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UCI WorldTour events are the highest level events for professional cyclists. The WorldTour is a series of events and riders compete in races to win the overall title as well as for the title in individual events. The UCI Women’s WorldTour was launched in 2016 and replaces the World Cup with also adding stage races to the calendar. The men’s WorldTour is comprised of 37 events, spread over 18 countries. The Women’s WorldTour has 23 events, in 10 countries.
You can’t beat the excitement of a bike race, either as a cyclist or as a spectator. We offer a fantastic selection of exclusive hospitality access and VIP experiences on the 3 Grand Tours, the 5 Monuments of Cycling and some of the other big races on the 2019 UCI WorldTour cycling calendar. Many Professional races also have amateur versions attached to them so you can test yourself on the same course as the Pros.
Cycling events with amateur events attached to them taking place the day before or the day after in the same weekend give you the opportunity to ‘Ride and Watch’. You can ride the event first before watching the Pros showing you how it’s done the day after. Some examples are: the Strade Bianche, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. For our complete selection of ‘Ride and Watch’ weekends, have a look at our calendar below.
The name Gran Fondo is often used in the US for cycling events. In Europe the name Cyclo-Sportive tends to be used more in France while Gran Fondo is used more often in Italy for the events there. In terms of what they are, there is no real difference between the two types of events apart from the name. These amateur cycling events tend to be of a competitive nature with usually closed roads to traffic, cut off times, timing, start pens based on performance plus the need to obtain a medical certificate from your doctor (only in France and Italy). We offer a convenient Medical Certification Service and also specialist sports travel insurance
With the conception of the Haute Route series of events, a whole new trend started for tough, multi-day competitive cycling events where you will live like a Pro cyclist for a week. It all started with the Haute Route Alps, then the Haute Route Pyrenees and in 2019 there will also be the Haute Route Dolomites and Haute Route Mont Ventoux. among others. Please have a look at our selection of multi-day Cyclo-Sportive events.
UCI Cyclocross World Championships are held for the past season in February each year. These are scheduled to be held in Bogense in Denmark in February 2019 and in Switzerland in 2020. We are pleased to provide standard or VIP access tickets for the 2 days of racing. Either dress up warm and cheer on the riders from the sidelines or make use of our VIP hospitality at the finish area where you will see the riders come past a few times in comfort. To be right in the heart of things you can also make use of the hospitality and then walk across to a vantage point of your choice when the racing is on.
The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is the traditional season opener for the Flemish cobbled cycling season as well as the UCI cycling World Tour as a whole. In 2018 the route was changed to honour the former finale of the Tour of Flanders, including the iconic hills of Muur van Geraardsbergen and Bosberg. The start is in Ghent and the finish will be in the town of Ninove. The weekend of events includes a whole host of activities around the professional race on the Saturday and a Cyclo for amateur cyclists to take part in on the Sunday. VIP access and hospitality is also available with Sports Tours International.
The Belgian spring classic Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne takes place on the day after the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The KBK Cyclo takes place on the Sunday whilst the Omloop does the reverse which gives you either 2 days of taking part in cyclo sportives or watching pro cycling 2 days in a row.
The Cape Town Cycle Tour is the biggest closed roads cycling event in the world and it takes place in and around Cape Town, South Africa each year in March.
Haute Route Oman takes place early March and will take riders on a 238km route that will include climbs with an elevation gain totalling 5,248 metres. The centre-piece of the Haute Route Oman experience will be the magnificent Al Hajar mountain range and the iconic Jebel Akhdar (the Green Mountain), one of the country’s most spectacular locations. The Hajar mountains offer severe and scenic climbs which are every bit the equal of anything in the Alps, Pyrenees, Rockies or Dolomites. Conditions in March will offer ideal mid to low 20°C temperatures.
After making its debut on the UCI World Tour calendar in 2017 the Strade Bianche takes place again in Tuscany, Italy. The riders fighting it out on Tuscany’s white roads makes for a great spectacle. After the Strade Bianche, two big stage races take place in the run up to the first big Spring Classic and one of the Monuments, Milan San Remo. In March the 2 big stage races are; Paris – Nice, also called the race to the sun and the Tirreno-Adriatico, also called the race between 2 seas. There is usually a one-day clash between the end of Paris-Nice and start of Tirreno-Adriatico. The Milan San Remo is the longest one day race on the calendar and traditionally kicks off the classics season in Europe.
At the end of March, one of the major Belgian spring classics Gent Wevelgem takes place the weekend before the Tour of Flanders, making this the ideal opportunity to combine 3 Belgian Spring Classics events into one trip.
Flemish Cycling Week lets you spend 10 days with us in Flanders and enjoy Flemish Cycling Week with Gent Wevelgem followed by Dwars door Vlaanderen mid-week and finally the Tour of Flanders. Hotels in Kortrijk and Ghent are included as well as staff support, in-resort transport and the option to ride Gent Wevelgem and Tour of Flanders Cyclo-Sportives.
Flemish Cycling Week was created when the semi-Classic ‘Dwars door Vlaanderen’ was moved a week later on the UCI World Cycling Tour last year to position it mid-week in between Gent Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders. The week starts off with Gent Wevelgem which is one of the traditional season openers for the Flemish cobbled cycling season as well as the UCI cycling World Tour as a whole. Dwars door Vlaanderen is contested mid-week on the Wednesday and the week culminates with the Tour of Flanders.
In April the cycling classics season follows the same date order traditionally with the Tour of Flanders which will start in Antwerp and also the Muur van Geraardsbergen will feature on the course again. The Muur will also feature on the 2019 Grand Depart of the Tour de France in Brussels. Next up is the Hell of the North, also called the Queen of the Classics; Paris – Roubaix–
Our fully supported 10 day Spring Classics tour lets you ride and watch Flanders, Scheldeprijs and Paris – Roubaix. On this tour you will also spend the day with cycling legend Johan Museeuw and visit the Tour of Flanders museum before cycling with Johan in the afternoon.
On Paris – Roubaix we offer a Paris – Roubaix Start to Finish Experience with VIP access at the start in Compiegne followed by a viewing point en-route plus hospitality at the Roubaix Velodrome.
Next up are the Ardennes Classics; Amstel Gold race with the Fleche Wallone mid-week on the Wednesday before Liege Bastogne Liege . Our 10 day fully supported Ardennes Classics tour lets you ride and watch all of the Ardennes Classics in a fully supported 10 day tour.
Sports Tours International has signed contracts with the 3 leading cycling events in the world; the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana. We are one of only 2 cycling tour operators worldwide who are official travel partners for all 3 events.
The first Grand Tour of the year is the Giro d’Italia which will have its 102nd edition and it takes place between May 10 and June 2. The 2019 Giro starts in Bologna with a finish 3 weeks later in Verona. read more about our extensive line up of Giro d’Italia Tours and Hospitality here – Who will win the 2019 ‘Fight for Pink’? Our 2019 Giro d’Italia tour line up
Gran Fondo Nove Colli – is one of Italy’s original and oldest Gran Fondo events. The Gran Fondo of the 9 hills takes place in and around Cesenatico on the Adriatic coast, also known as the place where Marco Pantani grew up and trained. The event is tough with a distance of 205km to be conquered and 3800 metres of climbing across, you have guessed it; 9 hills. The shorter 130km distance takes you across 4 hills.
The Tour de Yorkshire takes place during the first week of May. As with the Tour de France the race attracts large crowds and lots of local support. In 2019 the men’s race will be 4 days and the women’s race 2 days, following parts of the 2019 Road World Championships route. Sports Tours International offer start and finish hospitality on every stage of the Tour de Yorkshire.
During the Criterium du Dauphine one month before the start of the Tour de France, the favourites will be battling for position. In June 2018 Geraint Thomas won the 70th Criterium du Dauphine therefore giving Team Sky victory on 6 out of the last 8 editions. Adam Yates who win the last stage into Saint Gervais finished 2nd overall.
Tour Transalp starts in Innsbruck and finishes in Riva del Garda. The concept of the Tour Transalp is: 7 consecutive timed stages with a number of legendary cols, minimal flat sections, mountain top finishes where possible, maximum length timed sections, individual timing and all climbs timed. Previously open to just teams of two, you can now ride the Tour Transalp as a single rider. Separate classifications are published at the end of every day.
The Tour de France takes place between July 6 and 28 in 2019 and it features a start in Brussels to celebrate 50 years since Belgian Eddy Merckx won his first stage. It is also the 100th anniversary of the Yellow Jersey so we expect some activity around this. On the Tour de France we offer daily VIP experiences at the stage starts and finishes as well as a day in an official car on the course and even helicopter trips.
The first British World Tour event, the Ride London-Surrey Classic takes place in the first week of August. The season comes to a close with the final Grand Tour of the year, the Vuelta a España from the end of August until mid-September. The 2019 Vuelta a Espana starts in Alicante.
The 2019 UCI Road Cycling World Championships take place in Yorkshire.
The final Monument of Cycling; the Giro Lombardia takes place on Saturday 12 October.
Our favourite season end is the yearly odyssey to Ghent to watch the Ghent 6 days track cycling event in November. The 2016 edition was fantastic with the win of Wiggins and Cavendish. We offer standard tickets for every night as well as hospitality on the weekend nights. The VIP Cafe is particularly good value for money as the open bar is open from 18.00 until 01.30 on Saturday. Hotel stays are also available or even a coach trip from the UK – More information here
Didier Durin from Amaury Sports Organisation says; we are delighted to have signed a new partnership agreement for 2 years (2018-2019). This renewal will strengthen the long-standing partnership between Amaury Sports Organisation and Sports Tours International. Our partnership means that Sports Tours International have access to a full programme of VIP access for its customers on ‘La Grande Boucle’ so they can witness the battle for yellow from a privileged vantage point.
We are particularly pleased with the efforts Sports Tours International makes with promoting all the other fantastic professional and amateur cycling races that are organised by ASO like the Tour of Oman, Paris – Nice, Paris – Roubaix, La Fleche Wallone, Liege Bastogne Liege, the Tour de Yorkshire, the Criterium du Dauphine and of course the Etape du Tour.
We are looking forward to developing our relationship even further and start working on some of our other events like the new Deutschland Tour, the Arctic Race of Norway, the Tour de L’Avenir, the Volta Catalunya and Paris – Tours.
The route of the 2019 Tour de France will be announced on 25 October 2018 at the Palais des Congres in Paris. Our tours and 2019 Tour de France VIP hospitality experiences will be available shortly afterwards. You can already book the 2019 Tour de France Brussels Grand Depart and final weekend of the 2019 Tour de France in Paris.
Paolo Bellino, General Director of RCS Sport said: “The Giro d’Italia – the toughest race in the world’s most beautiful place – passes through a selection of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations every year. Sports Tours International – UK’s No1 cycling tour operator – has been at the forefront of opening up cycling tourism to a wide audience globally and we are seeing the numbers of international cycling fans increase every year which, as race organisers we are very thankful for. We are very pleased to partner with Sports Tours International for the next 2 years, for all our Italian races.”
The RCS races on our 2019 cycling calendar that are already available to book are: 2019 Strade Bianche Pro race and Gran Fondo weekend, 2019 Milan Sanremo Pro race and Gran Fondo weekend, 2019 Il Lombardia Pro race and Gran Fondo weekend,.
The route of the 2019 Giro d’Italia will be announced on 31 October 2018 in Turin. Our tours and 2019 Giro d’Italia hospitality experiences will be available shortly afterwards. You can already book the 2019 Grande Partenza of the Giro d’Italia in Bologna with us.
‘Charles Ojalvo, director of partnerships and public relations at race organisers Unipublic said ‘the Vuelta a Espana is known for its spectacular mountain top finishes and stunning Spanish scenery. Spain is the UK’s favourite holiday destination and we are very pleased to partner with the UK’s No1 cycling tour operator Sports Tours International for the next 3 years. Sports Tours International is a key player in the sports cycling holiday sector and their efforts have had a direct impact on the numbers of international Vuelta fans increasing every year which is something we’re thankful for here at Unipublic’
The route of the 2019 Vuelta a Espana will be announced on 12 December 2018. Our tours and 2019 Vuelta a Espana hospitality experiences will be available shortly afterwards. You can already book the 2019 Vuelta final weekend in Madrid with us.
Official tour partner for the biggest races on the planet