2026 UCI calendar sees moves for Tour de France Femmes and Giro d'Italia Women

The UCI unveiled the full WorldTour calendar for 2026 on Thursday evening, and while it included confirmation of dates for many of the regular fixtures in the schedule, there were a few notable changes, particularly in regard to the Women’s WorldTour.

Casting an eye down the list of events for the men’s peloton, it’s pretty much ‘as you were,’ with the only notable change being in a name – Classic Brugge-De Panne now running under the guise of ‘The Great Sprint Classic,’ for both the men’s and women’s events. 

Otherwise, the men’s calendar reflects the usual rhythm of the season, beginning with the Tour Down Under in January and concluding with the Tour of Guangxi in China in October, with no irregularities arising due to events such as the Olympics or so-called ‘super-Worlds’ – the latter next occurs in the calendar in 2027, in Haute-Savoie, France, and will once again see the summer period altered slightly - or at least, teams' and riders' preparation for it.

The women’s calendar sees a few more significant shift than the men’s, as it moves towards a more streamlined approach, in light of the rapid growth of the women’s side of the sport. The UCI has previously come under fire from certain quarters as a result of overcrowding during certain times of the year, with pinch points on the 2025 calendar including clashes between the Tour de Romandie Féminin and the Tour of Scandinavia, a clash which was resolved – sadly – with the cancellation of the latter following funding issues. On the plus side, there is now a clear flow to the spring in particular, with discrete Classics blocks including three top-level races in Italy, following the return of Milano-Sanremo Donne, and a Spanish stage racing block that continues to work well, beginning with La Vuelta Femenina (3-10 May).

In terms of changes, there's one notable alteration within the Classics season, with the promotion of the women's Dwars Door Vlaanderen to a WorldTour level event, following four years at .Pro level, bringing the Flanders Classics into full parity between the men and women. 

Beyond that, there is a change of dates for two of the three Grand Tours, with the Giro d’Italia shifting forward, from 30 May-7 June – this change suggesting that we may perhaps see the women’s race departing from Rome as the men’s race arrives, mirroring the model of the Tour de France Femmes in bringing the two races into alignment. Ironically, the Tour de France Femmes moves out of its slot following on directly from the men’s race. Similarly to 2024, when the Paris Olympics forced a separation between the two Tours, the women’s race will now begin on 1 August, almost week after the men’s Tour de France concludes, almost certainly in Paris.

The Tour of Britain Women moves away from the congested month of June to August, bringing it to within a couple of weeks of the men’s race, which should alleviate some of the logistical pressures on the organisation; meanwhile the Tour de Romandie moves back to its September slot following just one year running in August.

Overall, with the calendar being released significantly earlier than last year (mid-June as opposed to late September), the UCI has offered certainty to race organisers and teams, who can already begin to think and plan for the season ahead – one which they know for certain will not include any bold reforms to the calendar such as OneCycling.