Following the earlier news that the Tour of Beijing has been granted full WorldTour status in its first year of existence, UCI President Pat McQuaid has insisted that the race had full independent assessment and receives top billing on its own merits.
The Chinese event will be held for the first time between October 5th and 9th, and will be run partly by the Global Cycling Promotion setup, which is part of the UCI itself.
“Despite the strategic importance of the Tour of Beijing – which has already been highlighted several times – this race did not receive any beneficial treatment,” insisted McQuaid, in referring to the UCI Licence Commission’s backing of the race for the highest standard in cycling.
“The licence was awarded to the event by an independent body after an in-depth evaluation of all the elements in the file. It is the result of the excellent work carried out by the Chinese authorities in close collaboration with Global Cycling Promotion.”
The UCI’s close involvement in the establishment and running of the event will inevitably lead to questions about the objectiveness of the licencing decision. McQuaid maintains that everything is above board, and stresses that cycling as a sport and the teams involved should all benefit.
“This licence over a four-year period will allow for the creation of an event that is structurally and economically solid, based on a long-term project which will benefit the city of Beijing and cycling as a whole,” he said. “This first UCI WorldTour event in Asia will also provide the UCI with an exceptional showcase portraying its vision of the universal development of sport. In addition it will be a unique opportunity for UCI ProTeams and their sponsors to nurture their growth and further increase their visibility.”
Races generally have to been in existence for many years before consideration as ProTour events. Exceptions to this are sometimes made, particularly when the projects in question are in locations advantageous to the globalization of cycling.
Other WorldTour races which received the top license in their first year of running are the GP Cycliste de Quebec and the GP Cycliste de Montreal Both take place in Canada, and will be held on September 9th and 11th respectively.
There are 27 WorldTour events in all, with all bar four of those held in Europe. Tour de France champion Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) is the current leader of the series, holding a 92 point advantage over Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma Lotto).
Neither are taking part in the current round, the Tour de Pologne. The next race is the Eneco Tour, which begins next Monday.