World Cup opener in Portugal postponed

Due to the current epidemic of the novel coronavirus, which has also affected Portugal in recent days, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has announced that the opening round of the 2020 Mercedes-Benz UCI Downhill World Cup, which was due to take place on March 21 and 22 at Louzanpark in Lousã, Portugal, will not take place on the scheduled dates.

The UCI stands behind the decision of the local authorities of Lousã and the Montanha Clube to postpone the event based on the instructions of the Portuguese health authorities. Given the current situation, holding the event could have posed a potential health risk for the riders, for all those involved in the event and for the fans, and could have contributed to the spread of Covid-19.

The new date of the World Cup event will only be announced after consultation with the organizing committee, the health authorities of the country, taking into account the World Cup calendar. Furthermore, this decision also depends on the development of the spread of the corona virus worldwide and in Portugal.
www.uci.org

Rounds one and two of the EWS not until late fall

The Enduro World Series (EWS) announces that the first two races in Colombia and Chile will be postponed to contain the global spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus)

The first round, which was due to take place at the end of the month in Manizales, Colombia, has been postponed to the weekend of November 7-8, 2020. The second round, which was scheduled to take place on April 4-5 in Farellones, Chile, will now be held on November 14-15, 2020.

There are currently very few confirmed cases of the coronavirus in South America, but with riders from all over the world riding to the events, it has been decided to postpone the races to later in the year in the interests of everyone's safety.

Chris Ball, Managing Director of the Enduro World Series, says: "To best protect all staff, riders and fans and to act as responsibly as possible in the current world situation, we have taken the decision to postpone our first two rounds. We hope that the early decision to change the dates will help to take the stress out of a situation that is causing us all great difficulties. We look forward to starting our season in May and thank all our partners and staff for their support during these difficult times."
www.enduroworldseries.com

Not a classic in South Tyrol

The Sunshine Racers Nals and the Internazionali d'Italia Series have also had to postpone their classic event, the Marlene Südtirol Sunshine Race, which was scheduled for April 3-5 in Nalles (Italy), after the Italian government took extraordinary measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak of the coronavirus.

"Even in the state of discomfort and uncertainty caused by this situation, we had hoped to hold the event as planned, as our 20th edition was scheduled exactly at the end of the period of interruption of sporting events," explains Florian Pallweber, President of Sunshine Racers Nals. "Unfortunately, such an option has been ruled out by the extension of the more restrictive measures to the entire Italian territory, as the new regulations do not allow us to make the necessary preparations for an international event. At this time, public health and safety must come before all other considerations.

The organizing committee, with the support of the Serie Internazionali d'Italia, has already asked the Italian Cycling Federation to postpone the race to a later date.
www.vitesseonline.it

Are postponements even possible?

No, it's not just about a few races. New press releases from race organizers trying to postpone their events land in our inboxes almost every day. However, as the race calendars are always full, it is hardly realistic that the UCI and the national federations will be able to comply with all these requests. For better or worse, many racing events will have to be postponed so that only the races at World Cup level can take place at a later date.