After months of deliberation, the RTGUCI held a press conference earlier today, on the eve of the Vuelta a Espana, to announce the revamped calendar for the 2019 season. The new calendar will see a reduction in both the number of races as well as race-days. The other major change is the reduction in the number of non-GT climbing race-days and an increase in the number of cobbled race-days.

Four new races are planned for next with a climber's trip to Colombia lined in January. The others favour the cobbled specialists, with two new classics in Belgium and the Great Britain and a cobbled stage race in France. Five races drop out including three climber's races - San Juan, Catalunya and Romandie, the hilly classic in Bogota and Sprint/TT outing of Baltic Chain.

Discussions are also underway for further changes in 2020, but the RTGUCI seem to have dropped the plan of removing one GT every year from the calendar. Instead, the new proposed 'Tour of Western Europe', touted to be a combination of different kinds of stages over 10 days, will now be held in one or more of Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. It is rumoured that this race will get a slot either in March or in June. How the rest of calendar gets affected by this introduction remains to be seen.

In team news, CCC Sprandi Polkowice will be taking over BMC Racing Team in the off-season, and the latter will no longer be a part of the RTG peloton. Aqua Blue Sport have also decided to withdraw from professional cycling. The RTGUCI has confirmed that the peloton will consist of 22 official teams, which means that there is one spot still open for a sponsor to step in before the start of the 2019 season. Who that will be remains to be seen.