More races cancelled

Despite a revised race calendar from the UCI, more races are being cancelled outright.

2020 Tour of Britain

The latest to fall is the 2020 Tour of Britain, which will now be contested in September of 2021.

Following detailed consultations with British Cycling, regional stakeholders, sponsors and partners of the race, Tour of Britain decided to postpone (Cancel. It’s not really a ‘postponement’ if you were planning on having the race the following year anyhow – ed.) the forthcoming edition of the Tour of Britain (6-13 September).

The 2021 edition of the race is expected to use the same route that was planned for this year, featuring a first ever visit to Cornwall and an overall finish in the city of Aberdeen, will instead take place in the race’s September 2021 position.

By moving this year’s planned route to September 2021, the race’s venues and partners will be able to enjoy a full 12-month build up to the race and once conditions allow they look forward to engaging communities across all eight stages, from Penzance to Aberdeen.

The full route for the race, which had already announced as visiting Devon, Warrington and Cumbria during its eight stages, will be announced later in the year.

Leadville Race Series

Life Time, the nation’s premier healthy lifestyle brand which owns the Leadville Race Series, announced today all 2020 Leadville-based mountain bike and run events will be cancelled amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Leadville Race Series is near and dear to us at Life Time, as it is to our athletes and the family and friends that support them, but we have to do what’s ultimately best for the Leadville community and our participants.  Given the decision of the Lake County Commissioners, which we fully support, we will be cancelling the series for 2020, for the health and safety of all,” says Kimo Seymour, President, Life Time Athletic Events.  “Our team will look forward to bringing the events back in 2021 when we get to the new normal, but for now, we’re sure going to miss our athletes and sponsors.  Our sincere hope is that our friends and business partners in the community can survive the financial impact of this difficult decision.”

“Believe us when we say that we’re going to miss you, and we’re going to be thinking about all of you, big time,” says Ken Chlouber, founder, Leadville Race Series. “Our team is already starting to prepare to make 2021 something special. We’re so thankful to have the backing of Life Time, who we’ll be working closely with to find solutions to help the Leadville community this year. We can’t wait to see you on the starting line soon.”

Events impacted were:

• Leadville Trail Marathon and Half – 6/13
• Leadville 100 Run Training Camp – 6/19
• Leadville 100 MTB Training Camp – 6/25
• Leadville Silver Rush 50 Run – 7/11
• Leadville Silver Rush 50 MTB – 7/12
• Leadville Stage Race – 7/31
• Leadville Trail 100 MTB – 8/15
• Leadville Trail 10K – 8/16
• Leadville Trail 100 Run – 8/22

Steamboat Gravel Race

SBT GRVL, a world-class gravel bike experience presented by Canyon Bicycles, has cancelled the 2020 event due to COVID-19 concerns. Based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the federal, state, and county governments, and after discussions with local authorities in Steamboat Springs, the SBT GRVL team determined the safest scenario for the community will be to cancel the event this year.

“The SBT GRVL experience remains rooted in our core values including safety, fun and credibility,” says Mark Satkiewicz, co-founder and race director of SBT GRVL. “Taking these values into account, it became clear to us that the required changes needed to keep every rider, spectator, volunteer, sponsor, vendor and members of our local community safe would result in a significantly compromised version of the SBT GRVL experience.”

“Like so many folks in the endurance community, we were looking forward to this year’s SBT GRVL experience and all that it offers. We live for these events and the opportunity to support athletes as they challenge themselves on the beautiful gravel roads around Steamboat,” says Brian Vaughan, chief endurance officer of GU Energy Labs. “It’s disappointing to hear that the 2020 edition will be cancelled, but we totally understand that the SBT GRVL team made the responsible choice. We believe that movement is essential, and racing with our friends at events like SBT GRVL feeds our need to move. As a family owned business, we know firsthand that short term sacrifices are essential for long term gains and happiness.”

“The team at SBT GRVL showed courage today to postpone their event which in its introductory year, set a new standard in gravel events: a race, a community gathering and a party done on a world class level putting the riders safety first! As the title sponsor we fully support their decision and we are excited to work with them for years to come,” says Blair Clark, president of Canyon Bicycles. “On a personal level, it was something I was really looking forward to doing, but when it happens again in the future, it will be such a sweet appreciation. I’ll be back for what John Denver described as: ‘The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake…you can talk to God and listen to the casual reply’…to get my ‘Rocky mountain high’ at SBT GRVL!”