UCI finally reached an agreement with the organizer of the old "Worlds" (St Johann Austria) which will most likely become one of the qualifiers for the "new" Worlds to be held in Belgium this fall. (see copy of email below).
Recall, finals are now in the Bastogne Liege region Belgium this fall after the completion of 7 country qualifiers. If you want to race for a rainbow jersey you have to go to Belgium this fall and you have to come to Ft Collins to qualify (in the U.S. anyway).
Why all the change?
UCI is trying to expand amateur cycling and yes, to some degree, monetize it by charging operators like us to hold qualifiers. That is not a bad thing.
Race format (fondo vs race)
Many of you are asking about this new format of racing/qualification to go to Worlds (and gran fondo style vs pure racing). While some of the country qualifiers are being run in more of a mass gran fondo start format, Echelon Fort Collins is not, and nor are finals. Our races are NOT part of our gran fondo. We are separating as many age groups as time will allow and running 5 minute intervals. You have to race in age category. For finals in Belgium this fall, UCI is running just 2 minute intervals in separate categories. The faster/younger categories will go first to minimize mixing of age groups.
Why this format change?
Few operators have the luxury that we do for the road closure we have in Fort Collins. This allows for the fully segregated run groups by age. Additionally, UCI wants to broaden amateur bike racing and make it global, thus opening up to a few fondo operators.
Could UCI finals be held in the USA?
Yes, Echelon is already requesting to be the host in 2013.
Why not just have USA Cycling Nationals as the USA qualifier?
It is under consideration for future years but it is debatable whether USAC will want to pony up money to hold a qualifier for the sake of UCI. Echelon is very much aligned with USAC and our one criticisms of UCI is they were a little hasty in making these changes to Worlds. While Fort Collins is an epic course and a great event, we encourage you to go to Bend the week after our event for USAC Masters Nats. USAC is the foundation of bike racing in the USA and they are supportive of our efforts in Fort Collins.
Fort Collins. REGISTER/FT COLLINS HOME PAGE
Going to Belgium or not, the Fort Collins road course is one of the best in the country and the town is a blast. The TT Course is a full 17 miles and challenging. There is a ton going on that weekend with our two day festival and the Colorado Pro Challenge starts the following Monday.
Dear all,
As promised, we finally reached an end with the confusing situation created by the former Master Road Worlds in St. Johann.
In an agreement between the UCI, the Austrian Cycling Federation and the organizer of the event, it was decided that the event will change its name to MASTERS CYCLING CLASSIC. All references to the UCI have/are being removed from their website, and the event is being registered under the UCI Cycling for All calendar, as a sign of loyalty from the organizer to the UCI international regulations.
Moreover, negotiations are ongoing with Austria, where a UWCT qualifier should be organized in 2012.
On another note, I'd like to send you a pre-invitation to the meeting we will organize on Monday the 12th September, after the Road Race of the UWCT Final in Stavelot. The meeting is meant to debrief the 2011 season, and plan 2012. Details will follow soon, but we hope you can all make it to Belgium for the Final.
With kind regards,
Andrea Marcellini Mendonça
Cycling for All, Masters and Sustainable Development Coordinator
Union Cycliste Internationale
CH-1860 Aigle
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