Tour of Hangzhou canceled for second straight year

GENEVA - The Tour of Hangzhou has been canceled for the second straight year, according to the International Cycling Union (UCI) on Thursday.

The race had been scheduled for October 9-13 in the capital city of China's Zhejiang province before the season-ending Tour of Beijing the following week.

The UCI-promoted event got a four-year license last year, aiming to globalize the sport, but the Hangzhou race has never taken place.

The world cycling ruling body said the city failed to meet the basic conditions for organizing a race at UCI World Tour level.

According to the UCI, the Tour of Beijing will now be raced on October 11-15 after the Tour of Hangzhou was dropped off the World Tour schedule, on which are 28 events, including the Tour de France.