Geneva, 5 March 2010 – The European Broadcasting Union (EBU)* is delighted to have reached an agreement with Flanders Classics the new organiser of the Tour of Flanders, to be its broadcast partner.

This decision will allow the European audience to follow this prestigious classic cycling race for 3 more years (2010, 2011, 2012) through extensive free-to-air TV and Radio coverage.

Tour of Flanders, as one of the greatest classic cycling races in the calendar of the UCI Pro Tour, enhances the EBU offer of major cycling events**.

Wim Van Herreweghe, General Director of  the Tour of Flanders expressed his satisfaction on the agreement: "We are delighted  to have reached such a significant agreement with the EBU. The Tour of Flanders is a cycling masterpiece, and thanks to the free to air coverage offered by the EBU and its Members the great emotion and excitement of this race will be accessible to all "

Commenting on the agreement, Mrs Ingrid Deltenre, EBU Director General said “The Tour of Flanders” is a ‘must’ on the cycling calendar. We are happy that public broadcasters will deliver this race free to air across Europe for three more years. It is a unique and spectacular television event”.

*The EBU serves 125 national media organizations from 56 countries in and around Europe. It represents its Members and promotes the values and distinctiveness of public service media in Europe and around the world. The Eurovision and Euroradio networks deliver news, sports, events and music to EBU Members and other media organizations. Services to Members range from legal advice, technical standardization and development to co-production and exchange of quality European content.

**In Calendar’s order: Paris-Nice, Criterium International, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Tour de France, Clasica San Sebastian, Vattenfall Cyclassics Hamburg, Tour de l'Avenir, Vuelta a España , UCI World Championships, Paris-Tours.

More on: www.ebu.ch