Giro Rosa out of Women’s WorldTour calendar for 2021
Following a meeting of its Management Committee, the UCI made a number of announcements in a wide-ranging press release on Friday that confirmed calendars across various disciplines for 2021 and unveiled several World Championship destinations for years ahead, among other things.
As things currently stand, next year’s men’s WorldTour calendar features the same full slate of events that were originally planned for 2020, but the Women’s WorldTour calendar sees a notable change: It is missing the Giro Rosa.
The Giro Rosa, whose 2020 edition was won earlier this month by Anna van der Breggen, is a major event that has been the premier stage race in the women’s peloton for years. The race has received criticism, however, for a lack of live television coverage, which is now mandated for WorldTour events.
Although the Giro Rosa was listed in the UCI’s initial unveiling of the 2021 Women’s WorldTour calendar back in July, according to the calendar now published on the UCI website, the race will apparently be held at the 2.Pro level next year, one step down from the top-tier WorldTour calendar.
While one event is set to leave the WorldTour, another is being promoted, as 2021 will see Vuelta a Burgos Féminas upgraded as was announced earlier this year.
The UCI’s Friday announcement also covered a wide variety of other topics. The locations of 11 World Championship events were announced, including the combined Mountain Bike Worlds event in 2025 that will take place in the Valais canton of Switzerland and 2026 MTB Worlds in Val di Sole, Italy, as well as 2025 Cyclocross Worlds in Liévin, France.
Also of note was mention of a concussion protocol. According to the UCI’s statement, the UCI “has drawn up a protocol identifying three distinct phases: that of a rapid diagnosis on-site that will determine whether the rider can continue the race or needs to receive medical attention and, if he/she continues the event, a monitoring of the athlete during the competition at the finish and the next morning to identify any alteration to his/her condition; that of the implementation of an active recovery program for riders recommencing physical activity after a concussion; and that of management and supervision when returning to normal training and competitions.”
The finalized protocol is set to published soon.
The post Giro Rosa out of Women’s WorldTour calendar for 2021 appeared first on CyclingTips.