The 2021 editions of the BEMER Cyclassics in Hamburg, Germany and the Tour of Guangxi and Tour of Chongming Island in China have been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the UCI announced on Wednesday.
The cancellation means that the UCI WorldTour and UCI Women’s WorldTour lose two more races apiece from their schedules. The BEMER Cyclassics was due to take place on August 22, while the Tour of Guangxi was due to bring the curtain down on the men’s WorldTour from October 14-19.
The Women’s WorldTour was scheduled to finish in China with the Tour of Chongming Island from October 14-16 and the one-day Tour of Guangxi on October 19.
The UCI confirmed that all events will take place in 2022.
“Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) regrets to announce that the BEMER Cyclassics (Germany) as well as three races scheduled in China: the Gree-Tour of Guangxi, the Tour of Chongming Island - UCI Women's WorldTour and the Tour of Guangxi - UCI Women's WorldTour have been cancelled this year at the request of their organisers,” read the UCI statement.
“The UCI would like to thank the organisers and the Chinese National Federation for their cooperation in this difficult situation, as well as the riders, the teams and all the concerned parties for their understanding.”
The 2022 Tour of Chongming Island is scheduled for May 5-7, with the men’s Tour of Guangxi fixed for October 13-18 and the women’s set for October 18. The 2022 BEMER Cyclassics is scheduled for August 21.
It is the second year in succession that the four races have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UCI was forced to radically redraw the calendar at the onset of the global pandemic last year. Although the bulk of the men’s and women’s WorldTour events have been held this year, there have been some amendments due to coronavirus restrictions.
In the Women’s WorldTour, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Itzulia Women, Open de Suède Vårgårda and RideLondon Classique were cancelled, while Ronde van Drenthe, the Women’s Tour and the inaugural Paris-Roubaix were postponed to October.
In the men’s WorldTour, the Tour Down Under, Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal were cancelled, while Paris-Roubaix was postponed to October.
