Organisers of the RideLondon Classique have described the decision by cycling’s global governing body, the UCI, to move next year’s race as a sad day for the women’s sport.

This year’s Classique was a three-stage professional race culminating in London during a weekend cycling festival also featuring a mass participation amateur ride. However, a change to the UCI’s 2025 calendar means the Classique will not be held in London next year.

“Sadly, it will not be possible to stage the Ford RideLondon Classique in 2025. It is a very sad day for professional women’s cycling,” Hugh Brasher, the event director of Ford RideLondon, said in a statement on Friday. “The Classique was one of the higher profile events on the UCI Women’s WorldTour, taking place in one of the world’s most influential cities with extensive sponsorship support and live coverage on BBC TV and internationally. Many teams and riders cite the event as one of their top races of the year.”

Brasher said they had been informed by the UCI that the Classique had been moved from the last full weekend in May to a new date a week later. “There was no consultation or prior warning and the news came despite London Marathon Events previously being advised by the UCI that there would be no changes to the calendar until 2026,” Brasher said.

“Major events in London, one of the world’s biggest capital cities, are planned many years ahead and it is impossible for the Ford RideLondon Classique to take place in central London on the new dates proposed unilaterally by the UCI. Alternative dates at this late stage are impossible.”

This year’s race was won by Dutch sprinter Lorena Wiebes.

Next year’s London cycling festival will still go ahead, including the 100-mile amateur sportive which this year attracted more than 20,000 entrants.

Source: theguardian.com