IG Markets wants your help in finalising its Pro Cycling Index for 2012

IG Markets, sponsor of Team Sky and a partner of the Tour of Britain, including sponsoring the leader's jersey, is inviting cycling fans to get involved and decide upon the status of some races in its Pro Cycling Index, launched last year.

Currently, it is running a poll on Facebook to determine whether two of the most recent additions to the calendar, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal and Quebec, should be classified as Tier 2 or Tier 3 races for the purposes of the Pro Cycling Index.

During their first two years, the Canadian races that take place on circuits that are a little over 12km in length have produced some exciting racing, with Philippe Gilbert winning last September in Quebec, followed, two days later, by Rui Costa in Montreal.

That poll is due to run until tomorrow, when it will be replaced by one asking whether the Tour of Beijing, launched by the UCI last year, should be a Tier 4 race as its inaugural edition won by Tony Martin was, or classified as a Tier 3 race.

The debate was thrown open to fans after IG’s own expert panel was unable to agree on the status of the races in question, and you can find a list of the Tiers to which various races are allocated here.

The IG Markets Pro Cycling Index, compiled by Opta, was launched last year to seek to provide a more comprehensive and meaningful comparison between riders than is possible under the UCI’s WorldTour Ranking, with wider race coverage and a different points scoring system.

The Index, which unlike the UCi WorldTour Ranking operates on a rolling 12-month basis, is currently topped by Philippe Gilbert, also world number one according to the UCI.