Cycling body votes on Tour Down Under
Cycling body votes on Tour Down Under
Sunday Sep 23 14:38 AEST, 9MSN
World cycling's governing body Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) meets this week in Germany to decide whether South Australia's Tour Down Under will become one of the first Pro Tour races held outside Europe.
SA Premier Mike Rann said the Tour Down Under could be included in the Pro Tour series from 2009.
"The Tour Down Under is already the highest-ranked cycling road race in the southern hemisphere and we want to take it to even greater heights in the future," Mr Rann said in a statement.
"The UCI Pro Tour is the `grand prix' circuit of cycling, bringing together some of the best races, the biggest teams and the best riders in the world.
"UCI Pro Tour status would take our much-loved race to a new level of world significance, making it part of the highest-level international circuit in cycling."
Adelaide's Sunday Mail newspaper said the UCI meeting would take place in Stuttgart in the early hours of Friday (AEST).
Tourism Minister Jane Lomax-Smith, who travelled to London in July to promote the bid for Pro Tour status, said joining the Pro Tour circuit would cement SA's reputation as the cycling capital of Australia.
"The fact that we are being considered for a race series that counts towards international ranking for cyclists is a huge sign of confidence in the state's ability to host an international standard race," she said.
Currently, UCI Pro Tour events are organised in Belguim, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Switzerland.
