Among the additions are two Spring Classic races including the oldest in cycling’s history - the Liege-Bastogne-Liege - which was established in 1892 and is known as La Doyenne.

The other new Spring Classic will be the Amstel Gold Race held in The Netherlands, while at the other end of the programme there is the addition of the Ladies Tour of Norway and The Netherlands’ Boels Rental Ladies Tour.

"We will be ecstatic to add these races to our WorldTour," UCI vice-president Tracey Gaudry told insidethegames from Doha, where she was preparing to watch the women’s road race at the UCI World Road Championships today.

"The Men’s Tour organisers said they want to demonstrate their support for women’s cycling, and the fact that women will now be racing in these Spring Classics is a wonderful development.

 "The tour has been expanded from 35 racing days to 47 and the demand from events to become part of the WorldTour was so high that we couldn’t possibly have included them all next year.

"In just two years we have created a comprehensive calendar of true Classics, and it is clear that sponsors are recognising that they get a return on their investment in teams taking part.

"It’s the best racing you could wish for, from March all the way through to September."

The creation of the WorldTour this year tripled the number of competition days involved in the 2015 World Cup programme, with more than half of this season’s races being broadcast live on TV.

But Gaudry, who competed in the road race for Australia at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and is also President of the UCI Women’s Commission, added that some caution was required in order to maintain the running of what is turning into a hugely popular new series.

"We need to be very careful how we grow the momentum," she said.

"More is not necessarily better.

"We are now looking at building a team structure in 2018, a tiered system that will support them within the WorldTour."

UCI President Brian Cookson, who has been a champion of women’s racing, added: "We are thrilled to reveal details of the newly expanded UCI Women’s WorldTour and look forward to the start of racing in Italy next March.

"The extended calendar reflects the significant progress being made to boost the profile and professionalism of women’s cycling and establish its status within mainstream sport.

"We will continue to move forward and look at ways we can further increase the exposure of women’s cycling in line with the UCI’s strategy for developing the sport."

The new Women's WorldTour season will begin with the Strade Bianche in Italy on March 4, before the Amstel Gold Race becomes the first new edition on April 16.

The Liege-Bastogne-Liege will be held on April 23 with the Tour of Norway scheduled for between August 17 and 20.

Racing in the Boels Rental Ladies Tour will be between August 29 and September 3.