Tour of Beijing scrapped as Cookson fulfils manifesto pledge over GCP conflict of interest

The UCI has revealed that it is to scrap the Tour of Beijing, just three years after former president Pat McQuaid launched the five-day race amid much fanfare – and controversy. The move is in line with a pre-electoral pledge from current president Brian Cookson to remove conflicts of interest and ensure greater transparency.

Confirmation that next month’s edition of the race will be the last came yesterday as the governing body released the 2015 UCI WorldTour calendar.

First held in October 2011, the Tour of Beijing is organised by Global Cycling Promotions, a company set up by the UCI with McQuaid as president and UCI official Alan Rumpf as director.

But concerns were expressed by many about potential conflicts of interest between a governing body and a race promoter being effectively one and the same body.

As blogger Inner Ring said in April 2011: “It’s one thing to encourage cycling around the world, to facilitate and encourage the spread of the sport around the world. But it’s quite another when you set up a private sports promotion business to do this for yourself.”

Cookson, who replaced McQuaid as president 12 months ago said in his manifesto prior to the election in Florence that “the operations and status of… GCP… are unclear even to those within the UCI.”

He added that once elected, “I will ensure absolute transparency of its purpose and function and will eliminate GCP’s conflicts of interest with other race promoters.

“Its focus should shift to elevating existing and new races around the world. This can be done by providing development capital and expertise in a way that shares the benefits equitably with the independent organisers and national federations.”

Under McQuaid, GCP had planned to introduce a second race in China, the Tour of Hangzhou, to the WorldTour calendar. The scheduled debut edition in 2012 did not take place and the event was also postponed last year and, following Cookson’s election, has been quietly dropped.

Following a meeting of the Professional Cycling Council (PCC) in Ponferrada, Cookson said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers of the Tour of Beijing as we head towards the fourth and final edition of that race and the role it has played in helping to build the profile of road racing in Asia.”

The PCC said that this year’s top-flight racing did prove that its efforts to globalise the sport were bearing fruit, including MTN-Qhubeka becoming the first African team to compete in a Grand Tour, at the Vuelta, and the leader’s maglia rosa in the Giro d’Italia not once being worn by a European this year.

It added that consultation was planned reform of the men’s professional calendar and commercial strategy, that it would “be fully implemented by 2017 in spirit of consensus,” and that “the final details of the reform plan will be shared with all stakeholders on the occasion of the UCI WorldTour Seminar in December this year.”

2015 UCI WorldTour calendar

January

Jan 20-25: Santos Tour Down Under

March

Mar 8-15: Paris-Nice
Mar 11-17: Tirreno-Adriatico
Mar 22: Milan-San Remo
Mar 23-29: Volta a Catalunya
Mar 27: E3 Harelbeke
Mar 29: Gent-Wevelgem

April

Apr 5: Tour of Flanders
Apr 6-11: Tour of the Basque Country
Apr 12: Paris-Roubaix
Apr 19: Amstel Gold Race
Apr 22: La Fleche Wallonne
Apr 26: Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Apr 28-May 3: Tour de Romandie

May

Apr 28-May 3: Tour de Romandie
May 9-31: Giro d’Italia

June

Jun 7-14: Criterium du Dauphine
Jun 13-21: Tour de Suisse

July

Jul 4-26: Tour de France

August

Aug 1: Clasica San Sebastian
Aug 2-8: Tour of Poland
Aug 10-16: Eneco Tour
Aug 22-Sep 13: Vuelta a Espana
Aug 23: Vattenfall Cyclassics
Aug 30: GP Ouest France – Plouay

September

Aug 22-Sep 13: Vuelta a Espana
Sep 11: GP de Quebec
Sep 13: GP de Montreal

October

Oct 4: Il Lombardia