CYCLING Australia (CA) is "on the cusp" of signing off on dates for the summer calendar with announcements on the Tour Down Under, Herald Sun Tour and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road race expected within weeks. 
The delay in confirming dates for the sport's major events on Australian soil in   January and   February is believed to have been linked to the ongoing dispute between the ASO - owners of the Tour de France - and UCI which runs the WorldTour calendar.
The feud has been simmering since last year when the ASO threatened to pull all of its events from cycling's top level in 2017 and run a breakaway calendar.
CA must endorse the nominated dates for the events but chief executive Nick Green said official announcements would be made by the organisers. Logic suggests next year's TDU will be held from   January 15-22 or 22-29.
The later dates are more likely if the event is to fall in line with the Bay Criterium Series and national road championships maintaining their traditional timeslots.
"As a WorldTour event they (TDU) have automatic selection unless they choose to move their date away from its usual (spot on the calendar) and so assuming everything is line, the sanctioning process is relatively straightforward," Green said. "The Cadel Evans event, Herald Sun Tour and respective women's events - every year we have to go through a process of applying for UCI calendar registration.
"While the TDU is ommited from that, the other four events we would like to have UCI sanctioning will now go through the process.
"We would like to move really quickly, we're on the cusp of making a decision, but in respect of those big events they also are owned and funded by government and should have the onus of making their own announcements."The only change to this year's calendar is likely to see the national track championships pushed back a week - in line with a later start to the track world championships - and so it does not clash with the Herald Sun Tour as was the case this year.