Canyon Belgian Waffle Ride moved to November

The Canyon Belgian Waffle Ride scheduled for May 3 in Southern California has been moved to a new date in November because of concerns over the Covid-19 coronavirus, organisers of the gravel races announced today.

"It’s only been a handful of days since we last emailed regarding the coronavirus, but so much has transpired since then. So much, in fact, we feel compelled to circle back on the subject, NOW, " organisers said in a statement sent to media and participants Wednesday afternoon.

"Yes, the situation has escalated so rapidly that we’ve had to sadly override our optimism for the May 3rd event happening as scheduled. With the Coronavirus pandemic, events like ours are being forced to postpone (or cancel). As a result, we will be moving the Canyon Belgian Waffle Ride to its new fall date of November 8, 2020… with the same (or larger) Pure Cycling Expo and VIP/Media events running from November 6 – 8, 2020."

Riders who registered for the event will be automatically transferred to the new date unless they cannot make it on November 8, then they will be deferred to one of the two other series events on August 30 in Asheville, North Carolina, or October 17 in Cedar City, Utah. Registrations can also be deferred to the 2021 Belgian Waffle ride tentatively scheduled for May 2.

Peter Stetina, who was still riding for WorldTour road team Trek-Segafredo at the time, won the 2019 edition of the race over Edward Anderson of Hagens Berman Axeon and former road pro Ted King. Sarah Sturm from Durango, Colorado, was the fastest woman ahead of Sarah Max of Bend, Oregon, and former road pro Olivia Dillon of Fairfax, California.

The 2020 Belgian Waffle Ride series will now start in August at the North Carolina event before heading to Utah in October and then back to California in November for the finale.