The UCI has launched strong measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 by suspending all classifications for all events until at least April 3rd 2020.
Effective as of today, the UCI has suspended all of its affiliated races in an attempt to deal with the spread of Coronavirus and protect its own staff, team members and athletes.
“Suspension of all classifications for all events on the UCI International Calendar, across all disciplines, from 15 March 2020 and until further notice but at least until 3 April 2020. By freezing the points during the period indicated, the UCI is preserving sporting equity for the athletes…”
On top of this, they have brought to an end the qualifying period for certain events for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which included mountain biking and BMX, with any qualification events after March 3rd being deemed null.
You can read the full UCI press release on their website here.
What does this mean for racers?
With the opening round of the 2020 UCI Downhill World Cup in Lousa already postponed, along with the opening two rounds of the 2020 Enduro World Series being moved to November, there’s little change at the top end of the sport.
The current suspension of events until April won’t currently effect the World Cup in Maribor, Slovenia, or the Enduro World Series in Olargues, France.
We understand that UCI points that were due to expire during the suspension will be frozen until at least April 3rd. So anyone due to race Lousa, will still be able to race Maribor with the same points.
The opening rounds of the Scottish Downhill Association/British National Downhill Series is still due to go ahead at the time of writing, so keep an eye out on their respective social media pages for updated info.
Hopefully this all gets under control before May and the racing calendar can return to normal.
