British rider Mark Cavendish and American rival Tyler Farrar, who as sprinters are the most likely leaders of their teams in the upcoming world road race championships, will have seven and eight team-mates respectively in the elite road race on September 25th. Meanwhile defending champion Thor Hushovd must make do with three team-mates in the same contest, one more that last year.
The number of starters is determined mostly by each country’s UCI ranking on August 15th, although other factors also go in to making up the final start list. A total of eight countries are permitted nine starters; top-ranked Spain, plus Italy, Australia, Belgium and Germany, who occupy places two through to five in the standings, as well as the USA (8th), Netherlands (9th) and France (10th).
That list is interrupted by Great Britain, sixth on the standings but entitled to eight starters due to the number of riders making pu those points, and Luxembourg (7th), which will also start six.
A number of other countries qualify via the Continental Tour standings; Morroco, Colombia, Venezuela, Iran, Slovenia, Russia, Portugal, Poland, Ukraine and Croatia get six riders, with less places going to other countries. The final port of entry is via the individual rankings for the UCI’s various world points standings. Switzerland, with four starters, and Canada, Ireland and Slovakia, who each get three, miss out on the previous qualification aspects but feature riders inside the world’s top 100 and are consequently given the nod. Ditto for Costa Rica and Latvia, who have riders in the WorldTour ranking.
The remaining segment of the Elite peloton will be made up with individual riders from eight countries who have riders in the individual ranking of the UCI continental circuits.
The women’s event is judged on a similar basis. The biggest teams will be those in the top five of the world rankings, namely Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Great Britain and Italy. They each get a maximum of seven starters, although defending champion Giorgia Bronzini also gets a wildcard because of her victory last year. Italy consequently will have eight riders.
Various other countries are entitled to six, including the USA and Australia, with the scale continuing downwards depending on the ranking. Countries outside the top 20 or who don’t figure at all are allowed enter three riders. The field will also feature each of the five continental champions.
Similar rules follow for the under 23 men and junior men and women’s road events, with different guidelines applying to the time trial. VeloNation suggests scanning the data below to see which countries qualify which number of riders. Suffice to say the rules are complicated, but give a relatively clear picture once studied.
Qualification criteria for UCI road race championships, as issued on August 17th:
Elite road race:
Qualified Nations by the UCI WorldTour Classification:
14 enrolled of whom 9 starters:
1 ESP Spain
2 ITA Italy
3 AUS Australia
4 BEL Belgium
5 GER Germany
12 enrolled of whom 8 starters:
6 GBR Great Britain
9 enrolled of whom 6 starters:
7 LUX Luxembourg
14 enrolled of whom 9 starters:
8 USA United States of America
9 NED Netherlands
10 FRA France
Qualified Nations by the UCI Africa Tour:
9 enrolled of whom 6 starters:
1 MAR Morocco
5 enrolled of whom 3 starters:
2 ERI Eritrea
Qualified Nations by the UCI America Tour:
9 enrolled of whom 6 starters:
1 COL Colombia
2 VEN Venezuela
5 enrolled of whom 3 starters:
3 BRA Brazil
4 ARG Argentina
5 CHI Chile
Qualified Nations by the UCI Asia Tour:
9 enrolled of whom 6 starters:
1 IRI Islamic Republic of Iran
5 enrolled of whom 3 starters:
2 JPN Japan
6 enrolled of whom 4 starters:
3 KAZ Kazakhstan
Qualified Nations by the UCI Europe Tour:
9 enrolled of whom 6 starters:
1 SLO Slovenia
2 RUS Russia
3 POR Portugal
4 POL Poland
5 UKR Ukraine
6 CRO Croatia
5 enrolled of whom 3 starters:
7 TUR Turkey
8 LTU Lithuania
9 enrolled of whom 6 starters:
9 DEN Denmark
5 enrolled of whom 3 starters:
10 AUT Austria
11 CZE Czech Republic
12 EST Estonia
13 BLR Belarus
14 BUL Bulgaria
15 SWE Sweden
6 enrolled of whom 4 starters:
16 NOR Norway
Qualified Nations by the UCI Oceania Tour:
5 enrolled of whom 3 starters:
1 NZL New-Zealand
Qualified Countries by the UCI individual UCI WorldTour ranking:
Nations which have one rider in the first 100 at individual UCI WorldTour ranking:
Switzerland (SUI) 6 enrolled of whom 4 starters
Canada (CAN) 5 enrolled of whom 3 starters
Ireland (IRL) 5 enrolled of whom 3 starters
Slovakia (SVK) 5 enrolled of whom 3 starters
Nations which have one rider ranked in the individual UCI WorldTour ranking:
Costa Rica (CRC) 2 enrolled of whom 1 starter
Latvia (LAT) 2 enrolled of whom 1 starter
Nations qualified by the individual ranking of the UCI continental circuits:
Algeria (ALG) 2 enrolled of whom 1 starter
Cuba (CUB) 2 enrolled of whom 1 starter
Uruguay (URU) 2 enrolled of whom 1 starter
Ecuador (ECU) 2 enrolled of whom 1 starter
Hungary (HUN) 2 enrolled of whom 1 starter
Greece (GRE) 2 enrolled of whom 1 starter
Romania (ROU) 2 enrolled of whom 1 starter
Serbia (SRB) 2 enrolled of whom 1 starter
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MEN UNDER 23 ROAD RACE:
Countries qualified according to the classification by nations of the UCI Continental Circuits and Nation’s Cup drawn up on 15 August 2011: (ranking will be revised on 12.09.2011)
Qualified Nations by the UCI Africa Tour:
10 enrolled of whom 5 starters:
1 RSA South Africa
8 enrolled of whom 4 starters:
2 ALG Algeria
6 enrolled of whom 3 starters:
3 ERI Eritrea
4 CMR Cameroun
Qualified Nations by the UCI America Tour:
10 enrolled of whom 5 starters:
1 VEN Venezuela
2 USA United States of America
3 ARG Argentina
8 enrolled of whom 4 starters:
4 COL Colombia
5 AHO Netherlands Antilles
6 BIZ Belize
6 enrolled of whom 3 starters:
7 BRA Brazil
8 ANT Antigua and Bermudas
9 ESA El Salvador
Qualified Nations by the UCI Asia Tour:
10 enrolled of whom 5 starters:
1 KAZ Kazakhstan
2 KOR Korea
8 enrolled of whom 4 starters:
3 MAS Malaysia
4 HKG Hong-Kong
6 enrolled of whom 3 starters:
5 MGL Mongolia
6 CHN China
Qualified Nations by the UCI Europe Tour:
10 enrolled of whom 5 starters:
1 ITA Italy
2 FRA France
3 NED Netherlands
4 RUS Russia
5 GER Germany
6 BEL Belgium
7 GBR Great Britain
8 LAT Latvia
9 ESP Spain
10 POL Poland
11 BLR Belarus
12 TUR Turkey
13 SWE Sweden
14 UKR Ukraine
15 NOR Norway
16 DEN Denmark
8 enrolled of whom 4 starters:
17 AUT Austria
18 GRE Greece
19 ISR Israel
20 CZE Czech Republic
6 enrolled of whom 3 starters:
21 IRL Ireland
22 SRB Serbia
23 SLO Slovenia
24 POR Portugal
25 SUI Switzerland
26 MDA Moldavia
Qualified Nations by the UCI Oceania Tour:
10 enrolled of whom 5 starters:
1 AUS Australia
6 enrolled of whom 3 starters:
2 NZL New-Zealand
Note: If a nation is included in the final classification of the men's Under 23 Nations Cup, but that nation is not yet qualified, it may register 2 riders, 1 of whom will be a starter. According to the ranking at 15 August the following nations are concerned: Ethiopia (ETH), Canada (CAN), Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and Uzbekistan (UZB).
The first 5 nations of the final classification of the men's Under 23 Nations Cup are entitled to an extra rider. The ranking of the Nations Cup will be updated and published on 12 September, the day after the last round of the Nations Cup. The nations concerned will be informed from 12 September.
According to the article 9.2.012, the following U23 Continental Champions may be entered in addition to the number of participants which are accorded to their federation:
CC Europe: KERN Julian GER
CC America: MONTEIRO Gideoni BRA
CC Asia: JANG Gyung Gu KOR
CC Africa: JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt RSA
CC Oceania: LANG Richard AUS
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WOMEN ELITE ROAD RACE
Countries qualified according to the classification by nations of the UCI Women Elite drawn up on 15.08.2011:
Qualified Nations by the UCI Women Elite ranking:
14 enrolled of whom 7 starters:
1 NED Netherlands
2 GER Germany
3 SWE Sweden
4 GBR Great Britain
5 ITA Italy
12 enrolled of whom 6 starters:
6 RUS Russia
7 USA United States of America
8 BEL Belgium
9 AUS Australia
10 CAN Canada
11 FRA France
12 LTU Lituania
13 LUX Luxembourg
14 NZL New Zealand
15 UKR Ukraine
10 enrolled of whom 5 starters:
16 RSA South Africa
17 EST Estonia
18 SUI Switzerland
19 BLR Belarus
20 ESA El Salvador
The other nations and the non ranked nations will have the possibility to qualify 6 riders of whom 3 to start.
The following outgoing World Champion may be entered added to the national selection:
CM: BRONZINI Giorgia ITA
The following outgoing Continental Champions may be entered in addition to the number of participants which are accorded to their federation.
CC Europe: PANKOVA Larisa RUS
CC America: HUGHES Clara CAN
CC Asia: HSIAO Mei Yu TPE
CC Africa: LAUWRENS Lylanie RSA
CC Oceania: GILLOW Shara AUS
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MEN JUNIOR ROAD RACE:
The number of riders able to take part in the Junior Men’s World Road Race Championship 2011, on the basis of article 9.2.014 of UCI regulations.
Qualified Nations by the 2010 UCI final Junior Nation’s Cup ranking:
12 enrolled of whom 6 starters:
1 USA United States
2 RUS Russia
3 AUS Australia
4 DEN Denmark
5 BEL Belgium
6 GER Germany
7 FRA France
8 NED Netherlands
9 ITA Italy
10 POR Portugal
10 enrolled of whom 5 starters:
11 LUX Luxembourg
12 GBR Great Britain
13 SLO Slovenia
14 NZL New Zealand
15 CAN Canada
8 enrolled of whom 4 starters:
16 SUI Switzerland
17 CZE Czech Republic
18 NOR Norway
19 JPN Japan
20 AUT Austria
All other National Federations: 6 riders of whom 3 to start
The following outgoing Continental Champions may be entered in addition to the number of participants which are accorded to their federation.
CC Europe LECUISINIER Pierre-Henri FRA
CC Asia PARK Sang-Hoon KOR
CC Oceania WATSON Calvin AUS
WOMEN JUNIORS ROAD RACE
Each National Federation shall be entitled to enter 8 competitors of whom 4 to ride. The following outgoing Continental Champions may be entered in addition to the number of participants which are accorded to their federation.
CC Europe RATTO Rossella ITA
CC Asia LEUNG Bo Yee HKG
CC Oceania MUNDY Jessica AUS
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INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL ALL CATEGORIES
All National Federations may enter 4 riders of whom 2 may start. The following outgoing World Champions may be entered added to the national selection:
Men Elite: CANCELLARA Fabian SUI
Women Elite: POOLEY Emma GBR
The following outgoing Continental Champions may be entered in addition to the number of participants to which their National Federations are entitled under qualifying rules:
Men Elite:
CC Amérique MESSINEO Leandro ARG
CC Afrique TEKLEHAIMANOT Daniel ERI
CC Asie WACKER Eugen KGZ
CC Océanie DICKESON William AUS
Women Elite:
CC Europe LESUEUR Mélodie FRA
CC Amérique HUGHES Clara CAN
CC Asie CHANPENG Nontasin THA
CC Afrique LAUWRENS Lylanie RSA
CC Océanie GILLOW Shara AUS
Men Under 23:
CC Europe PAILLOT Yoann FRA
CC Amérique CARRETERO Ramon PAN
CC Asie BUI Minh Thuy VIE
CC Afrique JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt RSA
CC Océanie HOWSON Damien AUS
Men Juniors:
CC Europe BETTIOL Alberto ITA
CC Asie KOLAHDOUZ Amir IRI
CC Océanie SCHULTZ Nicholas AUS
Women Juniors:
CC Europe RATTO Rossella ITA
CC Asie JEONG Soo-Jeong KOR
CC Océanie ALLEN Jessica AUS