The 2019 HC calendar can now be revealed. 7 bands, all with 10 to 11 RDs.
PCT teams will select 6 HC bands each with the remaining spots in each race open to CT teams to try their luck against the best their upstairs neighbours have to offer. Each band has a variety of locales and terrains.
Details on how and when to pick these bands (or enter these races for CT teams) will come at a later date.
Band 1
Down Under Classic
2
Lisbon Classic
2
Tour of Slovenie
5
GP Lugano
2
One of two bands with four races, we have three quite different classics as well as an intriguing stage race in Slovenia. Three of these races are new to HC, with the flat, but undulating in parts, Lisbon Classic coming down from PTHC, the Tour of Slovenie (with hills and time trials) making the step up from C2HC and the hilly GP Lugano as a new race entirely - though of course based on the historic GP Lugano with over 60 editions. The only returning HC race is the traditional PCT season opener, the short and flat Down Under Classic which can go to late attackers or the bunch sprint!
Band 2
Tour of California
7
Tour of Ukraine
3
In contrast just two races in Band 2, a pair of "hybrid" stage races. The always-entertaining Tour of California steps down from the PTHC level with a new route to mark the occasion and provides a platform for the all-around stage races to prove their credentials, with two tough hilly stages, a mountain top finish and two shorter time trials meaning it's a versatile rider who will take the win here, and maybe just the one who doesn't get tripped up rather than the one who wins the mountain stage as usual. It's partnered in this band by the Tour of Ukraine, which features an uphill prologue, a hilltop finish and a long time trial, and is one for the unique "hilly stage racers" who can limit losses on Stage 2 and beat the puncheurs well on Stage 3! Two very cool stage races and possibly a highly sought-after band!
Band 3
Cheshire Cycling Tour
5
Post Danmark Rundt
5
Another band with just two stage races, both returning HC races and in fact a returning HC band, Band 3 for the second year running, one of three that stayed unchanged. The Cheshire Cycling Tour is still a new stage race in the world of cycling, which had an entertaining debut last year and has been asked to stick around! Hard cobbled stages bookend the race with three sprint stages in between which give the sprinters with good cobbled skills opportunity to gain some bonus seconds for the GC. Meanwhile the Post Danmark Rundt is a flat-ish stage race with a long time trial to decide the GC - though the winner will have to survive some quite hard undulations on Stage 3 and the potential for crosswinds on other days! A band for the sprinters and the powerhouses for sure!
Band 4
Berlin ProRace
2
Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne
2
Kenya Mountain Classic
2
Tour of Beijing
4
Another band with 4 races, this one in just 10 race days. A very balanced band with a flat classic, a cobbled one, a mountainous one and a hilly stage race! Nearly the same as last year, just with a new cobbled attraction! Berlin ProRace with a new route, taking out the uphill finish and slightly undulating route of the last few years for a circuit in and around the city. Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne as a traditional Flanders classic but looking perhaps harder than usual, a properly tough classic here! Kenya same as normal with two very long climbs, and finally the Tour of Beijing remains unchanged with three stages for the puncheurs and one flat day.
Band 5
GP Kigali
2
Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt
7
Veenendaal - Veenendaal
2
An unchanged band from last year and another diverse one, beginning with the GP Kigali, a very tough cobbled classic in the Rwandan capital, with the normal circuit taking in quite a tough cobbled hill which is also the finish! The Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt unchanged with the awful opening two days with two summit finishes including the feared Kitzbuheler Horn. Two more short uphill finishes later in the week before the finishing time trial. Finally Veenendaal - Veenendaal as a flat classic but also one of the hilliest possible races in the Netherlands!
Band 6
Clasica San Sebastian
2
Japan Cup
2
Vuelta a Colombia
6
Another unchanged band, one for the climbers and puncheurs for sure and so teams will probably know what they think of this without thinking! A prestigious band too, with all races having over 10 editions in the MGUCI era. The Clasica San Sebastian on tough Basque roads, well you know what you're getting! Japan Cup, though, with a new look after moving to the city of Tsukuba with just one climb per lap but this one is longer and a descent to the finish. Interesting to see if it's a bit more mountainous! And the Vuelta a Colombia also changed with now less multi-mountain stages but those summit finishes still make it the hardest race on the HC calendar!
Band 7
SAA Tour d'Afrique
4
Giro dell'Emelia
2
Tour of the Middle East
4
Fundamentally the same this one but the four-day flat stage race slot has had a switch, with the SAA Tour d'Afrique coming down from PTHC with its Barbadian equivalent going the other way. It's fairly self-explanatory, four flat stages! Giro dell-Emelia keeps its traditional route centered on the San Luca climb in Bologna. Tour of the Middle East still with the four-stage affair instead of the old eleven days, but still very hard with a long summit finish as well as the tough hilly stage - changed from last year to suit the puncheurs more, but still very tough! Something for the sprinters, puncheurs and climbers here!
