{"id":430426,"date":"2026-01-22T17:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T17:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/430426\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T17:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T17:42:09","slug":"2026-mens-and-womens-pro-cycling-calendar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/430426\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Men\u2019s and Women\u00b4s Pro Cycling Calendar"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UCI has maintained the structure of the race calendar for the 2026 season, despite the fact that a new WorldTour licensing cycle begins in 2026. The same saturation and overlap of WorldTour races will continue as before. However, there will be a significant improvement in the Women\u2019s WorldTour calendar: the Giro d\u2019Italia Women will be held immediately after the men\u2019s Giro d\u2019Italia, no longer coinciding with the men\u2019s Tour de France.<\/p>\n

You can download the calendars in PDF to print them and consult them during the year:<\/p>\n

Men\u00b4s Calendar<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the image above, you can see the full men\u00b4s calendar for the 2026 season, which has started on January 20 with the Tour Down Under.<\/p>\n

For the 2026 season, the UCI has increased the points awarded for ProSeries races (from 200 points for the winner to 250 in 2026) and the most recent WorldTour races (such as the UAE Tour and Tour of Guangxi). WorldTeams will be able to skip one race on the WorldTour calendar per three year cycle, except for Grand Tours and Monuments.<\/p>\n

While there are no changes to the WorldTour calendar, there are a number of new professional races on the continental circuit, as well as several that have been promoted to professional status. Among the eight new races, five events in Italy stand out.<\/p>\n

New races:<\/p>\n

Giro di Sardegna (2.1). It returns after 15 years<\/p>\n

G.P. Emilia (1.1).<\/p>\n

Giro della Magna Grecia (2.1)<\/p>\n

Grande Pr\u00e9mio Anicolor (2.1).<\/p>\n

Baku-Khankendi Azerbaijan Cycling race (2.1) It returns after 9 years<\/p>\n

Lyon \u2013 Torino (2.1)<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Cycling Classic p\/b AmeriGas (1.1). It returns after 10 years<\/p>\n

Gran Premio del Lazio (1.1).<\/p>\n

Races promoting to the professional calendar:<\/p>\n

Cl\u00e0ssica Camp de Morvedre (1.1). It will open the professional calendar in Europe.<\/p>\n

Visit South Aegean GP (1.1). It changes a 2.2 stage race format to two 1.1 one-day races, alongside the Region on Dodecanese GP.<\/p>\n

Region on Dodecanese GP (1.1)<\/p>\n

Fl\u00e8che du Sud (2.1). A race with 74 editions in its history, but focused on amateur cycling until now.<\/p>\n

GP Kranj (1.1).<\/p>\n

Races cancelled:<\/p>\n

Tour du Doubs\u00a0(1.1)<\/p>\n

Elfstedenronde\u00a0(1.1)<\/p>\n

Tour of Norway (2.Pro)<\/p>\n

First Semester<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the first weeks of the season, the UCI has promoted the Surf Coast Classic, the Alula Tour, and the Muscat Classic to ProSeries, encouraging the globalization of cycling.<\/p>\n

Later, in the last week of February, the revived Giro di Sardegna (2.1) and two 1.1 races in Greece are introduced, which may be attractive to ProTeams looking for UCI points. For its part, O Gran Cami\u00f1o (2.1), which used to be held in the last week of February, has changed its dates to April to avoid the bad weather of recent editions.<\/p>\n

At the end of March, the G.P. Emilia (1.1) will debut, organized by the same company behind the Settimana Coppi e Bartali (2.1), doubling the UCI points up for grabs with just one extra day of competition. Also in Italy, the Giro della Magna Grecia (2.1) will be launched in April in the south of the country. This new race will take the former dates of the Giro d\u2019Abruzzo (2.1), which will move to September in preparation for the World Championships.<\/p>\n

Right after the Giro d\u2019Italia, the Tour de Wallonie (2.Pro) stands out, which normally began on the last weekend of the Tour de France. It should attract better participation, linking up with the Brussels Cycling Classic (1.Pro) and the Circuit Franco-Belge (1.Pro).<\/p>\n

Finally, the Tour de Suisse has been reduced to just five stages<\/a>, taking place on the same days and in the same cities as the women\u2019s Tour de Suisse.<\/p>\n

Second Semester<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In 2026, the Lyon-Torino (2.1) will be born, taking advantage of the race-free days between the National Championships and the Tour de France. Given the location of the race, an exciting mountain course could be expected.<\/p>\n

During the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, the US calendar expands with the return of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic (1.1). In addition, the Maryland Cycling Classic (2.Pro) increases to three days and should boost its participation, as in 2025 it only had three WorldTeams, despite linking up with the WorldTour classics in Canada.<\/p>\n

As in recent years, the week leading up to the World Championships will be very busy, with professional races in Belgium, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Slovakia, and China. The main change at the end of the season is that the CRO Race (2.Pro) will be held during the week of the World Championships, when there is less overlap with other international races.<\/p>\n

Women\u00b4s Calendar<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For the first time, Women\u2019s WorldTeams are required to compete in the entire WorldTour except for one race, the same rule as for men\u2019s WorldTeams. This effectively forces them to start the season in Australia with the Tour Down Under and finish in China with the Tour of Guangxi. For example, in 2025 only five Women\u00b4s WorldTeams traveled to the races in China at the end of the season.<\/p>\n

Due to the growing demands of the Women\u2019s WorldTour, the 15 WorldTour spots have not been filled for 2026, following the closure of Ceratizit and Roland\u2019s relegation to the continental category. According to our information, Roland did not finalize negotiations with a potential Arab sponsor in time, although it intends to return to the WorldTour in 2027 with increased funding.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s cycling is entering a phase of stabilization after several seasons of significant growth. Many modest teams and races have disappeared over the past year, while teams and races with strong structures and a presence in men\u2019s cycling are generally consolidating their position.<\/p>\n

In addition, the scoring system will mirror that of the men\u2019s cycling from 2026, with increased points for the Giro, Tour, Vuelta, and the four women\u2019s versions of the Monuments (Sanremo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Roubaix and Li\u00e8ge). Only Il Lombardia is missing to complete the women\u2019s versions of all the major races.<\/p>\n

New races:<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Cycling Classic p\/b AmeriGas (1.1). It returns after 10 years.<\/p>\n

Women Cycling Day (1.Pro). From the organizers of the now defunct Lotto Th\u00fcringen Ladies Tour.<\/p>\n

Tout commence en Finistere Ladies Classic (1.1). Same organizers as the Pointe du Raz Ladies Classic (1.Pro), it will take place on the same weekend.<\/p>\n

Races promoting to the professional calendar:<\/p>\n

Egmont Cycling Race Women (1.1)<\/p>\n

La Pionera Race (1.1)<\/p>\n

Midwest Cycling Classic (1.1)<\/p>\n

R\u00e9gion Pays de la Loire Tour \u2013 F\u00e9minin (1.1). From the organizers of the men\u2019s R\u00e9gion Pays de la Loire Tour.<\/p>\n

Races cancelled:<\/p>\n

Tour of Norway (2.Pro)<\/p>\n

First Semester<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The start of the season is packed with races in Australia, Mallorca and El Salvador. In addition, the new Pionera Race (1.1) will be launched in Spain after the races in Mallorca. However, another stage race would be needed between Setmana Valenciana and Omloop Nieuwsblad, as only the Cl\u00e1sica de Almer\u00eda (1.Pro) will be held during those 12 days.<\/p>\n

The big news regarding dates involves the Giro. The Giro d\u2019Italia Women will begin on the final weekend of the men\u2019s Giro d\u2019Italia, which will increase its media relevance. It will also allow the best cyclists to compete in the Giro and Tour in peak physical condition, with almost two months between the two races.<\/p>\n

Participation in Itzulia Women and the Vuelta a Burgos may be affected by the Giro, as the best climbers will want to arrive fresh at the Giro d\u2019Italia. The Tour of Britain, which was held on the dates now occupied by the Giro, will take place in August, shortly before its men\u2019s version.<\/p>\n

Second Semester<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The teams lack a major sporting goal in the final months of the season (after the Tour de France Femmes), so it would be reasonable for La Vuelta Femenina to be moved to the end of the season. In 2027 and 2028, with World Championships in Haute-Savoie (August) and Abu Dhabi (October), outside the usual dates, the UCI would possibly agree to La Vuelta Femenina being held after the men\u00b4s Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\n

This year, the Tour de France Femmes will begin the weekend after the end of the men\u2019s Tour de France, avoiding a two-day overlap. Looking ahead, this also creates space for the race to grow in terms of the number of stages. With the Giro and Tour taking place immediately after their men\u2019s counterparts, only La Vuelta Femenina has not found such a slot in the calendar.<\/p>\n

On another note, the inclusion of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic (1.1) and the increase to three days for the Maryland Cycling Classic (2.1) could improve participation in these races in the United States. The races in Gatineau (Quebec) should also benefit from their proximity to the World Championships. As part of the continental calendar, National Teams are allowed to participate in Gatineau races, so they use them to prepare the Worlds.<\/p>\n

The historic Tour de l\u2019Ard\u00e8che (2.1) has been reduced to just two stages, after years of being one of the few climbing stage races in women\u2019s cycling. The 79-year-old organizer has ceded control to the organizers of the two men\u2019s ProSeries classics in Dr\u00f4me and Ard\u00e8che.<\/p>\n

Another historic race in women\u2019s cycling, the Simac Ladies Tour (now 2.1), has lost its WorldTour status and will be held in the last week of the calendar, simultaneously with the men\u2019s Tour of Holland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UCI has maintained the structure of the race calendar for the 2026 season, despite the fact that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-430426","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}