The 2021 HC calendar can now be revealed. There are 7 bands in total, all with 10 RDs or 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
Australia
2
Vuelta al Pais Vasco
Spain
6
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Belgium
2
Band 1 includes three races that should be familiar to many teams. It includes the traditional season opener for the PCT calendar with the flat Down Under Classic, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for the classic specialists and Vuelta al Pais Vasco with the known profile of hills with a good amount of time trialling kilometers.
Band 2
Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt
Austria
7
E3 Prijs
Belgium
2
Giro dell'Emelia
Italy
2
The International Österreich Rundfahrt stays in the HC category for another year with an unchanged profile of tough early summit finishes in Tirol and a late time trial to decide the GC. It shares a band with two classics that have been on the schedule for over a decade: The hilly Giro dell'Emilia and the cobbled E3 Prijs which was in the PTHC category last season.
Band 3
Arab Tour
UAE
5
Tour of Britain
Great Britain
5
Band 3 consists of two stage races with important time trials. The Arab Tour has two of them that will likely decide the race winner while the Tour of Britain has a revamped route that gives both puncheurs and time triallists chances to impress.
Band 4
Tour Down Under
Australia
6
Tour of Lithuania
Lithuania
4
Band 4 consists of two hilly stage races. The iconic showdown between puncheurs and sprinters on the Old Willunga Hill gets promoted to HC. And the Tour of Lithuania that totally takes place in Lithuania stays in HC for another season.
Band 5
Tour de Vineyards
New Zealand
7
Strade Bianche
Italy
2
Veenendaal - Veenendaal
Netherlands
2
Band 5 includes three very different races: A week long stage race with a mountain summit and a time trial in New Zealand, a flat classic for the sprinter and the famous gravel roads of the Tuscany.
Band 6
Tour de Pologne
Pologne
7
Tour of Ukraine
Ukraine
3
Band 6 takes place in Eastern Europe and features two stage races. The Tour of Ukraine is TT-heavy and features a hill top finish in between two stages against the clock while the Tour of Ukraine will likely go to one of the top puncheurs in the division.
Band 7
Barbados Cycling Festival
Barbados
4
Benelux Challenge
NL/BE/LUX
6
Band 7 includes two races that were dominated by sprinters last season: The Barbados Cycling Festival is expected to be a battleground for the PCT sprinters again while the classic specialists will hope for revenge in the Benelux Challenge.
Btw, Pais Vasco has a TTT as first stage (was initially wrong; you have to empty the cache if it still displays the ITT icon). Vineyards is the other TTT on the HC calendar.
We'll inevitably have to ride some cobbled and TT races, so at least we know what is needed during transfers
Down Under Classic
Vuelta al Pais Vasco
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt
Giro dell'Emelia
Arab Tour
Tour of Britain
Tour of Lithuania
Tour de Vineyards
Veenendaal - Veenendaal
Tour de Pologne
Tour of Ukraine
Benelux Challenge
