Confirmed: Losinj World Cup Cancelled, Maribor World Cup Postponed, EWS Olargues Moved to October

Mar 20, 2020 at 4:57
by James Smurthwaite  
Dakotah Norton makes his way through the narrow alley in into the finish arena.

The UCI has now confirmed a flurry of event cancellations and postponements for elite racing until May. There's no way to cushion the blow so we've posted all the updates directly from their statement below:

2020 UCI Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup

The second round of the UCI MTB World Cup (DHI) in Maribor (SLO,) scheduled for 2-3 May, has been postponed. New date to be confirmed

The third round of the UCI MTB World Cup (DHI) in Lošinj (CRO), scheduled for 9-10 May, has been cancelled at the request of the organiser and will not take place at a later date.

Kevin Miguel enjoys the dry rocks on the top of Stage 7 before heading into the wet and wild woods.

2020 Enduro World Series

The third round in Olargues (FRA), scheduled for 23-24 May has been postponed with a new date being set for 3-4 October.

2020 UCI E-Mountain Bike Cross-country World Cup

The second round of the UCI E-MTB World Cup in Ascona-Locarno (SUI), scheduled for 17-18 April, and the third round in Bologna (ITA), scheduled for 5-6 June, have been postponed. New dates to be confirmed.

2020 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup powered by Citymountainbike

The second round of the 2020 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup in Barcelona (ESP) scheduled for 28 March has been postponed. New dates to be confirmed.

The full press release is here.


Original Story

A press release from the Nove Mesto World Cup organisers indicates that the World Cup round in Losinj has been cancelled and the Maribor is set to be rescheduled for later in the year.

bigquotesThe organizers of the DH World Cup in Maribor, Slovenia (scheduled for May 2-3) admit that the event is unrealistic under current conditions, they are looking for a substitute date. Another DH WC event, which was scheduled to take place in Lošinj, Croatia (May 9-10), has even completely abandoned the event: main partners of the OC - the local tourist office and accommodation providers - withdrew from the event because of a realistic (= bad) forecast for the upcoming tourism season. The search for a potential substitute term was therefore no longer relevant here.

We have reached out to the UCI as well as organizers at both World Cups for more information. A full announcement will apparently be coming in the next few days.

The press release also revealed that the team at Nove Mesto are still hoping to go ahead with their event but will wait until a cut-off point on 20 April to decide what the fate of the first XC World Cup of the year will be. That will depend on the spread of the outbreak around the world and not just the situation in the Czech Republic. If it does not go ahead, they believe it could be rescheduled for September or October, after the Olympics has taken place.

Press Release: Nove Mesto World Cup

Difficult situation that our country and the whole world is nowadays going through is logically reflected in the mountain bike world. What is the current status of the planned overture of the MTB Cross Country World Cup in the Czech Republic?

Latest news from the International Cycling Union (UCI) suggest that we should follow local government regulations when organizing races, which is logical. The same resources also indicate that so far, only those cycling events scheduled for March or April have been officially cancelled or re-scheduled to another date. All events planned in May, including our World Cup in Nové Město, are still indicated to take place as planned (May 22-24 in our case).

However, organizers of other World Cup venues have already announced opposite votes: for example, the organizers of the DH World Cup in Maribor, Slovenia (scheduled for May 2-3) admit that the event is unrealistic under current conditions, they are looking for a substitute date. Another DH WC event, which was scheduled to take place in Lošinj, Croatia (May 9-10), has even completely abandoned the event: main partners of the OC - the local tourist office and accommodation providers - withdrew from the event because of a realistic (= bad) forecast for the upcoming tourism season. The search for a potential substitute term was therefore no longer relevant here. On the contrary, the organizers of the DH WC from Fort William, Scotland, still believe that their part of the series will take place as scheduled (June 6-7), at least they expressed so through their communication channels.

We also monitor other cultural, sporting and social events, both in the Czech Republic and abroad. The situation is very difficult to predict and changes every day. We collect all important information from our country and report them to the UCI representatives on a weekly basis. Even though that our episode of the WC series is scheduled for more than two months from today and we hope to see it happen in its original timeframe, the likelihood that this will go as planned decreases day by day. Therefore, we have set a decisive date: April 20, 2020. If we’ll have a clear statement from the Czech government and UCI by this date that the event can take place in the original date, we will go ahead with preparations.

It is important to look at this situation from the perspective of participants from all over the world. Even if the coronavirus pandemic was eliminated and kept under control in the Czech Republic, it would depend on global developments whether the event could take place or not. UCI will have to decide in order to allow as many regular participants as possible to take part, while none of the national federations to be disadvantaged (for example, because its competitors cannot travel to the event because of international travel restrictions). Therefore, we are also talking about potential "substitute" date for our event. Due to this year's specific racing calendar (mainly thanks to the Olympics in August) there are several dates available in September or October that could fit into updated racing schedule quite well. Let’s see what the next few weeks bring.

In the meantime, we wish everyone to stay strong and positive and we hope to meet with all of you again soon.

The full press release (written in Czech) can be found here.

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82 Comments
  • 93 9
 May as well quit beating around the bush and cancel everything this year. Pretending we will have the same response as China and this will only last a little while just gives some people a false sense of security and will prolong it. Once the death counts start ramping up next week perspectives will change.
  • 68 0
 It wasn't until we reached 475 deaths in one day that attitudes began to change. I think finally Italians are starting to realize the severity of the situation. Each death is clearly a tragedy but it's not until they become tangible statistics that people start to take notice.
  • 33 0
 @cinco:
Forza Itália
  • 18 2
 China also shut everything down completely.

That’s what it’s takes to slow (flatten the curve). Shut everything down for 2-3 weeks.
  • 4 0
 @meathooker: Right, but the Chinese have adhered to it and have experience. Until today a lot of the germans don´t care about it...unfortunately! Curfew is the only option right now.
  • 22 2
 @dh-corn: Germany, spain, France... some people feel they are above the rest, that their rights for free will or whatever cannot be halted .. others think they are inmortal as well... the best democracies and "systems" are not acting as good as some authoritarian regimes regarding this issue..
  • 43 3
 We need a nationwide lockdown. And since the feds aren't enforcing one, states like CA are getting a head of the curb and implementing one. Meanwhile we have asshole kids travelling for spring break making shit worse.
  • 25 0
 @Lagr1980: I guess its an unfortunate consequence of Liberal democracies with High living standards. Its very difficult for government to persuade citizens to give that up for any appreciative amount of time for the interest of the public good. It simply will take more deaths to make people budge. Just look at peoples buying behaviour during this, dismiss and diminish the threat while panic buying 120 rolls of toilet paper and hoarding food... its disheartening.

Century of the self indeed
  • 5 2
 @meathooker @Lagr1980 : But some of the measures China is taking are very extreme. China was forceably taking people out of their homes because they had fevers, not knowing for sure whether they were infected with the coronavirus. Then putting those same people with fevers in quarantines full of infected people which seems like it could have infected more people if they did not have the coronavirus. Also, locking people in their homes by welding their doors shut and not allowing anyone out their homes for any circumstance. This is in Wuhan and the coronavirus still got out to spread around the world.

Here is a documentary that shows the reality all of what I said.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycrqXJYf1SU&list=PLNUoyDgR91EMBq3P-zGSLcgPiOLo6YrH-&index=5&t=0s
  • 2 0
 @meathooker: 2-3 weeks is a good start.... but until we stop seeing the whole world take this seriously, it’s just a bandaid on a wound. It will help locally for a bit, but we will have reoccurrences of the same situation over and over.
  • 2 0
 @cinco: Looks like Spain have just hit that number Frown
  • 1 0
 Very well put @cinco:
  • 1 0
 @thingswelike: Actually we just hit 1002 bodies Frown
  • 2 10
flag vjunior21 (Mar 20, 2020 at 12:31) (Below Threshold)
 We could still have downhill. Think about it. No spectators, one person races at a time. teams self quarantine and were masks when they go up the hill for race runs...it cam still happen....please!
  • 7 0
 @vjunior21: No we can't. If someone breaks a leg, he gets to the same hospital like all the crowned. I would suggest you to think about it twice when you are going for that gap you were planning to hit. Not because of the virus, but because of the exhausted medical staff.
  • 6 0
 627 deaths today in Italy..it’s a war bulletin..
Stay safe people..
  • 2 0
 @vic690: while absolutely horrible, my opinion is these numbers are the result of people who for a few weeks have been fighting the disease. With massive numbers of people infected just prior to and at the full quarantine we can hope the deaths and infections drop as the quarantine gets longer. In the US, we are unfortunately just at the beginning. All the best to you
  • 1 0
 Nooooo. Stoooo0000p
  • 4 0
 @PTyliszczak: yes i agree..we still have to reach the peak and the statement is already horrible..
I hope other countries governments are taking lessons on what’s happening and start to prevent well..
Don’t make the error of undervalueing the thing..it’s not a common flu..
Stay safe..
  • 1 1
 @eugen-fried:
I thought about it at least three times.

And why does it have to be a he?

My comment was a joke as is most of pinkbike comment area.
  • 19 2
 @tacklingdummy: Not all who got fever were forced to be taken away to get quarantined. Those extreme measures were only used for those people who refused to be quarantined, especially in the beginning of the lockdown, and especially in Hubei area. And the doors get welded, yes, we also have seen some videos or photos on the social media, but those kind of extreme measures were cancelled right after it got exposed. As for those people who got fever, the government has advised them to stay at home to observe the situation. The more common situation is that, the government suggests those people who travelled back from outside their residential area to be self-quarantined for 14 days. Then the community civil servants and volunteers will put a paper seal on their door saying "Please do not inturrupt", instead of showing any hint that they might carrying virus, which shows a lot repect. Meanwhile, the community servants will deliver food and necessary suppiles to them daily, or even take their gabbage downstairs.

There are millions of those community civil servants and volunteers who were standing in the front line of this fight in China, to prevent people from gathering, travelling around, and to check everyone's temperature. They have played a very important role in this whole disaster.

I'm living in the province right next to Hubei, and the city I'm living in is also a very important transportation hub just like Wuhan. Millions of people are willingly to stay at home in the past two months. There used to be over 1 million taking subways here in my city, but during the quarantine, the number was only 20-30k daily on average. Of course there are some people being selfish and not understand the whole thing. But genearally speaking, most people are very cooperative and approve the governments measures.

Life here are starting get back to normal here. Shopping malls are opening up, traffic jams are appearing again. But people are still wearing masks. Having been through such a hard time, I think everyone will cherish every day more than ever. We shed tears for those who passed away, and applause for those fighters who have been fighting against the evil virus.
  • 2 0
 @meathooker: Taiwan and Singapore didn't shut everything down but did HEAVY HEAVY testing, strict monitoring of infected and heavy penalties for breaking quarantine.

Also HK will pump a ton of money into consumer hands so people in Hong Kong are not as worried about the economy. You don't have to shut everything down if you act fast and decisively.
  • 6 3
 @stumphumper92: look at us, begging for our "freedoms" to be so eloquently taken from our daily lives. We're all so worried about short term problems that the government likes to enroll us with long term problems. We're just a hamster in a wheel, too busy to care we are even in a cage
  • 1 0
 @blackjack88: agreed... Its sad, but until death rate rises not many will sacrifice freedom...
  • 4 1
 @milanboy1986: It is good to hear from someone living in China. However, from you said "those kind of extreme measures were cancelled right after it got exposed." Yes, but those extreme measures were taken and would they still be going on if they were not exposed? China did try to cover the coronavirus up and eight whistleblowers were arrested for exposing the coronavirus. They charged them with trying to spread misinformation and rumors. I'm half Chinese and been to China many times. I know how things work there.
  • 3 0
 @tacklingdummy: Since you're half Chinese and have been to China many times, you also should know that we have social media, and people can also report those incorrect behaviors to the government (most cities now have "major hotline", the government requires that every inquire has to be responded by officials in charge). Also, the government, mainly the Health Commission, will publish announcements basically everyday or every other day to guide people through the pandemic, which is proved to be very helpful and effective. And they will hold press conferences following the same time manner to report both good news and bad news. And those extreme measures were actually never expressed from the official channel. But, of course, in the early stage of the pandemic, there are measures like welding doors, or blocking roads, etc. On the one hand, as I mentioned, there are people who are selfish and not cooperative, especially in some rurual areas. On the other hand, we can see some "basic-level" officials are afraid of being blamed or responsible, so they would use those extreme methods to make sure people are staying at home. Good thing is the government has corrected those wrong methods in time.

As for the whistleblowers, it is a shame that they were punished by the police, especially Dr. Li Wenliang who has passed away because of the virus. Most people in China also agree that the Wuhan government in the early stage of the pandemic has made very bad decisions. The government has already withdraw the punish on Dr. Li days ago, and several officials got blamed/punished. But since the investigation has not completed, it is hard to say whether it is the Wuhan government, or the CDC were trying to cover up. But I believe things will be clear soon.

However, even though China has set a bad example for its performance in the early stages of the pandemic, even though the virus has been spreading in China for nearly two months, there are still some countries decided not to panic their citizens by not carrying out tests on the virus. Are they confident that the virus has no difference with a flu, or they are just plain stupid??? The world has more than one month to get prepared, to learn from either China's recent reaction, or Singapore and Koreas methods to test out people as many as they can. But why do they choose not to do anything untill the death is ramping up???
  • 2 1
 @milanboy1986: The government people that Chinese citizens would be report the incorrect behavior to are the same government people who are implementing the measures. You really think that those authorities engaging in those incorrect behaviors were doing them with their own intentions? They were following the top down orders. There is still several people missing (arrested) that spoke out about the coronavirus. China implemented some strategic methods in fighting the coronavirus, but trust in the Chinese government around the world is extremely low and for good reason. Every country is struggling to handle the pandemic, it is something that has not yet been experienced in recent times and a complete learning experience.
  • 40 0
 Looks like it really will be a fantasy world series after all.
  • 3 0
 Wasn't there to be a Zwift type of WC series already planned for this year? I can imagine the internet is overloaded with nearly everyone working from home (including athletes now it seems) so that may throw a spanner in the works. But it is likely the most exciting racing we get to see this year. At least better than trackwalk (which would be a geek talking going through the software code for that particular event).
  • 30 0
 2020 hindsight suggests that 2019 was an excellent year...
  • 24 1
 I'm sad. I could probably benefit by doing some yoga. Please bring back Abi, maybe in a yoga/grim donut mashup article. I think this is what we all need right now.
  • 16 0
 can we stop with the acting like this is a surprise? Statements? there's a f*cking global pandemic running unchecked, life will not be normal for the foreseeable future, sports competitions is the least of our worries.
  • 7 1
 The season is over, teams will be consolidating budgets, factories producing less bikes as people will be in lockdown. The cost savings have to come from somewhere as bike manufacturers are not making hundreds of millions of dollars profit a year. Even companies who do make serious money are in new times in 2020. The world is at war, not guns, not financial but a virus. Stay healthy everyone and lets hope that the impact of COVID-19 is minimised as far as possible in 2020, it doesnt re-occur and that the potential financial crash does not happen. We dont want a return to the 80's interest rates, unemployment etc. In the end of the day we are talking about a few guys riding bikes on camera here. There are bigger things at play.
  • 9 0
 Oh man this was gonna be my breakout year too
  • 7 0
 I’m thinking the whole season is a wash at this point.
  • 7 0
 Anything 2020 is cancelled at this point. Stay at home guys.
  • 2 0
 People are dying from Covid19, no cure for at least 2years! Some people are still in denial, that’s understandable since there’s a lot lot of miss information! Just wait till it hits close to home, you can’t even have a proper funeral! Your families can’t even see you!
  • 6 0
 Can I have the Slash?
  • 7 3
 The UCI should come to the confusion to cancel the whole season, and hopefully quite soon.
  • 5 0
 conclusion (autocorrect)
  • 22 0
 @cxfahrer: In some ways the first was better - confusion reigns at the moment
  • 5 0
 Can they do it on Strava just so the fantasy league can take place?
  • 6 1
 Ft Bill is next Frown
  • 4 0
 Dude, I'm tied for first in Fantasy DH!!!!
  • 4 0
 Worldcup in the winter!
  • 3 0
 Australia and NZ, here we come! Maybe even a Bootleg Canyon stop!
  • 3 1
 Lots of long lens edits coming this summer...gotta keep a good distance from the riders...lol
  • 2 0
 Hosting a world cup event is not cheap. I hope the race organizers get their money back?
  • 1 0
 These events usually have insurance, that's the reason they're not all being cancelled immediately, it gives them a better chance to claim the loss if they had to shut down due to emergency bans on large gatherings by authorities vs the organizer proactively cancelling.
  • 1 0
 @texag: My uncle had a trip planned to Bali that was cancelled. He couldn't get a refund, despite having two different insurance policies taken out against a cancellation. Most insurance plans don't have an "end of the world plague" rider.
  • 3 0
 @texag: there is this thing that insurance companies love: it's called "“force majeure” or "act of God". I'm afraid it includes pandemia. I'm not a lawyer but I don't believe in insurance either (sort of like Ned Flanders).
  • 2 0
 Was soooo looking forward going spectating both of them =(
  • 3 2
 I just cancelled my house reservation I had for World Cup Lošinj... SOOOO BUMMED!
  • 1 0
 Were you coming all the way from the US or are you from Krk (considering your username)?
  • 7 0
 @vinay: Yes, I was born & live in NYC. But my parents were born and raised in Croatia, just outside of Šibenik. I normally visit every summer, this race was going to be an extra treat, but now I doubt I will be going at all this year. And the user name references the Krka River....
  • 1 0
 @krka73: Love Croatia
  • 2 1
 @krka73: Cool. Yeah I've been to Croatia in summer 2018. Beautiful country, nice people. Bummer it won't work out for you this year.
  • 2 0
 Damn there is no other MTB leagues there in outer planets to follow?
  • 1 0
 That's a question for Mr Tsukopolos (did I spell it right?) and History Channel Razz
  • 1 0
 Can we just come out with the 2021 bikes and forget 2020 already this sucks in all levels right now
  • 19 19
 Just come to terms we won’t have any dh this year. Supercross and GP’s have been canceled .

Thanks china
  • 17 12
 In their defense, bats are mighty tasty
  • 10 5
 @Klainmeister: as well as pangolins, rats, toads, tadpoles, spiders, dogs, ...
  • 3 0
 @LukasN89: Austrian food ain’t all that either !
  • 1 0
 @Matt115lamb: have you read Ken Hom's new cook book?
  • 3 2
 @Matt115lamb: well we do have dishes that may seem odd to foreigners, but we do not feast on (raw) vermin as the asian folks do
  • 13 3
 I don't know why people are downvoting you. China is a country with an evil leadership and little care for human rights. And as much as people don't like to admit it, Chinese people are not particularly compassionate either. They have unleashed this upon the world and their cover up has made things far worse than they needed to be. Fuck China indeed.
  • 2 1
 @humoroususername: couldn't have said it better! Thanks!
  • 2 1
 @humoroususername: The harder you f*ck, the better we feel. Thank you sir.
  • 1 1
 It’s all cancelled grab a tissue and get over it
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