December 20, 2013 – After a very successful season in 2013, the UCI World Cycling Tour (UWCT) enters 2014 with much exciting news and some very positive changes. While our classic European qualification venues such as Italy, Belgium, Spain, France and Austria continue to increase international participation numbers every year, our other non-traditional European venues such as Greece and Denmark have been busy leading the change in their cycling culture. Whereas South Africa, Australia, Brazil and the USA continue to establish their events as great celebrations of international cycling. Moving forward for 2014, two new events will appear on the calendar: Mexico City and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Maraton Franja (Ljubljana, Slovenia) will be the venue of both a qualifier event and the UCI Amateur Road World Championships.
Stage Races
As a greater number of riders take on preparations on par with that of the pros for their upcoming racing season, training camps in warmer countries are quickly becoming a very attractive addition to their programs. And for those who are looking for a bit more excitement in their camps, stage races are the answer. New in 2014, there are two early qualifier stage race events that can fit perfectly for this purpose. Perth is the first one with a time trial on Friday, a traditional lap road race on Saturday and a new Granfondo style race on Sunday. Crete is next, hosting a stage race with a time trial and two road races. Leader jerseys will be given to the leaders of the general classification. Riders will also have the opportunity to skip one race day.
Age groups combined
Another change is the combination of the two youngest age groups into one new 19-34 age group. The challenger class will cease to exist while all remaining age groups will continue to have the chance to compete for the official UCI Rainbow Jersey.
Amateur Road World Championships
The UWCT Final has officially changed its name to UCI Amateur Road World Championships. This event will be held in Ljubljana, Slovenia from 28-31 August 2014. The younger age groups will compete on a 157km course while the older age groups will have 100km to cover. The 19km time trial is a real classic one; totally flat and windy. As in 2013, there will again be a team relay event in the program.
Licenses
Riders will need a national license in order to compete in the 2014 World Championships. This is not the case for the qualifier events.
More information on www.uciworldcyclingtour.com
2014 Calendar
| Sun 15 Sep 2013 | Amy’s GF | Lorne | Australia |
| 26-27 Oct 2013 | Msunduzi Road Challenge | Pietermaritzburg | South Africa |
| 28-30 Mar 2014 | UWCT Perth | Perth | Australia |
| Sun 6 Apr 2014 | Copa 100k | Recife | Brazil |
| 18-20 Apr 2014 | Copa Ciudad de Mexico | Mexico City | Mexico |
| 25-27 Apr 2014 | Cretan Amateur Cycling Tour | Chania | Greece |
| 17- 18 May 2014 | Tour of Winston-Salem | Winston-Salem | USA |
| Sun 18 May 2014 | La Look | Nevers | France |
| 30 May – 1 Jun 2014 | Copenhagen Gran Fondo | Copenhagen | Denmark |
| 31 May – 1 Jun 2014 | UWCT Putrajaya | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia |
| 6-8 Jun 2014 | Maraton Franja | Ljubljana | Slovenia |
| Sun 15 Jun 2014 | Sankt Poltner Radmarathon | Sankt Pölten | Austria |
| Sun 22 Jun 2014 | GF Eddy Merckx | Andenne | Belgium |
| 18-20 Jul 2014 | La leggendaria Charly Gaul | Trento | Italy |
| Sat 23 Aug 2014 | Val d’Aran Cycling Tour | Vielha | Spain |
| 28-31 Aug 2014 | Amateur Road World Champ. | Ljubljana | Slovenia |
Qualifier Events for the 2015 World Championships
| Sun 14 Sep 2014 | Amy’s GF | Lorne | Australia |
| Date tbc | South African Qualifier | tbc | South Africa |
About the UCI World Cycling Tour
The UCI World Cycling Tour (UWCT) is a series of UCI-sanctioned races held all over the world. Some 15 qualifier events will qualify the top 25% in each age group to the Amateur Road World Championships, where the champions are awarded with the coveted rainbow jersey. There are World Championships in both Time Trial and Road Races.