The 2021 UCI Track Cycling World Championships are set to be moved from the original location in Turkmenistan to Glasgow, Scotland. The sports governing body announced the relocation on Thursday in a post on Twitter but then deleted the message.
"New location! The 2021 UCI Track Cycling World Championships presented by Tissot will now take place in Glasgow. More info to come #Glasgow2021," published on the UCI Track Cycling's Twitter feed, but the post has now been removed.
The event was scheduled to be held in Turkmenistan between October 13-17, despite concerns about the authoritarian rule of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.
The UCI later announced the cancellation of the Worlds "at the request of their organisers, as the health constraints and restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic make it impossible to stage the event in the country" and stated "The UCI is currently in contact with several potential alternative organisers with a view to moving the event to another venue on the same dates. The name of the new host city will be communicated as soon as possible."
The relocation will be the second major shift after the European Track Championships in Belarus were cancelled after the country's government ordered the forced landing of a Ryanair flight to Lithuania in Minsk in order to detail an opposition journalist.
The UEC Championships were delayed until October but no new venue has been announce.
The UCI also announced the Track World Championships will be followed by the inaugural edition of the Track Champions League that will include six Saturday evenings of racing in November and early December.
The former Track World Cup has been renamed the Track Cycling Nations Cup and will be held between March and September, offering qualification points for the Track World Championships in October. There are four events this year in Newport, Hong Kong, Cali and Saint Petersburg.
The new series is designed to build the global profile of track cycling beyond the four-year Olympic cycle.
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