Ster ZLM Toer canceled

The organisers of the Ster ZLM Toer-GP Jan van Heeswijk announced on Wednesday that they have decided to cancel this year's event.

The UCI 2.1 stage race was due to take place from June 13 to 17, but organisers say they had some host towns drop out.

"Due to organizational reasons, despite promises from various stage locations, we were not able to get the race schedule organized", race Chairman Anton Ganzeboom said in a press release.

"Unfortunately, we ran into the fact that, after we had completed the financial framework, some of the planned stage locations dropped out. The decision-making process for this often takes some time and the process of authorization is becoming more and more complex every year. There is not enough time to come up with alternatives now. That is why we now have to make this decision.

"It's a conscious choice to make this decision now. Also because we want to give teams the opportunity to find an alternative for our race."

Ganzeboom says the organisation intends to bring the race back next season. "This now gives our organization the space to focus on 2019. Then we want to come back stronger than ever!"

The Ster ZLM Toer has taken place since 1987, and has among its list of winners riders such as Philippe Gilbert, Mark Cavendish, Andre Greipel, Sep Vanmarcke and Lars Boom. Last year's winner was Jose Goncalves (Katusha-Alpecin).