Fears For Historic French Races After Worldtour Expands

The loss of the Critérium International has sparked fears that smaller French races could be squeezed out of the calendar.

- Peter Cossins

First run as the Critérium National in 1932 and with a very illustrious roll of honour that featured Cadel Evans, Chris Froome, Jean-Christophe Péraud (twice) and Thibaut Pinot as its last five victors, the Critérium International probably wasn’t many people’s pick as the French race most likely to disappear from the racing calendar. Thanks to a two-day, three stage format that offered something to every type of rider, whether sprinter, climber or time triallist, the race had long been used by many of the very best in the peloton as a marker of spring form.

However, as ASO made clear in its surprise announcement of the event’s demise in mid-November, competition from other races meant that fewer big names and teams were bothering to make the trip to Corsica, its location since 2010. As the Mediterranean island was unwilling to continue as its primary backer and no other was waiting in the wings, ASO pulled the plug, the group’s director of cycling, Christian Prudhomme, highlighting its inability to attract a strong field when faced with competition from Ghent- Wevelgem, GP Harelbeke and Volta a Catalunya, all WorldTour events held around the same time.

With the WorldTour set to expand from 27 to 37 events in 2017, concerns about the future of races below this level had already been voiced in France. Cyrille Guimard, the legendary DS who oversaw seven Tour de France victories, and Emmanuel Hubert, the manager of British sprinter Dan McLay’s Fortuneo-Vital Concept team, have both condemned the UCI for broadening the WorldTour both in size and geographic scope.

Shaky ground