Tokyo 2020 Olympics causes chaos for cycling schedule as Tour de France moved and RideLondon Classique cut

The UCI reacted to being double-booked on August 15 by removing the RideLondon Classique from the Women’s WorldTour

The organisers of the RideLondon Classique, the world’s richest one-day women’s bike race, have said they are “extremely disappointed” with the UCI’s decision to downgrade the event’s status next year.

On Wednesday, cycling’s world governing body the UCI announced next year’s schedules for the men’s and women’s WorldTours, with several of the races moving from their traditional slots to avoid clashing with the Tokyo Olympics, including the Tour de France which has been pushed back to June.

RideLondon, a weekend of events in the British capital which include elite-level races for men and women, is scheduled to take place a fortnight later than usual in mid-August, after the Olympics but at the same time as the women’s Tour of Norway.

The UCI, however, reacted to being double-booked on August 15 by removing the RideLondon Classique from the Women’s WorldTour.

“The UCI wishes to avoid an overlapping of events that could lead to logistical difficulties for teams wishing to participate in all UCI Women’s WorldTour events: this is one of the fundamental principles of the series’ calendar,” it said in a statement.

“Due to the popularity of the event and the quality of its organisation, the UCI hopes that conditions will allow the Prudential RideLondon Classique to return to the UCI Women’s WorldTour in future years.”

RideLondon’s event director Hugh Brasher is not willing to wait that long, however, and has already asked the UCI to reconsider.

“We are extremely disappointed to have been informed that the UCI Management Committee has decided to remove the 2020 Prudential RideLondon Classique from the UCI Women’s WorldTour,” said Brasher in a statement.

He pointed out that the move was a “one-off measure” and said the race is the richest on the women’s calendar, has held WorldTour status since 2016 and was the first to have equal prize money with its men’s equivalent.

That event, the RideLondon-Surrey Classic which takes place on 16 August, remains on the men’s WorldTour calendar despite clashing with two other races.

“We hope for the benefit of women’s cycling, where we have led the way in financial parity, that through the discussions I have had in the last 36 hours with David Lappartient, president of the UCI, and Tom Van Damme, representing the UCI management committee, we will find a way for the UCI to be able to reconsider its decision and restore WorldTour status to the Classique in 2020,” Brasher added.

PA