A much-anticipated Russian stage race will be part of a revamped ProTour calendar for 2009 as the UCI pushes forward with its sometimes beleaguered racing league.

Officials confirmed Wednesday that a five-day race in Russia’s Sochi region will be held May 20-24 as part of the 2009 ProTour calendar.

Sochi, which straddles Russia’s portion of the Black Sea, has been selected to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in the nearby Caucasus Mountains.

In other changes for next season, the Tour of Poland will be moved forward from its slot in September into early August, with the GP Ploauy moving to Aug. 23.

Members from the UCI ProTour Council met in Denmark on Monday to discuss the changes.

A press release Wednesday said the calendar changes are being made in part because “the Tour de France is no longer on the calendar of the International Cycling Union (UCI).”

“Over the coming years, the UCI ProTour calendar will be structured so as to support the universal development of cycling while offering the best possible conditions for the traditional events that have a UCI ProTour licence, and for the teams (particularly in terms of granting better visibility for their sponsors),” the statement read.

Officials also discussed moving the world road cycling championships forward by about one month, from the end of September to the end of August by the 2012 season. An announcement could come in September in conjunction with the Varese world championships.

The world championships were moved into an autumn slot in the calendar as part of a major reshuffling of the racing calendar in 1995 that saw the Vuelta a España move from April to September.

Officials also postponed a planned ProTour finale this season and said “negotiations are in progress with a number of candidates for 2009.”

Finally, the CUPT changed the nationality rule for UCI-registered ProTeams. The aim of the change is to give teams the flexibility they need while ensuring that riders enjoy working conditions that meet the criteria laid down by the UCI, and guaranteeing consistency in terms of nationality within the teams, the report said.