Hope remains for GP Miguel Indurain to go on

Although Grand Prix Miguel Indurain was announced as cancelled for 2014, there is a chance that the race will still happen. Organizers have until Monday to decide if they can muster the support needed to make the Spanish race happen.

News of the cancellation hit the media on Thursday, but the government of Navarra then announced its intention to help meet the budget for putting on the race. According to biciciclismo.com, the race organizers CC Estalla are waiting until Monday for the final word on whether that support will come through.

It takes 60,000 euros to put on the race and the City of Estalla typically provides 25,000 to go with the 30,000 in other contributions. The City council has expressed interest in providing another 10,000 euros in the interest of keeping the race going. However, bureaucratic delays mean that promised payments haven't come through.

If the government of Navarra comes through with the money in time, the race could still occur.

First run in 1951 and re-named GP Miguel Indurain in 1999, in recent years the one-day race was used as a curtain-raiser on a week of cycling in the Basque Country, preceding the Vuelta al País Vasco and the GP Amorebieta on the following Sunday. It has had a host of top name winners including Alex Zülle, Miguel Indurain, Pedro Delgado, Samuel Sanchez and Joaquim Rodriguez. Won last year by Simon Spilak, and currently classified 1.1 in the UCI calendar, the next edition was due to take place on April 5th.