World cycling's governing body, the UCI, has announced that the inaugural edition of the Tour of Hangzhou, scheduled to be the final race in the 2012 WorldTour calendar, will not now take place. It is hoped that the five-day race will feature on the calendar in 2013.
In a statement, the UCI said that the decision not to hold the race, which was due to take place immediately after the Tour of Beijing, was made along with its subsidiary Global Cycling Promotion (GCP), the Chinese Cycling Association, the Chinese Sports Ministry and the city of Hangzhou.
It added that "despite the efforts of all those involved in this initiative... not all the general conditions necessary to guarantee that the race would fulfil the UCI WorldTour quality criteria had been met." It did not specify what those conditions were.
GCP director Alain Rumpf commented: “We put in a lot of work to stage the first edition of the event in 2012, but we needed a little more time to fine-tune certain internal matters in China.
“In choosing to delay the first edition, we can ensure that the event will meet the expectations of all our partners, as was the case last year with the Tour of Beijing.”
UCI President, Mr Pat McQuaid maintained that despite the race not being held this year, it is still “a very important element in the UCI’s strategy for the development of cycling, and the decision to postpone the organisation of this event will have no negative consequences on the project.”
it might give you more comfort, in which case good for you, but its not proof that actually it has had any effect on the driver....
On the subject of value, it's also worth mentioning the discount available through Cycling UK and British Cycling? I also spotted 10% off at...
We've saved them multiple times with Kick Starters. Shame. Edit: tense.
Or the congregation reads the news and does not like all the stories about ignored abuse by senior members of the church.
Kask remains sexier. And their prices, whilst high, are not as over the top as these.
> Are the ASO, basically saying it didn't happen The authority is the UCI. ASO was only the race organiser.
I remember this being released and thinking it was definitely the future. I built my own kludgy, much cheaper equivalent in 2013....
I have a Grand Prix appointment next week anyway, so I may decide to discuss this with them instead of what I'd booked it for...
Come with me to Brockenhurst, New Forest. It has a train station and a bike shop and in the summer season the area attracts visitors, many of whom...
Oi mate