The 2023 UCI Women's World Tour was a competition that included twenty-seven road cycling events throughout the 2023 women's cycling season. It was the eighth edition of the UCI Women's World Tour, the ranking system launched by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 2016. The competition began with the Women's Tour Down Under from 15 to 17 January, and finished with the Tour of Guangxi on 17 October.
Dutch rider Demi Vollering (SD Worx) won the individual classification with 4891.86 points, leading the classification for the majority of the season. She had seven overall victories, including winning all three Ardennes classics, as well as the second edition of Tour de France Femmes.
Second place went to Belgian rider Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), with 2735 points, over 2000 points behind Vollering. She won three events including the Tour of Flanders. Third place was taken by Swiss rider Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) with 2512.86 points, after winning three events. Sixteen different riders won races, with five riders holding the individual classification lead during the season.
As in previous years, the teams classification was won by SD Worx – their seventh win in eight seasons, with the top three places in the overall classification all being SD Worx riders. For the second year running, the youth classification was won by Dutch rider Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl–Trek), who finished 11th in the individual classification.
Events
The race calendar for the 2023 season was announced in June 2022, with thirty races initially scheduled, up from twenty-three that were held in 2022. The calendar featured several new races including the Women's Tour Down Under, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and La Vuelta Femenina. Races outside Europe returned for the first time since 2020, with two races in Australia, two races in China and one race in the United Arab Emirates.
+ 2023 UCI Women's World Tour Race Date First Second Third Leader Women's Tour Down Under 15–17 January Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 28 January UAE Tour 9–12 February Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 25 February Strade Bianche Donne 4 March Ronde van Drenthe 11 March Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio 19 March Classic Brugge–De Panne 23 March Gent–Wevelgem 26 March Tour of Flanders 2 April Paris–Roubaix Femmes 8 April Amstel Gold Race 16 April La Flèche Wallonne Femmes 19 April Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes 23 April La Vuelta Femenina 1–7 May Itzulia Women 12–14 May Vuelta a Burgos Feminas 18–21 May RideLondon Classique 26–28 May Tour de Suisse Women 17–20 June Giro Donne 30 June – 9 July Tour de France Femmes 23–30 July / Tour of Scandinavia 23–27 August Classic Lorient Agglomération 2 September Simac Ladies Tour 5–10 September Tour de Romandie Féminin 15–17 September Tour of Chongming Island 12–14 October Tour of Guangxi 17 October
Race cancellations In January, the Vårgårda Cykelklubb ceased the organisation of the Vårgårda West Sweden races due to economic reasons, reducing the calendar to twenty-eight races. In March, SweetSpot announced that the 2023 edition of The Women's Tour had been cancelled due to financial reasons (20% higher costs than 2022, and loss of key sponsors). This reduced the calendar to twenty-seven races.
Changes for 2023 The number of riders allowed per team was changed – stage races longer than five stages had seven riders and two team support vehicles. For shorter events, organisers were able to decide whether to have six or seven riders per team.
The minimum salary per rider was increased, with an additional category for new professional ("neo-pro") riders.
2023 UCI Women's WorldTeams The fifteen Women's WorldTeams were automatically invited to compete in events, with the two best 2022 UCI Women's Continental Teams ( and ) also invited automatically. Other Continental women's teams were invited by the organisers of each race.
References