42 UCI Women's Teams, ranking order expected on January 14
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News WorldTour leader Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Anna van der Breggen with her 2017 Amgen Women's Race prize(Image credit: Michael Aisner)
Time trial world champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Orica-Scott)(Image credit: Con Chronis)
Katarzyna Niewiadoma (WM3 Cycling) in the combativity jersey(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig leads the Womens WorldTour young rider classification(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The UCI has published several updates to the rulebook concerning the UCI Women’s WorldTour for 2018. Among those changes, organisers of the highest tier of women's events (stage races and one-day races) will be obliged to invite the top 15 ranked UCI Women's Teams, reduced from 20 teams the previous year.
The overall team ranking will once again determine the UCI Women’s WorldTour participation for the 2018 season – as per the updated rules, the UCI Women's Team ranking shall be published on the second Sunday of January. Therefore, the UCI will publish the new UCI Women’s Team ranking on Sunday, January 14.
The organiser must accept entries from these teams that have responded positively to an invitation.
Organisers of Women’s WorldTour events are permitted to field a maximum of 24 participating teams, a maximum of 176 riders. Fifteen are the top-ranked teams in the UCI Women’s Team ranking, two national teams (one from the country hosting the event and one invitation to a foreign national team), and the remaining teams must be UCI Women’s Teams.
As in prevous years, the UCI awards Women's WorldTour leader's jerseys to the leaders of the individual general classification and best young rider classification. Last year, Anna van der Breggen sealed the overall Women's WorldTour title ahead of Annemiek Van Vleuten and Katarzyna Niewiadoma. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig won the young rider classification.
The UCI has again set restrictions on the maximum event distances of Women’s WorldTour. In stage races, the maximum average daily distance is 140km (120km for women elite races), maximum distance per stage is 160km (140km for women elite races), maximum distance per individual time trial is 40km and team time trial is 50km.
The maximum distance for one-day road races on the Women's WorldTour is 160km. In comparison, for one-day road races at the Olympic Games or World Championships, women elite race between 130-160km and for National Championships and Continental Championships/Games women elite race a maximum of 140km.
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The maximum distance for women elite in an individual time trial is 20-30km for World Championships and 40km for all other events. While the maximum distances for women elite in team time trials is 20-40km in World Championships and 50km in all other events.
The UCI announced in June that the Women’s WorldTour series would expand to 23 races, for a total of 52 race days in 2018. Three new races were added to the calendar, including Trois Jours de La Panne, the Tour of Guangxi and Emakumeen Bira.
The UCI published the list of 42 UCI Women's Teams at the beginning of January. The ranking order of those teams will be published on January 14.
2018 UCI Women's Teams
Ale Cipollini Aromitalia Vaiano Astana Women's Team Bepink Bizkaia Durango-Euskadi Murias Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam Canyon-Sram Racing Cervelo-Bigla Pro Cycling Team China Liv Pro Cycling Conceria Zabri-Fanini Cylance Pro Cycling Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport Uci Women Cycling Experza-Footlogix Fdj Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope Hagens Berman-Supermint Health Mate-Cyclelive Team Hitec Products-Birk Sport Lotto Soudal Ladies Minsk Cycling Club Mitchelton Scott Movistar Team Women Rally Cycling S.C. Michela Fanini Servetto-Stradalli Cycle-Alurecycling Sopela Women's Team Still Bike Team A.S.Dilettantistica Storey Racing Swapit Agolico Team Dukla Praha Women Team Illuminate Team Sunweb Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank Team Virtu Cycling Thailand Women's Cycling Team Top Girls Fassa Bortolo Trek-Drops Twenty20 p/b Sho - Air Unitedhealthcare Pro Cycling Team Valcar PBM Waowdeals Pro Cycling Team Wiggle High5 WNT Rotor Pro Cycling Team
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
