As we posted on August 30th, the UCI is seeking bids for the 2011-2013 UCI Masters Cyclocross World Championships and is hoping American promoters will put in a serious bid to host the event for three years.
However, one stumbling block for any promoter in hosting the event has been the substantial fees the UCI requires to call the event a UCI world championships. According to the bidding guide, the UCI requires a fee of “15,000 Euros (€) for the entry fee, the licensing & marketing rights of the UCI.”
The fee has been difficult to cover for an event that does not command major corporate sponsors or television time. The UCI has realized this challenge (due in part through this year’s event nearly being canceled), and has agreed to reduce the fee to encourage more proposals. Gerrit Middag, the UCI’s Commercial and Events Director, told Cyclocross Magazine, “For this same reason we will revise the asked minimum bid fee on a much acceptable level, and thus more organizers will be interested to organize this event.”
Middag says the exact fees will be decided in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned as we bring you the most recent news on Masters Worlds.
