Press Release : Tour of Hangzhou postponed to ensure top quality event
28.08.2012
The UCI announces that the first edition of the Tour of Hangzhou will not take place as scheduled from 17th to 21st October, but will seek to be part of the UCI WorldTour calendar in 2013.
This decision was made by the UCI together with all the implicated parties – in particular GCP, the Chinese Cycling Association, the Chinese Sports Ministry and the city of Hangzhou – after an in-depth analysis of the situation two months out from the event.
Despite the efforts of all those involved in this initiative – and the UCI wishes to thank them for their commitment – not all the general conditions necessary to guarantee that the race would fulfil the UCI WorldTour quality criteria had been met.
“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,” said GCP Director Mr Alain Rumpf. “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.”
According to the UCI President, Mr Pat McQuaid, the Tour of Hangzhou remains nevertheless “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.”
UCI Communications Services