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A look back at Criterium International - Gallery

published 18 November 2016

French race will not take place in 2017

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Tour de France favourites Ivan Basso and Floyd Landis in conversation at Criterium International in 2006.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Lance Armstrong and Joseba Beloki at Criterium International in 2004.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Andy Schleck is interviewed at the 2013 Criterium International.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Tom Dumoulin beat Rohan Dennis to win the time trial in 2014.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Rik Verbrugghe's best season of 2001 began with a bang at Criterium International.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Laurent Brochard won Criterium International in 2003.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Alex Zulle chats with his former Coast teammates at Criterium International in 2003.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Carlos Sastre in early-season action in 2003.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Lance Armstrong placed third overall in Charleville-Meziers in 2004 - but was stripped of the result in 2012 after his doping was exposed.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Danilo Di Luca in action in 2004.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Alexendre Vinokourov in the time trial at Criterium International in 2004.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Bobby Julich won Criterium International in 2005 ahead of Thomas Dekker and Jorg Jaksche.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Sylvain Chavanel on the attack at the 2005 Criterium International.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Sam Bennett wins the opening stage of the Criterium International in 2016.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Thibaut Pinot wins the 2016 Criterium International.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Theo Bos won the sprint stage in 2013 at Criterium International.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Chris Froome won Criterium International in 2013.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Frank Schleck won Criterium International in 2011, an early prize for the Leopard Trek team.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Andy Schleck placed 13th overall in Corsica in 2011.(Image credit: Getty Images)

World champion Cadel Evans was on hand as Criterium International visited Corsica for the first time.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Lance Armstrong welcomes Joseba Beloki back to the peloton at Criterium International in 2004. The Basque was the victim of a serious crash at the previous summer's Tour de France, where he been poised to be Armstrong's biggest rival.(Image credit: Getty Images)

CSC dominated Criterium International during its spell in Charleville-Meziers, winning the race six times in a row from 2004 to 2009.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Alexandre Vinokourov sits in the peloton at Criterium International in 2004.(Image credit: Getty Images)

David Moncoutie at Criterium International in 2004.(Image credit: Getty Images)

David Millar in the rainbow jersey of world time trial champion at Criterium International in 2004, when his Cofidis team was in the eye of a storm.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Lance Armstrong at the 2004 Criterium International.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Jens Voigt took the second of five Criterium International wins in 2004.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Thomas Dekker won a stage in Criterium International as a neo-professional in 2005.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Bobby Julich won Criterium International in 2005.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Michael Boogerd at Criterium International in 2005.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Andreas Kloden in the time trial at Criterium International in 2005.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Ivan Basso and Floyd Landis at Criterium International in 2006.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Ivan Basso won Criterium International in 2006. After winning the Giro d'Italia, he was implicated in Operacion Puerto on the eve of that year's Tour de France.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador at the first Criterium International in Corsica in 2010.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Jean-Christophe Peraud beat Thibaut Pinot to win in 2015.(Image credit: Getty Images)

On Friday morning, ASO announced that it will no longer organise Criterium International, citing a drop in the overall quality of the peloton due to clashes with WorldTour-level events.

Pinot wins Criterium International

ASO announces end of Criterium International

The decision means that the race will not feature on the calendar for the first time since it was established as the Criterium National in 1932. Originally a one-day race open only to French riders, the event opened to all riders in 1981, when it was rebranded as the Criterium International.

To mark the passing of the Criterium International, Cyclingnews has compiled a calendar of the race in the 21st century, when it was held around Charleville-Mezieres between 2001 and 2009, and in Corsica since 2010.

The era began with Tour de France contenders such as Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso and Floyd Landis using the race as part of their early-season preparation, with CSC dominant in this era. Despite the dawn of the WorldTour, riders such as Cadel Evans (2012), Chris Froome (2013) and Thibaut Pinot (2015) have claimed the spoils in recent seasons.