Women's WorldTour – The definitive guide for 2023

Overview

Women's professional cycling showcased four new events on the 2023 Women's WorldTour with the newly-launched UAE Tour, and the promotion of the Tour Down Under, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Tour de Suisse to the top-tier series.

The 2023 Women's WorldTour includes 30 events that kicked off with the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race as part of a packed season of Australian summer racing that began the New Year.

The series then headed to the Middle East for the newest addition to the calendar at the UAE Tour, a four-day stage race held in February alongside the men’s race which has been held since 2019.

Newly upgraded Omloop Het Nieuwsblad ignited the 'opening weekend' of the Spring Classics, including the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix Femmes, before they culminated at the Ardennes Classics in April.

The stage racing season began in May with three back-to-back top-tier events that included the revamped seven-day La Vuelta Femenina - moved from its traditional September spot on the calendar - along with Itzulia Women, Vuelta a Burgos Feminas. The series then headed to the UK for RideLondon Classique - The Women's Tour however was cancelled – and then it was onto Switzerland for the Tour de Suisse.

Summer stage racing then moved into full swing in July with the back-to-back Grand Tours - Giro d'Italia Donne and Tour de France Femmes - the two biggest races of the year, all before the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow.

A combination of one-day and stage races close out the season at the Tour of Scandinavia in August, GP de Plouay, Simac Ladies Tour and Tour de Romandie in September, and the return of Tour of Chongming Island and Tour of Guangxi in October.

Cyclingnews will update the most recent Women's WorldTour standings weekly in the table below. Also, follow along with the latest WorldTour rankings and the Women's WorldTour relegation battle guide.

Check in after the Women's WorldTour races for our full reports, results, galleries, news, features and analysis. Please also consider subscribing to help support our women's content.

Standings

Women's WorldTour 2023 - Standings

History

Women's WorldTour - History

The Women's WorldTour series replaced the former one-day World Cup in 2016 and has grown to include 30 races – with a mix of one-day and stage races – to offer the women’s peloton and cycling fans ten months of professional bike racing. 

It all began at the Tour Down Under in January and concludes at the Tour of Guangxi in October, where the best overall individual rider, young rider and team winners in the series will be crowned.

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) won the series title three times – 2018, 2021 and 2022 – and was once again be a main contender for the hilly one-day races and stage races. In her final season before retiring and as the reigning World Champion, Van Vleuten aimed to win both overall titles at the Giro d'Italia Donne and Tour de France Femmes and while she secured the Italian race, it was Demi Vollering (SD Worx) who triumphed in France.

In 2022, Van Vleuten secured the overall series title with a total of 3,589 points. She finished the season ahead of runner-up Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo), who had 2,710 points, and third-placed Demi Vollering (SD Worx) with 2,681 points.

Previous winners of the individual elite women's ranking include Lizzie Deignan in 2020, Marianne Vos in 2019, Anna van der Breggen in 2017 and inaugural champion Megan Guarnier in 2016.

Many familiar faces have left their marks as winners of the best young rider classification, including Shirin van Anrooij in 2022, Niamh Fisher-Black in 2021, Liane Lippert in 2020, Lorena Wiebes in 2019, Sofia Bertizzolo in 2018, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig in 2017 and Kasia Niewiadoma in 2016, and all have gone on to become main contenders in the elite women's ranks.

The team's classification has been dominated by one team, SD Worx (formerly Boels Dolmans), which won the series six times in the last seven seasons from 2016-2019 and again in 2021 and 2022. 

Trek-Segafredo is the only team to have broken their winning streak, taking victory in 2020.

Calendar

Women's WorldTour - Calendar

Teams

Women's WorldTour - Teams

• Canyon-SRAM Racing
• EF Education-TIBCO-SVB
• FDJ-SUEZ
• Fenix-Deceuninck
• Human Powered Health
• Israel Premier Tech Roland
• Liv Racing Teqfind
• Movistar Team Women
• Team DSM
• Team Jayco AlUla Women
• Team Jumbo-Visma Women
• SD Worx
• Trek-Segafredo
• UAE Team ADQ
• Uno-X Pro Cycling

As of January 1, 2023, there are 15 Women's WorldTeams automatically invited to compete in the series events.

The UCI introduced minimum salaries for Women's WorldTeams in 2020, and those increased to €32,102 (employed) / €52,647 (self-employed) in 2023. The salary structure now includes a neo-pro minimum salary of €26,849 (employed) / €44,032 (self-employed).

In addition, the highest-ranked three Continental women's teams on the UCI World Ranking receive automatic invitations, while the remaining Continental women's teams are invited at the discretion of the organisers. A maximum of 24 teams are permitted to start each event on the Women's WorldTour.

The number of riders starting per team at certain stages races has changed. One of the new rules stipulates that for stage races of five stages and less of the UCI Women’s WorldTour, the organiser can set the number of starting riders per team to 6 or 7.  

However, for stage races of six stages and more of the UCI Women’s WorldTour, such as the Giro d'Italia Donne, Tour de France Femmes, La Vuelta Femenina, Tour of Scandinavia, Simac Ladies Tour, and Women's Tour, teams will start with seven riders and two team support vehicles.

Points

Women's WorldTour - Points

Points are awarded for the final classification of each event according to the following scale to the top 40 placed riders. The rider with the most points in the individual classification wears the series leader's jersey.

For team time trial events and stages, the points on the scale are awarded to the team. These points are then divided equally between the riders finishing the event or the stage. Stages and half-stages offer a maximum of 50 and a minimum of six points to the top 10 placed riders. Points awarded for stages are recorded on the last day of the event. 

A rider who wears a race leader's jersey on each stage is awarded eight points.

On the final classification, the event's top 3 best young riders (under-23) are awarded 6, 4, and 2 points. 

The team classifications include both Women’s WorldTeams and Women’s Continental teams. The team classification is calculated by adding the individual classification points scored by all the riders of the team in the UCI Women’s WorldTour individual ranking.

More information regarding the points structure of the Women's WorldTour can be found below.

Races

Women's WorldTour - Guide to the races

Santos Women's Tour Down Under - January 15-17, Australia

The Women's Tour Down Under, which was cancelled in 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic - was the season opener in January and has been elevated to the top tier of races for the first time since it began in 2016. The three-day race was held in and around Adelaide.

Cadel Evans Road Race - January 28, Australia

The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race returned after two years of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Saturday, January 28, forming a part of the Women’s WorldTour since 2020. 

UAE Tour Women - February 9-12, United Arab Emirates

A brand new race launched in 2023, the women's peloton headed to the Middle East for the four-day race, which offered three sprint opportunities and a summit finish on stage 3 atop Jebel Hafeet.

Spring Classics

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - February 25, Belgium

The long-running Classics curtain-raiser Omloop het Nieuwsblad joined the WorldTour for its 18th edition as part of 'opening weekend'. Flanders Classics currently oversees six of the most popular Spring Classics, beginning with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen, Tour of Flanders, Scheldeprijs and Brabantse Pijl. 

Strade Bianche Women - March 4, Italy

After the Spring Classics opener at Omloop het Nieuwsblad, the Women’s WorldTour  resumed at Strade Bianche in Siena, Italy. The race took riders onto the white gravel roads routed throughout the scenic Tuscany region and finishing at the Piazza del Campo in Siena. 

Ronde van Drenthe Women - March 11, Netherlands

The sprinter-friendly route between Assen and Hoogeveen is made up of a series of loops over cobbled sectors and four trips up the VAM Berg, with 50km to the finish line. Riders who have historically done well in this race are powerful one-day specialists on flatter terrain.

Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio - March 19, Italy

The series headed back to Italy for the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio. The women's field traditionally races through the hills surrounding Cittiglio before finishing on 17.8-kilometre circuits around the city. Each lap includes a climb through Orino, but the wide-open roads to the finish line often cater to a reduced group sprint.

Classic Brugge-De Panne Women - March 23, Belgium

This is a race traditionally well suited to sprinters. The route begins in Brugge and passes through Leeuw, Koekelare and Schoorbakke, and then the contest moves on to two finishing circuits in De Panne.

Gent-Wevelgem Women - March 26, Belgium

The second of six Flanders Classics events after Omloop het Nieuwsblad, Gent-Wevelgem is one of the flatter one-day races and typically sees a clash of the sprinters. The start of the race was moved from Ypres' Grote Markt to the Menin Gate and included several main climbs, such as the Beneberg, Kemmelberg and Monteberg en route to the finish in Wevelgem.

Tour of Flanders Women - April 2, Belgium

The Tour of Flanders, one of the most prestigious of the Spring Classics, begins and ends in Oudenaarde. It covered a combination of cobbled sectors and steep climbs, including the more decisive climbs near the end of the race – Kruisberg/Hotond, Oude Kwaremont, and the Paterberg – before the finish line in Oudenaarde.

Paris-Roubaix Femmes - April 8, France

The inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes in 2021 was a day written into the history books for both women's cycling and for the first winner of the Paris-Roubaix Femmes - Lizzie Deignan.  Her teammate Elisa Longo Borghini followed up with another win for Trek-Segafredo in the 2022 edition. The 116km route from Denain to the Roubaix Velodrome includes 17 sectors of cobbled roads, with two of the pavé sectors rated at the maximum difficulty level – Mons-en-Pévèle and the Carrefour de l'Arbre.

Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition - April 16, Netherlands

The first of the three Ardennes Classics. The race started and finished in Maastricht, and includes a hilly parcour that finished on three 17.8-kilometre circuits that feature the Geulhemmerberg, Bemelerberg and Cauberg. From the top of the Cauberg, there is roughly 1.7km to the finish line.

La Flèche Wallonne Femmes - April 19, Belgium

La Flèche Wallonne is the oldest and the second of the three one-day races that form the women's Ardennes Classics. The series has only been in place for women since 2017, when Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition made its return after a 14-year hiatus, followed by the long-running La Flèche Wallonne and the debut of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The one-day women's race is famed for its finale on the Mur de Huy, which the women's peloton climb three times. Now-retired Anna van der Breggen won a record seven consecutive titles at La Flèche Wallonne.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes - April 23, Belgium

Liège-Bastogne-Liège concluded the Ardennes Classics week before riders turn their attention to the stage racing season. The race started in Bastogne and, for the first time last year, ascended the Côte de Mont-le-Soie, before tackling the Côte de Wanne and Côte de la Haute-Levée. The final climbs, Côte de La Redoute and Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, were tackled before the finish in Liège.

Stage Races

La Vuelta Femenina -  May 1-7, Spain

In a major shake-up for the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, organisers have changed its name to La Vuelta Feminina, expanded to seven stages, and moved to May in 2023. The event started as a one-day race in Madrid in 2015 and expanded to two stages in 2018, and a third stage was added in 2020. The race was further expanded in 2021 to four stages, and in 2022 to five stages.

Itzulia Women - May 12-14, Spain

In its second edition of the Women's WorldTour, hosted by the same organiers of the one-day race in Clásica San Sebastián, the race offered three challenging stages through the mountainous Spanish Basque Country. It is organised by OCETA, which also runs the long-standing six-day Itzulia Basque Country men's stage race.

Vuelta a Burgos Feminas - May 18-21, Spain

Vuelta a Burgos Feminas was upgraded to the Women's WorldTour in 2021 and now concludes the triple top-tier stage races offered in May with four hilly stages.

The three top-tier stage races held in conjunction with a magnificent series of one-day races in the country that include Emakumeen Nafarroako Women's Elite Classics, Navarra Women's Elite Classics, Gran Premio Ciudad de Eibar, Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria, and more.

RideLondon Classique - May 26-28, Great Britain

RideLondon Classique has transformed from its origins as a one-day event into a three-day race. It was part of the 2023 Women’s WorldTour, despite being temporarily stripped of this status when event organisers failed to provide adequate live TV coverage of the race in 2022. RideLondon has been held as a one-day race and was added to the inaugural Women’s WorldTour calendar in 2016, but was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021. The RideLondon Classique became a three-day event in 2022 and continued with this format in 2023.

Women’s Tour - June 5-10, Great Britain  (Cancelled in 2023)

Organisers, SweetSpot, brought parity to the event’s prize fund with the men's Tour of Britain, which was set at €97,880 across six days of racing in 2019. They also announced a five-year plan to offer live coverage of the women’s race, which is required to be part of the top-tier series. However, due to challenges surrounding the pandemic, they were forced to reduce the prize fund. Organisers aim to return to prize money parity. The 2023 edition was to offer the field a six-day race but was cancelled due to a financial shortfall.

Giro d’Italia Donne - June 30 - July 9, Italy

The Giro d'Italia Donne returned to the Women's WorldTour in 2022 after being downgraded in 2021 for not offering live broadcasting of the race in 2020. It is the only race available that offers 10 days of racing and iconic mountain passes such as the Stelvio, Zoncolan, Gavia, and Mortirolo. The race celebrated its 34th anniversary in 2023.

Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift - July 23-30, France

The rebirth of the Tour de France avec Zwift marked a history-making moment in the sport during the 2022 season. Once again hosting the best riders in the world, in 2023, the race was held across eight stages, with the Grand Départ set in the Massif Central in the city of Clermont-Ferrand, the capital of the Auvergne region. The 956km route took the peloton south and into the Pyrénées, ending with a mountaintop finish on the iconic Col du Tourmalet on stage 7 and a stage 8 individual time trial in Pau.

Late-season rounds

Postnord Vårgårda WestSweden TTT and Road Race - August 19-20, Sweden (Cancelled in 2023)

The city of Vårgårda was to once again host two back-to-back one-day races on the Women’s WorldTour; a team time trial on August 19 and a road race on August 20. The time trial was one of the last of its kind on the top-tier calendar but still attracted all the best teams, while the road race was suited to the punchy sprinters. The event was cancelled again in 2023.

Tour of Scandinavia - August 22-27, Norway, Denmark, Sweden

Organisers of the former Ladies Tour of Norway revealed their plans to move ahead with the long-awaited 'Battle of the North' in 2022. The six-day race event took place across Denmark, Norway and Sweden with a name change to the Tour of Scandinavia. The event was supported by the organisers of the Ladies Tour of Norway along with the Danish Federation. 

Classic Lorient Agglomération - Trophée Ceratizit - September 2, France

The beginning of the wind-down to the season, Classic Lorient Agglomération - Trophée CERATIZIT - better known as the GP de Plouay - is held on September 2. Organisers introduced a new parcour for the 2022 edition with a 159.5km route that included an opening 127km loop. The race then finished on 2.5 laps of an 11.7km local circuit around Plouay.  The laps included three times the climb of Le Lezot (900m at 5.5%, 14% section) and two times la bosse de Rostervel (1,500m at 4.5%, 10% section). 

Simac Ladies Tour - September 5-10, Netherlands

It is the biggest stage race in the Netherlands, joining the Women’s WorldTour in 2017, and it is heading into its 23rd edition. Organisers annually welcome the top women’s teams to compete in six days of late-season racing. Former winners include Leontien van Moorsel, Petra Rosner, Kristin Armstrong, and Annemiek van Vleuten, Lorena Wiebes, to name a few, while Marianne Vos has won the overall title four times.

Tour de Romandie - September 15-17, Switzerland

Now in its second edition, the women's version of the Tour de Romandie, returns to the Swiss mountains in 2023. The Tour de Romandie is a long-standing event held in the men's WorldTour that is set for its 76th edition in 2023. The women's three-day event will mark the last race of the top-tier series in Europe before the peloton head to China for the return of the Tour of Chongming Island and Tour of Guangxi.

Tour of Chongming Island - October 12-14, China 

The Tour of Chongming Island has returned after a three-year hiatus. The race has traditionally been well-suited to sprinters because it includes three flat stages. Although the race was normally held in May, it has moved to an October date and is the last stage race of the season.

Tour of Guangxi - October 17, China

The Tour of Guangxi, also cancelled in 2020, 2021 and 2022, marks the conclusion of the 2023 Women's WorldTour. In the last edition held in 2019, the women raced 146 kilometres with a start and finish in Guilin. The route was mainly flat, and it catered to the sprinters.

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