No Vuelta in San Juan as Argentine race goes local
The UCI has published its full 2024 road calendar confirming a few new races, the definition of others and one race notably missing for next season: the Vuelta à San Juan Internacional.
The ProSeries stage race made its grand return in late January 2023 after the coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of the previous two editions, with Remco Evenepoel, Quinn Simmons and Sam Bennett on the start list. However, in 2024 the Argentine race will run as a local-only event on a much lower budget, without the usual big-name invited WorldTour teams and riders.
The UCI published the men’s and women’s 2024 WorldTour calendars this summer, with slightly modified race dates to facilitate participation in the road events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
In 2024, the Women’s Tour de France will be separated from the men’s Grand Tour by more than three weeks, taking place from August 12 to 18, after the Paris Olympic Games, while the men’s Grand Tour will be postponed earlier, from June 29 to July 21. , so it ends the week before the Olympics start.
According to reports in Italy, the Adriatica Ionica Race has not been included in the 2024 calendar. This year’s race was canceled just 16 hours before the start.
On a more positive note, Challenge Mallorca organizers have added women’s races which will take place a few days before the men’s race series.
The three-race Challenge Vuelta Mallorca will take place from January 20-22 in the same format as the men’s event – a series of one-day races rather than a stage race – including the Trofeo Calvià Femina, Trofeo Palma Femina and the Trofeo Ses Salines Femina. , announced organizers Unisport.
Another new race has been added to the Americas calendar, with a UCI 1.2-rated Gran Premio New York City to be held in conjunction with the Grand Fondo New York City (GFNYC).
Taking place on May 19, the men’s race will begin on the George Washington Bridge 15 minutes ahead of the long-distance runners on the same 137km course with 1,900 meters of elevation gain from short, punchy climbs.
“Our goal has always been to integrate professionals into our mass participation races, similar to what is done in marathons and triathlons,” organizer Uli Fluhme told Le Dérailleur.
“Although some professionals race our GFNYs, even among WorldTour teams, having a separate professional race start right before the mass participation race is a big step toward bringing the two worlds together. This format is a world first and offers professional cycling fans the opportunity to race on the same course on the same day as the pros, right behind them. »
The peloton will consist of Continental and ProTeams with the aim of becoming a 1.1 rated event so that some WorldTour teams can participate in the future.
“We are also working to add professional races to existing GFNYs around the world, where it makes sense from a logistical point of view. For our mass participation GFNY races, we already have closures and police in place, so we are adding a professional race just before mass participation. racing is an obvious next step,” said Uli Fluhme.
For now, there is only a men’s peloton in place, but the organization hopes to add a women’s New York GP in 2024. As the race would require additional road closure time, the women’s event is awaiting additional sponsorship.
2023-09-25 15:14:49
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