Amid recent talk that a rival series of races could be set up under the so-called Breakaway League, the UCI has today confirmed that its WorldTour series is continuing to move forward, with a total of seven races having their licences extended.
The events, which are all based in Europe, will remain part of the top-ranked series until 2016, with four year extensions being awarded on top of their hosting this year.
The races are the Eneco Tour, which is run in the Netherlands and Belgium, Gent - Wevelgem (Belgium), GP Ouest France - Plouay (France), Tour de Pologne (Poland), Tour de Suisse (Switzerland) and the Vattenfall Cyclassics race in Germany.
The seventh event is the Spanish Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. This was facing an uncertain future up till recently due to a lack of funding, but now appears to have a guaranteed future.
The UCI confirmed its support, while also holding off on giving details for now.
“Concerning the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, which had recently made public the financial difficulties it was facing, the UCI reiterated its commitment to contribute to a sustainable development plan, the details of which have as yet to be finalized,” it stated.
In August of last year the UCI announced that the Santos Tour Down Under would be a WorldTour event until at least 2015.