The announcement of the Women’s WorldTour schedule in recent year has often been heavy with changes as new races have been added, such as Paris-Roubaix in 2021, the Tour de France Femmes in 2022 and the UAE Tour in 2023. However, in 2024 it looks as if the UCI has hit the pause button on the expansion of the top tier calendar, with date reshuffles proving to be the biggest alterations in 2024.
“The calendars are largely similar to those for 2023, although the dates of several events have been slightly modified to facilitate participation in the road events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games next July and August,” said the UCI in a statement.
In 2024 the Tour de France Femmes will be separated from the men’s Grand Tour by more than three weeks, running on August 12 to 18 so it comes after the Paris Olympic Games, while the men’s Grand Tour will be shifted earlier, from June 29 to July 21, so it is over the week before the Olympics starts.
The Giro d’Italia Women will shift too, but perhaps not in the way many were hoping.
There has long been discussion of a date change for the well established Italian race to stop it clashing with the Tour de France and running too close to the Tour de France Femmes. Still in 2024 the ten-stage Italian Women’s WorldTour race will entrench the overlap with the men's event, crossing over with the French GrandTour when it is in full flight.
This year the race around Italy runs from Friday June 30 to Sunday July 9, starting one day before racing begins at the Tour de France and the gaze of the cycling world is turned to the race for the sought after yellow jersey. In 2024, however the shift to the later dates of July 7 to 14 will mean it falls right in the middle of the race for the yellow jersey.
As for additions, the Tour de Romandie Féminin will be extended from three days to four days, making 82 days of Women’s WorldTour racing for 2024. The Women’s Tour, which was cancelled in 2023, also has a spot in the calendar from June 4 to 9.
However, there is no sign of the talked of women’s editions of races like Milan-San Remo or Il Lombardia or a sought after step up for the long-running women’s race like the Thüringen Ladies Tour.
The 2024 Women’s WorldTour again begins in Australia from January 12-14 at the Tour Down Under, which was one of the additions to the top tier this season, and run through to the Tour of Guangxi in China which finishes on October 20. There are expected to be 28 events in eleven countries and on three continents.
2024 UCI Women's WorldTour Calendar
- January 12-14: Santos Tour Down Under (Australia)
- January 27: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race - Elite Women's Race (Australia)
- February 08-11: UAE Tour (United Arab Emirates)
- February 24: Omloop Nieuwsblad (Belgium)
- March 2: Strade Bianche (Italy)
- March 9: Miron Ronde van Drenthe (The Netherlands)
- March 17: Trofeo Alfredo Binda - Comune di Cittiglio (Italy)
- March 21: Classic Brugge-De Panne (Belgium)
- March 24: Gent-Wevelgem In Flanders Fields (Belgium)
- March 31: Ronde van Vlaanderen - Tour des Flandres (Belgium)
- April 6: Paris-Roubaix Femmes (France)
- April 14: Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition (The Netherlands)
- April 17: La Flèche Wallonne Féminine (Belgium)
- April 21: Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes (Belgium)
- April 29-May 5: Vuelta España Femenina by Carrefour.es (Spain)
- May 10-12: Itzulia Women (Spain)
- May 16-19: Vuelta a Burgos Feminas (Spain)
- May 24-26: Ford RideLondon Classique (Great Britain)
- June 4-9: Women's Tour (Great Britain)
- June 15-18: Tour de Suisse Women (Switzerland)
- July 7-14: Giro d'Italia Internazionale Femminile (Italy)
- August 12-18: Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (France)
- August 24: Classic Lorient Agglomération - Trophée CERATIZIT (France)
- August 27-September 1: Tour of Scandinavia (Norway)
- September 5-8: Tour de Romandie Féminin (Switzerland)
- October 8-13: Simac Ladies Tour (The Netherlands)
- October 15-17: Tour of Chongming Island (China)
- October 20: Tour of Guangxi (China)
