The Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.
The Tour of the Basque Country is an annual road cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April. It is one of the races that make up the UCI World Tour calendar. As the Basque Country is a mountainous area, there are few flat stages, and thus the event favors those who are strong climbers. The race is characterized by its short stages, rarely exceeding 200 km, and steep ascents. While the ascents featured in the race aren't particularly high compared to other stage races, they are among the steepest seen in professional cycling, some having sections with gradients reaching well above 20%.
The Classic Brugge-De Panne is a road cycling race in Belgium in late March. Since 2018 it is raced over two days with a men's race on Wednesday and a women's race on Thursday. Both races start in Bruges and finish in the seaside resort of De Panne.
The Tour of Flanders, formerly the Tour of Flanders for Women, is an annual road bicycle racing event in Flanders, Belgium, held in early April. It is held on the same day as the men's race, on much of the same roads but at a shorter distance. Dutch riders Mirjam Melchers, Annemiek van Vleuten and German Judith Arndt hold the record with two wins each. Lotte Kopecky won the most recent edition in 2022.
The Strade Bianche is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name Strade Bianche stems from the historic white gravel roads in the Crete Senesi, which are a defining feature of the race. One third of the total race distance is raced on dirt roads, covering 63 km of strade bianche, spread over 11 sectors.
The Australian National Road Race Championships, are held annually with an event for each category of rider: Men, Women & under 23 riders. The event also includes the Australian National Time Trial Championships since 2002. The Australian Championships were officially known as the Scody Australian Open Road Cycling Championships from 1999 to 2010, taking the name of their main sponsor. This changed to the Mars Cycling Australia Road National Championships from 2011 but they are more commonly referred to as The Nationals. The under 23 championships were introduced in 2001. Note that these results do not currently include the senior and junior amateur road race championships that were held prior to the open era.
Lauren Kitchen is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2021.
RideLondon is an annual festival of cycling held in London. Intended as an annual legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it was first held in 2013. The format consists of a series of cycling events on closed roads around London and Essex for amateur and professional cyclists.
Team BikeExchange–Jayco is an Australian professional road race cycling team. Launched in January 2011, it competes at UCI WorldTeam level. The team was formed under the management of Andrew Ryan and Shayne Bannan, with Neil Stephens and Matt White as Sporting Directors. The team rides Giant bicycles, and wear Giordana Cycling clothing and Scott eyewear. The team has financial backing from Australian businessman Gerry Ryan who owns Jayco Australia.
Annemiek van Vleuten is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Movistar Team.
Tiffany Jane Cromwell is an Australian road and gravel cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Canyon–SRAM.
Ruth Joyce Winder is a British-born American professional cyclist. She took up the sport as a teenager, and went on to turn professional with UnitedHealthcare in 2014. In July 2021 Winder announced that she would retire from professional competition at the end of the season. During the 2021 UCI Road World Championships in Flanders, she was elected to a four-year term as a representative for road cycling on the Union Cycliste Internationale Athletes' Commission, winning 83 percent of the vote.
The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race also known as Great Ocean Road Race or Cadel Road Race is an annual professional one-day road bicycle racing for both men and women starting and finishing in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, and routed along the picturesque Great Ocean Road. The first race was held in 2015, as the farewell race for Cadel Evans—Australia's only Tour de France winner or Road World Champion. The 2017 edition was added to the UCI World Tour for the first time.
Alison Jackson is a Canadian professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Liv Racing–Xstra. She rode in the women's team time trial at the 2015 UCI Road World Championships. In July 2021, Jackson received a last minute quota spot to enter the road race competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The Strade Bianche Donne(Strade Bianche Women), also named Strade Bianche Rosa by Italian media, is an annual professional women's road bicycle racing event in Tuscany, Italy. Roughly a quarter of the route is raced on white gravel roads – unpaved country lanes winding through the countryside of the Chianti region – from which the event gets its name.
The Women's Tour Down Under is an annual professional road bicycle racing for women in Australia. It is held in conjunction with the Tour Down Under.
Nikola Nosková is a Czech road cyclist and cyclo-cross racer, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam SD Worx.
Leah Thomas is an American professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Movistar Team.
RideLondon Classique is a women's cycle stage race held in Essex and London for the UCI Women's World Tour. Part of the RideLondon cycling festival, the race was originally held as a one-day race in central London, and became a stage race in 2022 following the demise of the London–Surrey Classic.
The 17th running of the Tour of Flanders for Women, a women's cycling race in Belgium, was held on 18 October 2020, serving as the 11th event of the 2020 UCI Women's World Tour. Chantal van den Broek-Blaak of the Netherlands won the race, finishing just over a minute ahead of Amy Pieters.
Leah Thomas (USA)
