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2023 Women’s WorldTour Calendar Announced: Analysis & Thoughts

Mathew Mitchell

• Published on June 17, 2022
• in Women's Cycling

The UCI has announced the movers and shakers for the 2023 Women’s WorldTour calendar. We found out which races will be promoted and which races, if any, are to be demoted and any other changes that races have asked to make for the 2023 season.

Table of Contents

Races promoted to Women’s WorldTour level

Let’s start with the positives. The Tour Down Under joins the WWT ranks, which it deserves after being the peak women’s race in Australia for a number of years. The race hasn’t officially been held since 2020 with the pandemic entry rules for Australia preventing the race from taking place in 2021 and 2022. Instead, Australia has kept the race’s flame burning with the Festival of Cycling. Effectively the Tour Down Under but only for riders based in Australia. The Tour Down Under joins the one-day Cadel Road Race on the WWT calendar from 2023.

An entirely new event is scheduled for early February – the UAE Tour. We await more details but this could be the Dubai Ladies Tour from 2020 but with more investment and increased status. That race, just before the pandemic truly hit the cycling world, was won by the now-retired Lucy van der Haar. It featured the legendary climb up to the Hatta Dam along with sprint stages.

Also strengthening the early part of the calendar is Omloop het Nieuwsblad which becomes the first European WWT race of the season. It’s a women’s race with a long history, going back to 2006 ( Mie Lacota won in 2007 ) and it makes sense to be the Flanders Classics race getting an upgrade for 2023 after 2 seasons as a 1.Pro race.

The final race to be upgraded is the relatively new Tour de Suisse Women which helps feel in the late June gap in the calendar just before the national championships take place. It was first to run around the turn of the millennium before returning last season as 2.Pro race that Lizzie Deignan won. It will continue to be held over 4 days as per the 2022 edition.

Races demoted from Women’s WorldTour level

There’s only one race set to be demoted for 2023 and it’s the RideLondon Classique. The situation is more complicated than that though. The race didn’t fulfil its mandatory complete live coverage with only the last stage available to watch live. The UCI has conditionally demoted RideLondon Classique to 2.Pro level but it can be reinstated if the race organisation can provide ‘firm commitments concerning the live TV broadcasting of all the stages’. It has until September’s meeting to show evidence that all stages will have live coverage in 2023.

Women’s WorldTour race changes

Some of the races have changed dates completely with the Ceratizit Challenge sticking out. It has moved from its September spot, alongside the men’s Vuelta to the beginning of May (aka Spain month). It has also gained some stages, going from 5 stages in 2022 to 7 stages in 2022. Before then, Amstel Gold Race and Paris Roubaix Femmes have been switched back to their usual spots. They were switched in 2022 due to the French presidential elections clashing with Paris Roubaix Femmes.

The Giro Donne is one day shorter in 2023 as it loses the rest day from the 2022 edition needed to transport riders back from Sardinia. It retains the same amount of stages though – 10. So it’s probably an indication it expects to stick to the mainland next year.

The Scandinavian part of the season has been collectively pushed back about 2 weeks, increasing the gap after the Giro Donne/Tour de France stack, but has no changes to the number of stages. The Tour of Guangxi has always been a season-ender but hasn’t been raced since 2019 due to Covid. Hopefully, by the end of 2023, it will be able to return. The Tour of Chongming Island retains its October spot from 2022. Previously it had been a late-April/early-May race but closing the gap between the Chinese races it means only one fly-away trip.

2023 Women’s WorldTour calendar

Analysis & thoughts on the 2023 Women’s WorldTour calendar

We’ve heard plenty already this season reacting negatively about the increase in race days. It rose from a Covid-affected 37 in 2021 to 70 in 2022 and will be either 83 or 86 in 2023 depending on the RideLondon Classique. I’ve already seen people worrying about how teams will fulfil all of these race days when team sizes are limited to a max of 20 and most WWT teams aren’t at the limit. The rules changed for 2022 with the UCI allowing teams up to 20 riders from a total of 16 last season. Ultimately though, there won’t be any additional money to fill the teams to the limit so we will likely see teams still unable to do every race.

It feels to me that those reacting negatively aren’t applying the right thought process to the calendar changes. Unlike the men’s WorldTour where each race is mandatory and teams are obligated to attend, the Women’s WorldTour races are still optional. There are no minimum requirements to race a set number of races, teams are free to just do the races they want to do. So using the Tour of Chongming Island as a simple example, because it’s just 3 super flat sprint stages if a team doesn’t have a top-tier sprinter then why race those 3 days? Obviously, there are race days used to get ready for other objectives but teams can prepare a calendar that truly suits them and not do any race for the sake of it that would just be filler to their goals.

We haven’t seen relegation in practice from the Women’s WorldTour due to the ongoing expansion. So unlike the well-publicised relegation battle in the men’s WorldTour this season, there’s less benefit to padding out your UCI points for the WWT teams. The teams that would benefit from doing that are those non-WWT teams chasing the auto-invite spots which are usually Parkhotel Valkenburg and Valcar. The optional race loophole is there to not force excessive race days on women riders and applied fully by teams will ensure that they can achieve their objectives.

We may eventually get into a ‘sporting criteria’ determination for the renewal of a Women’s WorldTour licence. We have 14 WWT teams currently and the max is set at 15. Ceratizit WNT confirmed their application for 2023 and I also believe Le Col-Wahoo to have submitted an application for 2023 as well. Clearly, that takes us over the limit. The UCI will probably increase the limit, after all, there are 18 men’s WorldTour teams. It could always decide to demote the weakest current WWT team but strictly speaking, that’s a 2022 issue rather than one for next year.

Now obviously, if teams did start picking and choosing races in full, we can probably expect the UCI to close the loophole fairly quickly. An extreme example but if only 4 WWT teams showed an interest in racing in China, then we can see how that harms race organisations and the UCI’s desire for a genuine WorldTour, plus gaining a hold in the Asian market. So this may only delay the inevitable but we’ve already seen how strongly women’s cycling is growing. A successful Tour de France Femmes will only increase the upwards growth and given another year or two more teams will be able to take on more riders.

The Ceratizit Challenge moving to the start of May makes sense in a way, grouping together all of the major Spanish races into one block. It also gives me mixed feelings because it tramples over the non-WWT Spanish races that have been so successful. Quite where the new 2.1 Ruta del Sol race from 2022 will slot in is unclear, as it took place in the middle of the proposed Ceratizit Challenge dates. Also affected are the bulk of 1.1 races that took place before Itzulia Women – the likes of GP de Eibar, Emakumeen Nafaraaoko and Navarre Elite Classics. Whilst they technically don’t clash, riders doing them will have no break between the Ceratizit Challenge and Itzulia as they are only 5 days apart anyway. This has the potential to kill off the smaller races.

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2023 UCI Women's World Tour

Series of women's road cycling races / from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The 2023 UCI Women's World Tour was a competition that included twenty-seven road cycling events throughout the 2023 women's cycling season . It was the eighth edition of the UCI Women's World Tour , the ranking system launched by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 2016. The competition began with the Women's Tour Down Under from 15 to 17 January, and finished with the Tour of Guangxi on 17 October. [1]

Dutch rider Demi Vollering ( SD Worx ) won the individual classification with 4891.86 points, leading the classification for the majority of the season. She had seven overall victories, including winning all three Ardennes classics , as well as the second edition of Tour de France Femmes . [2]

Second place went to Belgian rider Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), with 2735 points, over 2000 points behind Vollering. She won three events including the Tour of Flanders . Third place was taken by Swiss rider Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) with 2512.86 points, after winning three events. Sixteen different riders won races, with five riders holding the individual classification lead during the season. [2]

As in previous years, the teams classification was won by SD Worx – their seventh win in eight seasons, with the top three places in the overall classification all being SD Worx riders. The youth classification was won by Dutch rider Shirin van Anrooij ( Lidl–Trek ), who finished 11th in the individual classification. [2]

Announcing the 37th Tour of the Gila, introducing our 2024 race director

The 37th edition of Tour of the Gila is planned for April 24-28, 2024. The UCI- and USA-Cycling-sanctioned American bicycle race also introduces Michael Engleman as the 2024 Race Director.

The nonprofit Gila Community and Tourism Development, which organizes Tour of the Gila, will again offer the five-stage UCI-sanctioned races for women’s and men’s pro and amateur-elite teams from across the globe. “The Tour of the Gila UCI races should be bigger than ever,” Engleman asserts, listing Tashkent City Women’s Pro Cycling Team and Project Echelon as examples of teams that will participate in the 2024 event.

Plus, to better accommodate amateur racers, the race organization is considering changes to the USA Cycling categories. Tour of the Gila may adjust the format based on a USA Cycling study that names scheduling as a common barrier to participation. “Since the race’s inception in 1987, competitive cyclists at every level have targeted Tour of the Gila as the ride of a lifetime. We want to ensure our event remains accessible to racers in non-pro categories,” Engleman says, offering further clarification. “The goal is not to cut back on the amateur races but rather to attract even more riders by offering options that are do-able for the modern cyclist.”

Registration for the amateur races will open in January 2024. Interested riders may sign up to receive an email alert at that time by completing the form on the race’s homepage .

Director of Mission Sports Group, in Dolores, Colorado, Engleman has served as the Director of Competition for the UCI division of Tour of the Gila since 2012. So when longtime Race Director Jack Brennan again announced his retirement, Engleman took over the position to ensure continuity. “It’s wonderful having Michael leading us and moving us forward,” says Brennan, who is currently a board member. “He knows what Tour of the Gila means to racers and for cycling generally in the U.S. It’s an important race, and Michael helped build it.”

With an equestrian as well as a cycling background, Engleman carries the lessons he’s learned from horse training into professional sports, in which he has been involved for over 30 years as an athlete, coach and consultant. Engleman’s experience informs his perspective on Tour of the Gila, which is recognized as a key stepping stone for American cyclists striving toward World Tour racing careers and which is also vital to the careers of athletes from our neighboring Mexico and Canada as well as many other countries.

To support American stage racing, Tour of the Gila organizers are leading discussions with USA Cycling and its sponsors. “We do our part to support the sport’s growth by organizing the only UCI stage race that allows amateur races on the same roads on the same days,” Engleman says.

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UCI WorldTour rankings watch – Intermarché set out on top

At the end of the first month of racing, here's our roundup of the 2023 men's and women's WorldTour rankings

The rankings

It's the last day of the first racing month of the 2023 season, and the latest UCI rankings have just been published, with Intermarché-Circus-Wanty the top men's team in what they're hailing as a historic moment. 

FDJ-Suez are the top women's team after a storming start in Australia, although the women's season has yet to hit Europe and yet to truly get going. 

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) are the top-ranked riders, despite not racing so far this year. That's because the individual World Ranking is based on a 12-month rolling points system. 

On top of that, Amanda Spratt tops the Women's WorldTour ranking, a separate season-only ranking for WorldTour races, giving the Australian the purple series leader's jersey.

It's still early in the season and many of the top riders - even some of the top teams on the women's side - have yet to start racing. However, the early action at the likes of the Tour Down Under and Challenge Mallorca have set the tone and introduced some sense of narrative.

2023 Pro Cycling Team Kits 2023 Cycling Transfers Women's WorldTour – The definitive guide for 2023 Women's WorldTour relegation battle: Points, rankings, and the teams in danger

In that respect, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty are still on the rise after punching far above their weight in 2022. The Belgian team looked like they didn't belong when they ascended to the WorldTour with CCC's old licence in 2021, but now look like one of the best-run teams in cycling, mixing Biniam Girmay 's star quality with contributions from others across the board. 

So far in 2023, they have already amassed 1330 points, with three wins on the board already. Kobe Goosens struck twice in Mallorca , with new signing Rui Costa making it three from five on the Spanish island, while Girmay was on the podium in the other two. Meanwhile, in Australia, Hugo Page was second in the Cadel Evans race after some stage top 10's at Tour Down Under, where Sven Erik Bystrøm was seventh overall. 

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"This 31st of January 2023 is a very special moment for our project! For the first time in its history, our team is in the lead of the UCI World Ranking. It is an extraordinary achievement which we never thought would be possible," said CEO Jean-François Bourlart.

"I'm thinking of all people involved since the launch of the amateur club VC Ath since 1974 to reach this remarkable milestone today. It is a fantastic reward for the team of 105 devoted people, both riders and staff, working day and night. We are incredibly proud of this achievement, even though this position is only provisional. We stay humble and continue to work hard for the future of our project, whilst enjoying this historical moment to the fullest."

Intermarché now sit above UAE Team Emirates , whose overall victory at the Tour Down Under through Jay Vine accounts for most of their 1151 points. 

In third place are Jayco-AlUla, who targeted the Australian summer with Simon Yates and Michael Matthews , although they're yet to count the points of sprinter Dylan Groenwegen who won on his season debut a the Saudi Tour and has more opportunities this week.

Soudal-QuickStep and Ineos Grenadiers round out the top five, while the two squads who were relegated from the WorldTour at the end of last season are both in the top 10 - Israel-Premier Tech in sixth and Lotto-Dstny in eighth. Jumbo-Visma, who won a stage of the Tour Down Under through Rohan Dennis , weren't racing at Challenge Mallorca or Vuelta a San Juan and find themselves way down in 28th place.

In the individual ranking, which is a rolling tally of points accrued in the 12 months up to the latest ranking date, Pogačar is still on top, with his total of points from 2022 effectively still intact. He leads Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel , with Sergio Higuita climbing to 10th the only change at the top after a month of racing. 

FDJ the top women's team as Spratt takes WorldTour lead

On the women's side, FDJ-Suez lead the teams' World Ranking after a dominant stint in Australia, with Grace Brown winning the national time trial title and then a stage and the overall of the Tour Down Under . Meanwhile, new signing and former e-racer Loes Adegeest made a storming debut in sport's top tier with victory at the Cadel Evans race. 

In second place are Trek-Segafredo , on 998 points to FDJ's 1208. A constant nearly-woman behind the FDJ pair, Amanda Spratt's runner-up finishes at TDU and Cadel's make up the lion's share of Trek's points, which are topped up by Brodie Chapman's national road race victory.

In third place on 847 points, and climbing two places from last week are Human Powered Health , who started the season as one of the teams in the relegation conversation but made a good start to putting that right through and Nina Buijsman and Henrietta Christie. 

In the individual World Ranking, Van Vleuten is still streets ahead after winning the Giro, Tour, Vuelta and world title in 2022, with Brown the only one of the top 10 to have raced this year. 

The women also have a separate, standalone WorldTour ranking comprising only the top-tier races each season. FDJ-Suez top that after winning both events - Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans - with Trek-Segafredo second and EF-Tibco-SVB third. 

It's Spratt who tops the individual WorldTour ranking, moving ahead of Brown after her runner-up finish in the Cadel Evans race. The winner there, Adegeest, rises 11 places to third. 

However, it's not worth reading too much into the women's rankings at this point as only six of the 15 WorldTour teams have started racing. Next week's inaugural UAE Tour, which is a WorldTour event, will have a deeper field. 

Follow along with Cyclingnews' guides to the Women's WorldTour races and standings and the Women's WorldTour relegation battle .

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Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.

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