National teams in UCI 2.1 races

[adriann]

Hello,

Has anyone head of a rule that states that if a continental team attends a 2.1 event in the same country that this certain team is registered then there can be no national team representing the hosting nation?

I am curious of this because 2.1 races are usually held in places where continental teams abound and there is no need to form a national selection but next year a new event will be ranked 2.1 in the Europe Tour and the country it's in has only 1 conti team.

Best regards!

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Hello,

Has anyone head of a rule that states that if a continental team attends a 2.1 event in the same country that this certain team is registered then there can be no national team representing the hosting nation?

I am curious of this because 2.1 races are usually held in places where continental teams abound and there is no need to form a national selection but next year a new event will be ranked 2.1 in the Europe Tour and the country it's in has only 1 conti team.

Best regards!

Thinking of the Sibiu Tour?

There is no such rule, don't worry. There was a Portuguese national team in the Volta a Portugal, a GB representation in the Tour of Britain, and a Spanish national team in the Vuelta a Asturias amongst others. Most of these countries choose to do this for U23s and elite amateurs, but the German national lineup in their one-day races in April and May included some World Tour riders and Pro Conti guys alongside track and 'cross specialists trying their hand at the road.

Also, with the carrot of a UCI 2.1-rated race and the points on the Europe Tour that comes with it dangling in front of them, I have a chaque that the best amateur teams from that country will stump up the money to climb to the Continental level (the jump to UCI-rated Continental team from elite amateur is nothing like as costly as the jump from Continental to Pro-Continental), like happened in Norway this past off-season when the Glava Tour rose from 2.2 to 2.1 - there were 4 Norwegian UCI-registered teams in 2011, and 7 in 2012.

 

[adriann]

Thinking of the Sibiu Tour?

There is no such rule, don't worry. There was a Portuguese national team in the Volta a Portugal, a GB representation in the Tour of Britain, and a Spanish national team in the Vuelta a Asturias amongst others. Most of these countries choose to do this for U23s and elite amateurs, but the German national lineup in their one-day races in April and May included some World Tour riders and Pro Conti guys alongside track and 'cross specialists trying their hand at the road.

Also, with the carrot of a UCI 2.1-rated race and the points on the Europe Tour that comes with it dangling in front of them, I have a chaque that the best amateur teams from that country will stump up the money to climb to the Continental level (the jump to UCI-rated Continental team from elite amateur is nothing like as costly as the jump from Continental to Pro-Continental), like happened in Norway this past off-season when the Glava Tour rose from 2.2 to 2.1 - there were 4 Norwegian UCI-registered teams in 2011, and 7 in 2012.

That's the race,I avoided naming it because all is not certain.
I'm glad it's so! it's good for the romanians to participate.
Tour of Sibiu has a mighty diffcult course so it would be next to impossible for amateurs to finish a race that has World Tour riders in it. A national selection makes sense.

From what I know there is a 50% limit for Pro Teams, the organiser is keen on bringing the best of the best, but do Pro Teams usually take interest in newly promoted events?

Thanks!

 

[Libertine Seguros]

That's the race,I avoided naming it because all is not certain.
I'm glad it's so! it's good for the romanians to participate.
Tour of Sibiu has a mighty diffcult course so it would be next to impossible for amateurs to finish a race that has World Tour riders in it. A national selection makes sense.

From what I know there is a 50% limit for Pro Teams, the organiser is keen on bringing the best of the best, but do Pro Teams usually take interest in newly promoted events?

Thanks!

I wouldn't expect too many WT teams at first, though the route is hard and it's a well-organised event (not many .2 races with TV deals to point to!) - remember that there are a couple of Polish .1 races which don't draw major WT participation. Central and Eastern Europe isn't a major financial hub for the sport either, so I wouldn't expect too many World Tour teams for the time being. Some really good .1 races didn't get ANY WT teams last year (the Volta a Portugal, for example).

However, far from that negativity, I feel like the race is headed in the right direction. A good target would be, in my opinion, to concentrate on making it attractive to all the eastern European continental teams - there are a few in Poland, for example, and also the Turkish teams that have a strong Bulgarian presence. On top of that, throw in some teams like Meridiana, who should shore up some star quality with the (admittedly dubious) likes of Rebellin and Sinkewitz. If you can attract a few Pro-Continental teams on top of that - probably the likes of Utensilnord-Named, Colnago (or whatever they're known by next year), Rusvelo, and some of the other Italian-based teams like Team Idea and Team Nippo, as well as Team Type 1, that could be a pretty solid foundation to build on.

I'd say the kind of field drawn by the Tour de Slovénie is a realistic goal to aim for in 2-3 years' time, but then I could be wrong, thinking of the quick growth of races like the Glava Tour.