continued globalisation of the sport which this year saw a record number of teams and riders compete. Other key achievements that demonstrate the global growth of the UCI WorldTour included the first African team to participate in a Grand Tour, the first Chinese rider to compete in the Tour de France, the first Columbian winner of the Giro d’Italia, and every pink jersey of the Giro being worn by riders born outside of Europe.

The PCC confirmed its commitment to build on a number of technical innovations that have been trialled in 2014 including bike cameras, geo-location technology and audio visual content to further enrich the viewer experience.

The PCC also confirmed its continued dialogue with all stakeholders on the reform of men’s professional cycling, including its commercial strategy, which will be fully implemented by 2017 in spirit of consensus. The final details of the reform plan will be shared with all stakeholders on the occasion of the UCI WorldTour Seminar in December this year. Finally the PCC confirmed that the 2014 Tour of Beijing (10-14 October) will be the last of the current edition.

Commenting on the PCC meeting, UCI President Brian Cookson said: “As we are getting close to the last two events in the 2014 UCI WorldTour, Il Lombardia and the Tour of Beijing, we can all reflect on what has been a fantastic season which demonstrated some tangible proof of the global growth of the UCI WorldTour. We are convinced that the UCI WorldTour has now entered a new and exciting era.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers of the Tour of Beijing as we head towards the fourth and final edition of that race and the role it has played in helping to build the profile of road racing in Asia.

“The reform of the UCI WorldTour remains on track. I am delighted with the cooperation shown by stakeholders over the last few months to move forward and ensure a simplified and more robust financial structure of the UCI WorldTour and look forward to further developing professional cycling’s showcase in 2015 and beyond.”