Sea Otter Classic cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak

Sea Otter Classic is the next on an ever-growing list of events to suffer cancellation due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, organisers announced today. 

The event sees 75,000 people descend upon Laguna Seca Recreation Area in Monterey, California. It is an outdoor cycling festival that hosts races across multiple ability levels and disciplines, as well as a trade show that provides upwards of 500 businesses the opportunity to showcase their latest tech to the cycling world. 

Organisers have been monitoring the situation amid growing concerns about the outbreak, and today, the event has been postponed.

"After a thorough review of the coronavirus threat, we’ve decided to reschedule April’s Sea Otter Classic," organisers announced in a statement sent to media.

"Additionally, People for Bikes and Sea Otter Classic will reschedule the Bicycle Leadership Conference."

No new dates have yet been set for the rescheduled event.

"We are coordinating with local authorities to determine the best dates to host the 2020 Sea Otter Classic and Bicycle Leadership Conference," organisers said. "We anticipate announcing those dates by the middle of next week."

Sea Otter Classic is next in line on the list of major cancellations due to coronavirus, with RCS announcing the cancellation of Strade Bianche, and multiple teams refusing to race. Astana, Mitchelton-Scott and Team Ineos, are withdrawing from racing altogether, while Groupama-FDJ, Team Suweb, Jumbo-Visma, EF Pro Cycling, and AG2R La Mondiale have pulled out of select Italian races during the next week, including Tirreno-Adriatico.

Outside of cycling, the Geneva Motor Show, the tech world's Mobile World Congress and Facebook's F8 Developer Conference have also been cancelled.