Despite ASO’s threats, the new-look WorldTour could include 20 races
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The 2016 Strade Bianche(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Strade Bianche peloton stretched out on a gravel sector(Image credit: Sirotti)
The 2016 Strade Bianche(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) wins Strade Bianche(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Etixx-Quickstep at the front of the 2016 Strade Bianche(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mauro Vegni, the head of cycling at RCS Sport, has confirmed to Cyclingnews that he hopes the men’s Strade Bianche race will become part of the new-look UCI WorldTour calendar in 2017.
“We’ve made a request for Strade Bianche to be added to the 2017 WorldTour. We’ve been told it’s on the short list and so it was under observation this year. Lets hope it can become part of the WorldTour. We think Strade Bianche has everything needed to go onto become one of the great Classics of the WorldTour,” Vegni told Cyclingnews.
“We’re involved in the organisation of the Abu Dhabi Tour too and it’s also on the short list. I think the UCI’s plan is to have around 20 or so races in the WorldTour but many of them are races that are already in the calendar. I don’t think all the new requests will be given WorldTour status for 2017 but we think Strade Bianche has shown it immediately deserves a place.”
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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
