UCI ProTour
Encyclopedia
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races
in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI
(International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen
, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling team
s, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series. It was initially the basis of a season long competition for rankings points, created for 2005
to replace the UCI Road World Cup series, which ended at the end of the 2004 season (although the World Cup did not include any stage races). The ProTour was the subject of continuing disputes involving the UCI, cycling teams, and the organizers of the world's most prominent bicycle races (most notably, the Grand Tours
), and in 2009 and 2010 the ranking element of the ProTour was superseded by the UCI World Ranking
. For 2011, the ProTour and World Ranking were fully merged into the UCI World Tour. ProTour status for teams - relabelled UCI ProTeams - will continue as the highest level of registration, and will carry the right and obligation to participate in all World Tour races.
team, which was given only a two-year licence due to previous doping allegations. Licence holders can apply for registration each year, which is dependent upon a check on contracts and budgets.
After 2005, the Fassa Bortolo and Domina Vacanze
teams folded and the vacant places were given to AG2R Prévoyance
and Team Milram
respectively. Following the 2006 season the designated replacement principal sponsor for the Phonak Hearing Systems team
, iShares
, pulled its support as a results of the Floyd Landis doping scandal and the team was disbanded. The Unibet.com Cycling Team
received Phonak's ProTour license, and the Swiss-based, Kazakh-backed Astana Team
received the license previously owned by Manolo Saiz
and his Liberty Seguros-Würth. Unibet.com and Discovery Channel discontinued after the 2007 season, bringing down the number of ProTour teams to 18. At the end of 2008, another two teams dropped out: Crédit Agricole
and Gerolsteiner
. Their licenses were taken over by Garmin-Slipstream and Team Katusha
. Bbox Bouygues Telecom and Cofidis
were denied licence renewals for the 2010 season, and new licences were given to and . Although had had its licence renewed until 2013, its registration (a separate process from licensing, concerning finances) was temporarily rejected, but restored after they had missed one race. UCI bylaws were later changed to require a team to be registered before its license is granted or renewed, to avoid a repeat of this situation.
In replacing the World Cup, the ProTour was designed to follow the format of the Formula One
motor-racing series, and was intended to address several concerns:
The UCI lobbied the organizers of the Grand Tours to participate in the ProTour, and was successful in obtaining their agreement despite prior disagreements and threats to completely pull out of the ProTour.
The ProTour has been criticized for not having a system in place for a timely upgrade and downgrade of teams from/to the lower-tier UCI Continental Circuits
.
During the 2007 UCI ProTour season, the ASO
, RCS
and Unipublic, organisers of the Tour de France
, Giro d'Italia
and Vuelta a España
respectively, remained at odds with each other. The primary reason was that grand tour organisers wanted more freedom to invite popular national teams (e.g., UCI Professional Continental teams) and the right to exclude some UCI ProTour teams such as Unibet.com
. Failure to achieve agreement lead UCI chairman Pat McQuaid
to send a letter in February 2008 to all professional teams urging them to boycott
Paris–Nice because it was an 'outlawed' race. In response, the AIGCP
(Association International des Groupes Cyclistes Professionels) announced that the teams had unanimously decided to take part in Paris–Nice, the organisation of which was to be taken over by the French Cycling Federation. Quick Step team manager Patrick Lefevere
commented: "I'm more than fed up with all the arguing. ASO and UCI don't know how much damage they are doing to the sport. What am I supposed to tell my sponsors? This conflict has been going on for three years and is escalating all the time. Can the teams be certain that they will be able to take part in the Tour de France later in the year?".
From 2008, the ProTour was largely devalued by the withdrawal from its calendar of the three Grand Tour
s, namely the Tour de France
, Giro d'Italia
and Vuelta a España
, as well as the early-season stage race Paris–Nice and key single-day events such as Paris–Roubaix, Milan – San Remo, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, La Flèche Wallonne
and the Giro di Lombardia.
On July 15, 2008, the 17 ProTour teams participating in the 2008 Tour de France
announced that none of them would seek ProTour licenses for the 2009 season, but in the end all but two of them re-committed.
In 2008 the Tour Down Under
in Australia became the first ProTour event to be held outside Europe. This will be followed by two one day races in Canada in 2010, and possibly the Tour of California in 2011.
In 2009 UCI and organizers had agreement that events will be counted towards UCI World Ranking
, which also includes Professional Continental teams. Grand Tour organizers kept the right to choose teams for the races, and also some of the teams chose not to race certain races. From 2011, all races on the World Calendar, those that yield World Ranking points, are to be classified as World Tour events, and the Pro Tour as a distinct series of races is to be discontinued.
* : Included in ProTour
•: Race held, but not as part of ProTour
X: Race not held, or not as elite professional race
Mid-grey indicates that the team was competing at a lower level in the year in question.
From 2009, the season-long competition element of the ProTour was replaced by the UCI World Ranking
.
Road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI
Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
(International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen
Hein Verbruggen
Hein Verbruggen , is a Dutch honorary member of the International Olympic Committee since 2008. Previously, he was a member of the IOC and Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008...
, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling team
Cycling team
A cycling team is a group of cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle races whether recreational or professional - and the supporting personnel...
s, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series. It was initially the basis of a season long competition for rankings points, created for 2005
2005 UCI ProTour
The 2005 ProTour was the first year of the newly introduced UCI ProTour system, in which the ProTour teams are guaranteed, and obliged to, participate in the series of ProTour races. In certain ways the ProTour replaced the UCI Road World Cup series of one-day races, which in 2004 was won by...
to replace the UCI Road World Cup series, which ended at the end of the 2004 season (although the World Cup did not include any stage races). The ProTour was the subject of continuing disputes involving the UCI, cycling teams, and the organizers of the world's most prominent bicycle races (most notably, the Grand Tours
Grand Tour (cycling)
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...
), and in 2009 and 2010 the ranking element of the ProTour was superseded by the UCI World Ranking
UCI World Ranking
The UCI World Tour is the premier annual male elite road cycling tour. It refers to both the tour of 27 events and an annual ranking system based upon performances in these...
. For 2011, the ProTour and World Ranking were fully merged into the UCI World Tour. ProTour status for teams - relabelled UCI ProTeams - will continue as the highest level of registration, and will carry the right and obligation to participate in all World Tour races.
Licensing
The ProTour licences are given to a maximum of 20 teams, to which sponsors must commit multiple years of sponsorship (4 years at the ProTour's inauguration). The exception to this rule was the PhonakPhonak (cycling team)
Phonak was a Swiss professional cycling team from 2000 until 2006. The team was one of 20 teams in the first UCI ProTour in 2005...
team, which was given only a two-year licence due to previous doping allegations. Licence holders can apply for registration each year, which is dependent upon a check on contracts and budgets.
After 2005, the Fassa Bortolo and Domina Vacanze
Domina Vacanze
Domina Vacanze is a hotel group based in Italy. They are best known for the professional cycling team they sponsored. For the 2005 season the team competed in the 2005 UCI ProTour however they didn't have the budget of the other teams and produced very few wins...
teams folded and the vacant places were given to AG2R Prévoyance
AG2R Prévoyance
Ag2r-La Mondiale is a French cycling team with UCI ProTour team status. Its title sponsors are the Ag2r Group, which is a French-based interprofessional insurance and supplementary retirement fund group, and the La Mondiale Group, which is a French-based international group for supplementary...
and Team Milram
Team MILRAM
Team Milram was a German pro cycling team, participating at the UCI ProTour.The pro cycling team was founded in the beginning of 2006, taking over the UCI ProTeam license of Team Domina Vacanze. The main sponsor is the Milram brand of the Bremen based Nordmilch company...
respectively. Following the 2006 season the designated replacement principal sponsor for the Phonak Hearing Systems team
Phonak (cycling team)
Phonak was a Swiss professional cycling team from 2000 until 2006. The team was one of 20 teams in the first UCI ProTour in 2005...
, iShares
IShares
iShares are a family of exchange-traded funds managed by BlackRock. The first iShares were known as WEBS but were since rebranded.Each iShares fund tracks a bond or stock market index...
, pulled its support as a results of the Floyd Landis doping scandal and the team was disbanded. The Unibet.com Cycling Team
Unibet.com Cycling Team
Cycle Collstrop was a Swedish UCI Professional Continental cycling team. It was the successor to Unibet.com, which was mainly sponsored by the online gambling website Unibet.com and as a continuation of the MrBookmaker.com cycling team...
received Phonak's ProTour license, and the Swiss-based, Kazakh-backed Astana Team
Astana Team
Astana is a professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by the Astana group, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan and named after its capital city Astana. Astana attained UCI ProTeam status in its inaugural year, 2007...
received the license previously owned by Manolo Saiz
Manolo Saiz
Manuel "Manolo" Saiz Balbás is the former team manager of one of the most successful Spanish professional road bicycle racing teams, first called Team ONCE, then Liberty Seguros-Würth, Astana-Würth, and lastly Astana Team.Saiz was a hands-on manager and directeur sportif...
and his Liberty Seguros-Würth. Unibet.com and Discovery Channel discontinued after the 2007 season, bringing down the number of ProTour teams to 18. At the end of 2008, another two teams dropped out: Crédit Agricole
Crédit Agricole (cycling team)
Crédit Agricole was a French professional cycling team managed by Roger Legeay and sponsored by the French bank, Crédit Agricole, since 1997. Before 1997 the team was known as GAN. Since 2005, the team is one of the 20 that compete in the UCI ProTour. Crédit Agricole announced that they would...
and Gerolsteiner
Team Gerolsteiner
Gerolsteiner was a German road bicycle racing team in the UCI ProTour. It was sponsored by the mineral water company Gerolsteiner Brunnen and Specialized....
. Their licenses were taken over by Garmin-Slipstream and Team Katusha
Team Katusha
Team Katusha is a Russian road bicycle racing team which participates in the UCI World Tour, using Focus bikes.- History :At the beginning of the 2009 season, the Tinkoff Credit Systems squad was renamed to Team Katusha. It is organised by the Russian Global Cycling Project foundation, which...
. Bbox Bouygues Telecom and Cofidis
Cofidis (cycling team)
Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne is a French professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by a money-lending company, Cofidis. It was started in 1996 by Cyrille Guimard the former manager of Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon of the Renault-Elf team of the 1980s...
were denied licence renewals for the 2010 season, and new licences were given to and . Although had had its licence renewed until 2013, its registration (a separate process from licensing, concerning finances) was temporarily rejected, but restored after they had missed one race. UCI bylaws were later changed to require a team to be registered before its license is granted or renewed, to avoid a repeat of this situation.
History
Season-long competitions for professional road racing were first instituted in 1948, and continued until the late 1980s when the UCI instituted the UCI Road World Cup series which ran until 2004.In replacing the World Cup, the ProTour was designed to follow the format of the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
motor-racing series, and was intended to address several concerns:
- The Grand TourGrand Tour (cycling)In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...
s were not part of the UCI Road World Cup series - Different riders and different teams targeted different types of races, making direct comparisons difficult
- Team sponsorships tended to last only a very few years
- Many teams had financial difficulty in paying their riders and staff members
- Several teams had been plagued by doping issues
The UCI lobbied the organizers of the Grand Tours to participate in the ProTour, and was successful in obtaining their agreement despite prior disagreements and threats to completely pull out of the ProTour.
The ProTour has been criticized for not having a system in place for a timely upgrade and downgrade of teams from/to the lower-tier UCI Continental Circuits
UCI Continental Circuits
The UCI Continental Circuits are road bicycle racing competitions contested under the auspices of the Union Cycliste Internationale . The five circuits are inferior to the UCI ProTour. Both the ProTour and the circuits comprise a series of races in which various cycling teams compete regularly...
.
UCI versus Grand Tour organisers
Originally, UCI and the organisers of the Grand Tours had been unable to come to terms on the 2006 UCI ProTour, with the result that the status of both the Grand Tours and some of the other races organised by those organisations behind the Grand Tours was unclear until well into the season, but they were eventually included.During the 2007 UCI ProTour season, the ASO
Amaury Sport Organisation
The Amaury Sport Organisation is part of the French media group, EPA . It organises sporting events including the Tour de France and Paris–Nice professional cycle road races, and the Dakar Rally...
, RCS
RCS MediaGroup
RCS MediaGroup S.p.A. , based in Milan and listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, is an international multimedia publishing group that operates in daily newspapers, magazines and books, radio broadcasting, new media and digital and satellite TV...
and Unipublic, organisers of the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
and Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
respectively, remained at odds with each other. The primary reason was that grand tour organisers wanted more freedom to invite popular national teams (e.g., UCI Professional Continental teams) and the right to exclude some UCI ProTour teams such as Unibet.com
Unibet.com Cycling Team
Cycle Collstrop was a Swedish UCI Professional Continental cycling team. It was the successor to Unibet.com, which was mainly sponsored by the online gambling website Unibet.com and as a continuation of the MrBookmaker.com cycling team...
. Failure to achieve agreement lead UCI chairman Pat McQuaid
Pat McQuaid
Patrick "Pat" McQuaid is a former Irish professional road racing cyclist and current president of the Union Cycliste Internationale .-Background:...
to send a letter in February 2008 to all professional teams urging them to boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
Paris–Nice because it was an 'outlawed' race. In response, the AIGCP
AIGCP
AIGCP is an association that groups together many professional cycling teams. Its offices are based in Lannion, France....
(Association International des Groupes Cyclistes Professionels) announced that the teams had unanimously decided to take part in Paris–Nice, the organisation of which was to be taken over by the French Cycling Federation. Quick Step team manager Patrick Lefevere
Patrick Lefévère
Patrick Lefevere is the Belgian cycling team manager of the Quick Step-Innergetic cycling team. He is from Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of the north. He was a professional racer from 1976 to 1979, winning Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne and the fourth stage in the Vuelta a España, both in 1978...
commented: "I'm more than fed up with all the arguing. ASO and UCI don't know how much damage they are doing to the sport. What am I supposed to tell my sponsors? This conflict has been going on for three years and is escalating all the time. Can the teams be certain that they will be able to take part in the Tour de France later in the year?".
From 2008, the ProTour was largely devalued by the withdrawal from its calendar of the three Grand Tour
Grand Tour (cycling)
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...
s, namely the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
and Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
, as well as the early-season stage race Paris–Nice and key single-day events such as Paris–Roubaix, Milan – San Remo, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, La Flèche Wallonne
La Flèche Wallonne
La Flèche Wallonne is a major men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Belgium.The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège...
and the Giro di Lombardia.
On July 15, 2008, the 17 ProTour teams participating in the 2008 Tour de France
2008 Tour de France
The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th Tour de France. The event took place from 5–27 July 2008. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regular final destination, which was reached in the 21st stage...
announced that none of them would seek ProTour licenses for the 2009 season, but in the end all but two of them re-committed.
In 2008 the Tour Down Under
Tour Down Under
The Tour Down Under is a cycling race in Adelaide, South Australia and surrounding area. The race starts on the third Tuesday of January each year and attracts riders from across Australia and the world. In 2005, the Tour Down Under was promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale to the...
in Australia became the first ProTour event to be held outside Europe. This will be followed by two one day races in Canada in 2010, and possibly the Tour of California in 2011.
In 2009 UCI and organizers had agreement that events will be counted towards UCI World Ranking
UCI World Ranking
The UCI World Tour is the premier annual male elite road cycling tour. It refers to both the tour of 27 events and an annual ranking system based upon performances in these...
, which also includes Professional Continental teams. Grand Tour organizers kept the right to choose teams for the races, and also some of the teams chose not to race certain races. From 2011, all races on the World Calendar, those that yield World Ranking points, are to be classified as World Tour events, and the Pro Tour as a distinct series of races is to be discontinued.
Events
Key:•: Race held, but not as part of ProTour
X: Race not held, or not as elite professional race
| Date | Race | Country | Type | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-late January | Tour Down Under Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under is a cycling race in Adelaide, South Australia and surrounding area. The race starts on the third Tuesday of January each year and attracts riders from across Australia and the world. In 2005, the Tour Down Under was promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale to the... |
1 week stage | • | • | • | * | * | * | |
| Early-mid March | Paris–Nice | 1 week stage | * | * | * | • | • | • | |
| Early-mid March | Tirreno–Adriatico | 1 week stage | * | * | * | • | • | • | |
| Mid March | Milan – San Remo | 1 day | * | * | * | • | • | • | |
| Mid May (2005–2009) Late March (2010) |
Volta a Catalunya | 1 week stage | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| Late March - early April | Gent–Wevelgem | 1 day | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| Early April | Ronde van Vlaanderen | 1 day | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| Early April | Vuelta al País Vasco | 1 week stage | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| Early April | Paris–Roubaix | 1 day | * | * | * | • | • | • | |
| Mid April | Amstel Gold Race Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle race held in the southern part of the province of Limburg, Netherlands. Since 1989 it has been among the races included in season long rankings tables, as part of the UCI Road World Cup , the UCI ProTour , UCI World Ranking and from 2011 the UCI World Tour... |
1 day | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| Mid April | La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne is a major men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Belgium.The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège... |
1 day | * | * | * | • | • | • | |
| Mid-late April | Liège–Bastogne–Liège | 1 day | * | * | * | • | • | • | |
| Late April - early May | Tour de Romandie Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs in the Romandie region, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. It began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling.... |
1 week stage | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| May - early June | Giro d'Italia Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar... |
3 week stage | * | * | * | • | • | • | |
| Early June | Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré | 1 week stage | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| Mid June | Tour de Suisse Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar... |
1 week stage | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| Mid June | Eindhoven Team Time Trial Eindhoven Team Time Trial The UCI ProTour Eindhoven Team Time Trial was an annual road bicycle race held in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It was approximately . Each team had six riders. In 2006, team size expanded to eight.... |
Team time trial | * | * | * | X | X | X | |
| July | Tour de France Tour de France The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The... |
3 week stage | * | * | * | • | • | • | |
| Early-mid August | Deutschland Tour Deutschland Tour The Deutschland Tour was the most important multi-stage road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June. Since 2005 it is part of the UCI ProTour and has been moved to August... |
1 week stage | * | * | * | * | X | X | |
| Mid August | Clásica de San Sebastián Clásica de San Sebastián The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa - Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián is a cycle race that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián, Spain... |
1 day | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| Early-mid September Early August from 2009 |
Tour de Pologne Tour de Pologne The Tour de Pologne is a road bicycle racing stage race. It consists of seven or eight stages and is usually around 1,200 km in length. The race was first held in 1928. Until 1952 the race was held sporadically, but since then it has been an annual race... |
1 week stage | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| Mid-late August (Early August in 2005) |
Eneco Tour | 1 week stage | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| Late August - September | Vuelta a España Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages... |
3 week stage | * | * | * | • | • | • | |
| Late August (2005–2010), September (2011- ) | GP Ouest-France GP Ouest-France Grand-Prix de Plouay Ouest-France is an elite cycle race held annually in late summer around a circuit based on the small Breton village of Plouay since 1931... |
1 day | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| Late July (2005–06) August - September (2007-) |
Vattenfall Cyclassics Vattenfall Cyclassics The Vattenfall Cyclassics is an annual one-day pro and amateur cycling race in and around Hamburg. Although it is a race with a short history, it is nevertheless reckoned as a classic. It started as an unimportant race in 1996, but because of the fast growing popularity of cycling in Germany, it... (HEW Cyclassics in 2005) |
1 day | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
| Early-mid September | Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec is a one-day professional bicycle road race held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Its first edition was on September 10, 2010, as the penultimate event in the 2010 UCI ProTour.... |
1 day | X | X | X | X | X | * | |
| Early-mid September | Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal is a one-day professional bicycle road race held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its first edition was held on September 12, 2010 as the final event in the 2010 UCI ProTour.... |
1 day | X | X | X | X | X | * | |
| Early October | Züri-Metzgete | 1 day | * | * | X | X | X | X | |
| Early-mid October | Paris–Tours | 1 day | * | * | * | • | • | • | |
| Mid October | Giro di Lombardia | 1 day | * | * | * | • | • | • | |
List of current UCI ProTeams
The 18 ProTeams in 2011 are:| Code | Official Team Name | License holder | Country | Licence expiry | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALM | EUSRL France Cyclisme | 2012 | ag2r-cyclisme.com | ||
| AST | Olympus Sarl | 2013 | proteam-astana.com | ||
| BMC | Continuum Sports LLC | 2014 | bmcracingteam.com | ||
| MOV | Abarca Sports S.L. | 2013 | movistarteam.com | ||
| EUS | Fundación Ciclista Euskadi | 2012 | fundacioneuskadi.com | ||
| GRM | Slipstream Sports, LLC | 2012 | slipstreamsports.com | ||
| LAM | Total Cycling Limited | 2013 | teamlampre.it | ||
| LIQ | Liquigas Sport Spa | 2014 | teamliquigas.it | ||
| LEO | 2014 | leopardtrek.lu | |||
| QST | Esperanza Bvba | 2011 | qsi-cycling.com | ||
| RAB | Rabo Wielerploegen | 2012 | rabosport.nl/wielrennen | ||
| OLO | Belgian Cycling Company sa | 2011 | omegapharma-lotto.be | ||
| THR | High Road Sports, Inc. | 2014 | highroadsports.com | ||
| KAT | Katusha Management SA | 2011 | katushateam.com | ||
| RSH | Capital Sports and Entertainment | 2013 | livestrong.com/teamradioshack/ | ||
| SBS | Riis Cycling A/S | 2011 | team-saxobank.com | ||
| SKY | Tour Racing Limited | 2013 | teamsky.com | ||
| VCD | 2013 | vacansoleilprocyclingteam.com | |||
History of team participation
Dark grey indicates that the team was not operating in the year in question.Mid-grey indicates that the team was competing at a lower level in the year in question.
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GreenEDGE Cycling GreenEDGE Cycling GreenEDGE Cycling is a professional cycling team planning to compete in international road bicycle races. The team, launched in January 2011, aims to be the first Australian team to gain a UCI ProTeam licence. The team is under the management of Andrew Ryan and Shayne Bannan with Neil Stephens as... |
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ProTour Results
| Year | Top Ranked Individual | Top Ranked Team | Top Ranked Nation |
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| 2005 2005 UCI ProTour The 2005 ProTour was the first year of the newly introduced UCI ProTour system, in which the ProTour teams are guaranteed, and obliged to, participate in the series of ProTour races. In certain ways the ProTour replaced the UCI Road World Cup series of one-day races, which in 2004 was won by... |
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| 2006 2006 UCI ProTour The 2006 UCI ProTour was the second year of the UCI ProTour system, in which the ProTour teams are guaranteed, and obliged to, participate in the series of ProTour races.... |
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| 2007 2007 UCI ProTour The 2007 UCI ProTour is the third year of the UCI ProTour system. Following a dispute and power struggle between the UCI and the organisers of the Grand Tours, ASO, RCS and Unipublic, a number of events were run as ProTour events, although without ProTour licences... |
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| 2008 2008 UCI ProTour The 2008 UCI ProTour is the fourth year of the UCI ProTour system. Following protracted disagreement between the organisers of the Grand Tours and the UCI, all races organized by ASO, RCS and Unipublic were withdrawn from the ProTour calendar... |
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From 2009, the season-long competition element of the ProTour was replaced by the UCI World Ranking
UCI World Ranking
The UCI World Tour is the premier annual male elite road cycling tour. It refers to both the tour of 27 events and an annual ranking system based upon performances in these...
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See also
- Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)Union Cycliste InternationaleUnion Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
- List of UCI ProTour records