Tour of Hangzou on the verge of enjoying its World Tour status
Organisers of the five-day race Tour of Hangzou are determined to take the event to the next level.
The management is currently negotiating with UCI officials to include the race into the World Tour calendar.
UCI president Pat McQuaid and Director of UCI Global Cycling Promotion Alain Rumpf had a meeting with race officials to complete the formalities.
“This agreement represents the first step in a new phase of our development strategy," Rumpf briefed.
"After the Tour of Beijing, China offers us a second fantastic opportunity to promote the image of cycling in the world’s biggest country”.
“I am convinced that those in charge of this initiative are perfectly capable of meeting the other administrative deadlines necessary to obtain a place in the UCI WorldTour”.
“The lay of the terrain will allow us to design a very interesting course, ideal for a high-level race wishing to become part of the UCI WorldTour”, he concluded.
UCI has always taken necessary measures to ensure that the sport reached the corners of the world which will definitely help the game itself.
Pat believes that the inclusion of Tour of Hangzou will definitely help the game in spreading across the globe.
The new race will be organised right after the Tour of Beijing which is scheduled on October10-14, 2012.
The proposed dates for the Tour of Hangzou are from October 17-21and will be held every year.
The final decision on the race’s World Tour license is still under consideration.
Race organisers must make a request to obtain the UCI World Tour License which it is likely to receive after the final consideration by the License Commission.
UCI has not named the organisers of the event but it is expected to be held under the Tour of Beijing management.
The Beijing race is organised by the Global Cycling Promotion which is likely to look after the new entrant at the top level of the sport.
Tour of Hangzou will be the 28th World Tour race and fifth outside of Europe after Gp de Montreal, Tour Down Under, GP de Quebec and the Tour of Beijing.
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