Canadian GPs cancelled for 2020
The GP Cycliste de Montréal and the GP Cycliste de Québec, the only two WorldTour races in the Americas, have been cancelled for 2020 amid coronavirus concerns, organizers announced on Thursday.
After announcing a few weeks ago that they were evaluating next steps, organizers said on Thursday that they “concluded that it would be impossible to fulfill all of the health and operational requirements needed to guarantee a safe and secure environment for everyone, given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
The GP Québec was set to take place on September 11 with the GP Montréal to follow on September 13. Typically, the races draw high-caliber start lists, with Michael Matthews winning in Québec last year and Greg Van Avermaet winning in Montréal, and Peter Sagan among the past winners of both races. Due to the reshuffling of the 2020 calendar, this year’s pair of one-days would have overlapped with the Tour de France.
With various coronavirus restrictions (including quarantines for international arrivals) still in place in Canada, organizers made the decision to call off the races for this season.
“These past few months, we have worked tirelessly to organize our races in strictest compliance with health requirements, striving to address the various scenarios and staying in constant touch with the authorities concerned,” said race director Serge Arsenault in a statement. “Today, there are still too many unresolved questions—for example, opening of borders, mandatory quarantine, and authorization to hold public gatherings. To delay this decision any longer would have been neither responsible nor respectful of all the parties who have placed their trust in us since 2010.”
Organizers expect the races to return in 2021, with the GP Québec scheduled for September 10 and the GP Montréal for September 12.
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