UCI Scrambling to Find a New Venue for 2020 Road World Champs
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced that the 2020 Road World Championships won’t be held in Switzerland because of the coronavirus.
The country has restricted group gatherings to fewer than 1,000 people through the end of September.
The UCI plans to announce a new location by September 1.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced on Wednesday that this year’s Road World Championships, scheduled for September 20 to 27, can no longer be held in Aigle-Martigny, Switzerland, due to the country’s coronavirus restrictions.
The Swiss Federal Council affirmed a ban on events attracting greater than 1,000 people, leaving the UCI little choice but to move the race. The number of cyclists alone who are expected to compete is around 1,200.
The UCI said it’s working on finding an alternate host city in Europe for the championships while trying to stick to the original dates. It’s unclear if this year’s race will be able to include all 11 competitions or only select ones.
The towns of Aigle and Martigny, Switzerland, had originally been selected for the event in part thanks to a tough local climb, the Col de La Petite Forclaz, featured on the road race circuit. Aigle, Switzerland is also the home of the UCI’s headquarters and it’s World Cycling Center.
This would have been the twelfth time the championships had been held in Switzerland; they were last held there in 2009.
“The UCI will look for a host city that would be able to provide a route as challenging as that in Aigle-Martigny and which would therefore suit the same type of riders who had initially planned to participate in Switzerland,” the UCI’s press release stated.
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The UCI said it will announce a new location no later than September 1.
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