UCI extends cycling season

The UCI has extended the cycling season until November 1 because of the major disruption to the calendar.

Uncertainty caused by the spread of coronavirus around the world has resulted in dozens of races being cancelled or postponed, including the Giro d’Italia and Paris-Roubaix, with no clear end in sight.

But cycling’s international governing body is working to redesign the 2020 cycling calendar ready for normal service to resume.

The current plans include extending the end of the men’s and women’s seasons from October 20 to November 1, allowing flexibility for the number of riders in teams and potentially overlapping three major races.

All races are currently suspended until further notice, but at least until the end of April.

In its statement, the UCI said it will give priority to the events still scheduled to run when racing resumes, the Monuments and the three Grand Tours.

A statement from the body said: “The UCI would like to thank stakeholders for their cooperative spirit which has enabled our sport to rapidly come to an agreement on the fundamental principles that will shape the revision of the calendar. As world cycling’s governing body, the UCI continues to call for the solidarity of everyone in our sport’s community: athletes, teams, organisers, partners, media, volunteers and the public.

“In the context of the current health crisis, the UCI and its partners continue to meet regularly to take the necessary decisions in the interests of cycling, while respecting the measures adopted by competent authorities in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations.”

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The next races on the calendar that have not yet been cancelled are the Healthy Ageing Tour from April 8-12 for the women’s peloton and the Critérium du Dauphiné in June for the men, however as the coronavirus situation continues to evolve more race cancellations could be coming down the line.