that's awesome, will you have to be a cat 1 to do the races?

I wonder if different races are going to be suited for different people. If you are a climber and the only race in your region is a flat race leading to a field sprint kind of sucks for you.

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Ride Scoozy Electric Bicycles
http://www.RideScoozy.com

No reference to a TT?

I like the idea. As it is now anyone can show up in Austria at the worlds. Of course most of the people who go, only go if they are going to be competitive.

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Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

All good questions.

Heard a rumor about the TT being done but seems more likely that they'd follow the world championship format already in place for pros and juniors.

This is one of the few smart/cool things that the UCI has done in a long time! Hopefully it all works out!

I agree- looks sweet.

Good to see another bike racer from OH on here. I'm from Akron area...welcome to ST :)

-Physiojoe

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-Physiojoe
Instagram: @thephysiojoe
Cycling coach, Elite racer on Wooster Bikewerks p/b Wootown Bagels

Well, well, well the UCI finally figured that there is a boat load of money in the masters pockets. I think in the US 75% of the registered riders are over 30. And triathlon over 90% of licensed participants are age groupers. Put on a few races , give out (actually probably sell) a few rainbow shirts and pocket some bucks from UCI license fees. Now we need a USA cycling license and then add on another "International" license fee and there you go.

I don't have any problem with that at all. I think by putting more emphasis on a Age Group/Masters format than they have done in the past is a great idea.

Hey Freter! Roof here. Hard to believe this is the UCI for sure.

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

this could be very niiiiiiiice *borat voice*

Thanks man! Im from C-bus, but I am currently in KY for school.

Hey there roof! I wonder if someone with common sense preformed coup d'état of the UCI?

We already have USA cycling and international license fees; no need for more.

That's presently the case for all UCI masters championships events at international/national level in most countries.

However, consider that the UCI is suggesting that the qualifiers for the world masters road race championships be based on participation in designated Granfondo or cyclosportive events (just think about that for a few minutes), and you'll begin to wonder if this is such a good idea and what drugs they are on.

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Training Plans -- Power Meter Hire -- SRM Sales Australia -- cyclecoach.com -- My Blog -- Sydney Turbo Studio

I agree with you. Ever heard of that Ironman thing where they have a finale in Kona? Same problem.

This is what a wrote about it on my blog http://www.passista.it:

Amateur cycling is the next big thing for the cycling industry and the federations. Hence, a series like that makes total sense. Pro cycling faces a massive loss of interest outside the traditional cycling countries while at the same time more and more people enjoy cycling competitively over challenging courses. The strict regime of licensed road racing with its high entry threshold and often bland industrial area circuit racing may be appealing to the young athlete but not so much to the thirty something father of two who seeks a pro like experience and has the means to spend money on it. Gran Fondo and Cyclosportives provide a perfect platform for everyone from the near pro gunning for the win to the middle aged weekend warrior out to tackle the distance in camaraderie.

Is a series necessary though?

Races under the UCI label will likely be well organized which helps cyclists to chose where to put their money.
On the other hand, I am not convinced that a series with points standings and a finale is entirely desireable. Although I find the competitive aspect absolutely key, such races in general and a series in particular likely lead to an increase of drug abuse. Italian Gran Fondo for years have proved to be a nice post pro career basin to make a living. The events may not pay prize money but teams hire riders to win races and get publicity through cycling media specializing in long distance amateur events. Someone winning the UCI World Series may not be as strong a cyclist as a Tour de France participant but he may be better known among the (paying) amateurs given that he participates at the same events as they do and, consequently, is better marketable than a third tier pro.

Nonetheless, I am excited to see that UCI is going with the times and look forward to watching the race director's bidding war on becoming part of the series.

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

Such events are not races, they are social outings.

I have no objection to them becoming involved with such events, but as a qualifier for a world championship road race, that is simply ridiculous.

I wouldn't suggest that UCI involvement = better organisation. The quality of organisation is a function of the quality of the organiser. The UCI doesn't do that.

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Training Plans -- Power Meter Hire -- SRM Sales Australia -- cyclecoach.com -- My Blog -- Sydney Turbo Studio

The big ones in Europe, mainly Italian Gran Fondo and most French cyclosportives are full on races. They are more competitive than 90% of amateur road races in the US.

Of course the UCI does not organize but would they want their label on a crappy run event?

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

the first and only cyclosportif in PA used to also be super-competitive. the word was that the first 2 or 3 finishers typically got recruited to some 2nd tier US pro teams. this last year, however, they changed the format, and although it may still be super-competitive, it went from a road racing experience to a circuit race (though not really a crit). this was really quite disappointing, and seems to have been driven by spectator & sponsorship issues rather that racer experience.

So the equipment is scrutinised, doping control in place, all riders have a UCI affiliated licence, riders are wearing their sanctioned team/club/sponsor/state or national supplied kit, age groups are sent off together as one bunch with no interference anywhere on the course from other riders, commissaires in lead and following vehicles ensuring race is run under the UCI road racing rules etc etc?

I'm sorry but however much you like to think of them as road races, they are not.

As a qualification event for a road race championship, it's just a dumb idea.

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Training Plans -- Power Meter Hire -- SRM Sales Australia -- cyclecoach.com -- My Blog -- Sydney Turbo Studio

It isn't clear what the format of qualification events are from the initial announcement so perhaps you can hold off on why A, B or C is a bad idea until more details are provided.

And re-read what Uli said about the competition level because he's correct about the pointy end being full on races.

Ah, that's what you mean. For me a road race is on a closed to traffic course with a start and finish line.
I used to race Elite in Europe, did numerous UCI sanctioned races in various countries and later raced for a Gran Fondo team in Italy. The only thing that I missed were doping controls (happened at one event). The standard of racing was at least level and often exceeded what I knew from UCI races.

For the reasons I named in my first post, I am not a fan of a series. But that does not mean it would be a "dumb idea". Those amateur world championships won't be worth more than the masters world champs held every year in Austria or the MTB Marathon "world champs".

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK

This attitude from roadies really bothers me. The UCI does not have ownership over what a "race" is. If I bet a friend I can ride to the next town faster and we take off at the same time, that's a race. If a local group sets up a ride of a set distance, posts results, and declares winners, that's a race. They may not be UCI races, but they're races, and you all need to get over it.

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Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines. -Enzo Ferrari

As a qualification event for a road race championship, it's just a dumb idea.

One of the things that separates pro and amateur racing might be the significance of teams. Amateurs might belong to teams, but my impression is that they rarely race as a team. If this is true, its silly to imagine that an amateur race is going to be structured and raced like a pro race. I'm not trying to brush off your observations, I'm just noting that defining a "road race" as "only something done in the way that the UCI has, in the recent past, organized races" is a bit narrow.

... and if you wore a rainbow striped jersey because you won "joe's tuesday county sign sprint" people would think that was pretty stupid.

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Ride Scoozy Electric Bicycles
http://www.RideScoozy.com

I couldn't agree more. The Gran Fondo/cyclosportive movement fills exactly that gap and it is no wonder that a) these events soar and b) UCI wants a share of it.

Regulations make sense and help in many ways but there needs to be room for other kind of racing. Should the UCI be part of that? I'm not sure and haven't really made up my mind yet.

If nothing, it's an interesting development which has been due to happen for a few years. As with anything, governing bodies move slowly and the UCI was trying to ignore mass participation cycling events as long as they could afford. With drug abuse among pro cyclists now being in the public's eye, UCI finally felt the need to find a way to stay in touch with amateur cyclists.

The Tour will always be an exclusive event but who is to say that certain pro races may not one day open up to everyone (Ironman style)? The pros would HATE it as they would have to ride hard from the gun to avoid being caught by amateurs but if those races would be shorter and attract a different breed of pros, then why not?

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CAMPAGNOLO GRAN FONDO NEW YORK