Decision to be made soon on potential upgrate
Regarding this year’s race as being a success, Presidential Tour of Turkey race director Abdurrahman Acikalin has said that a decision will be made soon as to whether it will apply to be part of the UCI WorldTour in the future.
The 2.HC race is continuing to progress, with the number of WorldTour teams increasing to nine this season and with the race also featuring its first-ever summit finish.
This week Acikalin and others will meet and debate which way forward they should take.
“The future of the race has two dimensions at the moment,” he confirmed to VeloNation in a video interview recorded on Saturday. “One side [to the debate – ed.] is yes. That according to all these comments, the nice comments from outside, from the teams, from the press members, that yes, this tour deserves to be in the WorldTour.
“The second [possibility] is to stay at the same level and also attract the pro continental teams and other teams, as well as the teams from Turkey and wherever else. That is the decision that we will make in the coming days. We have to think carefully about what steps we need to go further on. We haven’t decided yet, so let’s see…”
The race was a slickly-run affair, with good hotels, smooth organization and many other pluses going for it. It featured a very high level of sprinters, with many of those using the race as their final preparation before the Giro d’Italia.
The weather was also good, with the riders experiencing sunny conditions on each of the eight stages.
Deciding whether or not to be part of the WorldTour will require some careful thinking. Making the step up will guarantee all eighteen WorldTour teams take part, but it will also increase the costs and block some of the teams who raced this year from competing.
From the UCI’s point of view, its aim of globalizing the sport means that it could well look favorably on such an application.
In the video below, Acikalin weighs up the licence possibility, give his impressions of this year’s race, talks about potentially hosting a world road race championships there and reveals what he would require to be in place before any such application.