September 27, 2007 (Stuttgart, Germany) – The UCI ProTour Council (CUPT) met today at the site of the World Road Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. During its meeting, it decided on the format of the UCI ProTour from 2008, taking into account the fact that the organizers of the three major tours have confirmed that they do not wish their events to be part of the series.

From 2008, the changes will be as follows:

– The world calendar will consist, as it has until now, of the UCI ProTour (made up of races with a UCI ProTour licence), the UCI World Road Championships and the Olympic Games.

– The Tour de France will also be registered on the world calendar, but not as part of the UCI ProTour. The 18 UCI ProTeams will have the right to participate, following a request from the teams.

– The other races organized by ASO, RCS and Unipublic will be integrated into the UCI Europe Tour. Six of these (Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España, Milano-Sanremo, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège et Giro di Lombardia) will be registered in a new class at the top of this calendar’s hierarchy. Participation in these events will be unrestricted. The remaining races (Tirreno-Adriatico, Paris-Nice, La Flèche Wallonne and Paris-Tours) will be integrated into the existing hors-classe. The limit that is currently imposed, according to which a maximum of 50% of UCI ProTeams can participate in the events in this class, will be abandoned.

The development of the UCI ProTour will continue, in the name of globalization.

The 2008 UCI ProTour will start on January 22 in Adelaide (Australia) with the Tour Down Under.

A final is envisaged on October 5, 2008.

This worldwide development will continue over the next years. Other countries are already interested: a letter of intention has been signed with the Chinese National Federation for a future Tour of China. Discussions are also currently taking place with the Russian Federation and Russian Government.

A lot of interest is also being shown as far as the teams are concerned: new initiatives are currently being launched in Australia, Russia and Great Britain.

In addition, only the continental professional teams that have obtained the new quality label administered by the Licences Commission will be eligible for an invitation to participate in a UCI ProTour event.

As is the case for the UCI ProTour licence, the criteria will be of a sporting, ethical and structural nature. In order to benefit from this label, the teams will have to undergo the same measures in the fight against doping as the UCI ProTeams.

Finally, the UCI ProTour Council was informed of the decisions taken by the UCI’s Management Committee regarding the fight against doping. It fully supports these and will work towards the setting up of new measures that will apply to all UCI ProTour cyclists, teams and organizers.

UCI ProTour 2008

January 22-27 – Tour Down Under (Aus)
April 6 – Tour of Flanders (Bel)
April 7-12 – Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco (Esp)
April 9 – Gent-Wevelgem (Bel)
April 20 – Amstel Gold Race (Ned)
April 29-May 4 – Tour de Romandie (Sui)
May 19-25 – Volta a Catalunya (Esp)
June 8-15 РCrit̩rium du Dauphin̩ Lib̩r̩ (Fra)
June 14-22 – Tour de Suisse (Sui)
June 22 – Team Time Trial (Ned)
August 2 – San Sebastian (Esp)
August 20-27 – Eneco Tour
August 25 – GP Ouest France-Plouay (Fra)
August 29-September 6 – Deutschland Tour (Ger)
September 7 – Vattenfall Cyclassics (Ger)
September 15-21 – Tour de Poland (Pol)
October 5 – Finale / final (Tbc)

Races entered on the UCI World calendar

July 5 – 27 * – Tour de France (Fra)
August 9 – Olympic Games – ITT (Chn)
August 13 – Olympic Games — Road Race (Chn)
September 25 – World Champ. – ITT (Ita)
September 28 – World Champ. – Road Race (Ita)

Races entered on the UCI Europe Tour calendar

March 9-16 Hors Classe — Paris-Nice (Fra)
March 12-18 Hors Classe — Tirreno-Adriatico (Ita)
March 22 * – Milano-Sanremo (Ita)
April 13 * – Paris-Roubaix (Fra)
April 23 Hors Classe РLa Fl̬che Wallonne (Bel)
April 27 * РLi̬ge-Bastogne-Li̬ge (Bel)
May 10-June 1 * – Giro d’Italia (Ita)
August 30-September 21 * РVuelta a Espa̱a (Esp)
October 12 Hors Classe — Paris-Tours (Fra)
October 18 * – Giro di Lombardia (Ita)

* new class at the top of the calendar’s hierarchy