By Jean-François Quénet in Salzburg
In other news emanating from Aigle, the 2007 Europe Tour calendar will include seven races under the "Nations Cup" label: the GP of Portugal (March 30-April 1), Tour de la Côte Picarde (April 18, in France), U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège (April 21 in Belgium), Giro delle Regioni (April 26-May 1 in Italy), Thüringen Rundfahrt (June 12-17 in Germany), GP Tell (August 22-26 in Switzerland), and Tour de l'Avenir (September 6-15 in France).
These races will be contested by national teams composed of Under 23 riders, with the possibility for members of ProTour teams to be selected. "Race organisers will have the obligation to invite the best federations from each of the five continents," the UCI announced.
"Some of them are prepared to do it but they don't all have the financial capacity for doing the series," road co-ordinator Philippe Chevallier explained, but added: "We're working with the youth categories for the future of cycling."
