Continuing the unfortunate trend of event cancelations due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, USA Cycling has canceled multiple 2020 national championship events, including road, track, mountain bike and gran fondo events.
The governing body listed September 15 as a decision date for the 2020 Cyclocross Nationals scheduled in the Chicago area, but plans further communication at the end of this month.
As we recently reported, with clear guidelines by the state of Illinois on large gatherings, the chances of the 2020 Cyclocross Nationals happening as planned look slim, and the Chicago Cyclocross Cup series has already pulled the plug on the entire season. We’re not holding our breath for a miracle vaccine or cure in time for December. But Rob DeMartini, CEO of USA Cycling offers a sliver of hope:
“We are going to reserve judgement on collegiate, ’cross and marathon mountain bike [championships] at this time.” -Rob DeMartini, CEO USA Cycling
The only upside to all of these cancelations? A select few winners can call themselves national champions two years in a row.
See the official announcement release and video and updated list of national championships below.
This update comes after months of working through numerous plans and options and is written with disappointment, as we are unfortunately forced to announce the cancellation of multiple National Championships for the 2020 season. Throughout this time, we have worked to create alternative dates in the hopes that COVID-19 cases would decrease, sought alternative locations where needed, and looked to modify our events in order to mitigate risk and meet local regulations and requirements.
As we have gotten closer to decision dates, it has become clear that many of the challenges in conducting safe and fair Nationals are insurmountable. In the end, we do not feel confident that we can ensure the safety of our participants, volunteers, staff, and host communities.
While we are seeing a return of local rides and races in some areas, Nationals draw a large number of people from around the country. When combined with the challenges of obtaining local permissions and permits, having to heavily modify event formats, and facing financial concerns within both our organization and local organizing committees, we have had to make the very difficult decision to cancel the following events for 2020:
- USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships
- USA Cycling Amateur Road National Championships
- USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships
- USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championships
- USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships
- USA Cycling Elite and Junior Track National Championships
- USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships
We want to thank all of the partners who worked with us over the last three months as we explored options to hold these events. They were also looking forward to hosting you and they have been incredibly supportive of date changes and flexible with format changes.
We are continuing to work through options for our fall Collegiate events, Marathon MTB, and Cyclocross Nationals and will continue to communicate the status of these events.
We have already begun to plan next year’s Nationals and will be releasing dates and locations shortly. In addition, we will allow those current National Champions who are otherwise eligible to continue to wear the Stars and Stripes jerseys through the 2021 event.
We understand this news has been difficult to read, and it has been hard to write. It is difficult to fully express our disappointment in how this season has developed for everyone. Please be safe and enjoy some time on the bike, we remain committed to the future of National Championships and look forward to seeing you at next year’s events.
