The UCI is currently working with stakeholders within women's cycling - associations, organisations, riders and teams - to determine a post-COVID-19 women's race calendar expected to be complete by May 15. However, race organisers have been made to take some hard decisions, with the Trofeo Alfredo Binda in northern Italy announcing the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the one-day Women's WorldTour race. The Piccolo Trofeo Alfredo Binda for juniors has also been cancelled.
According to reports in Italy, the Giro Rosa could be postponed from early July to mid-September and take place during the second week of the rescheduled Tour de France.
The Trofeo Binda was originally scheduled for March 22 but was quickly postponed to June 2 as the COVID-19 coronavirus hit the Lombardy region hard. With Italy and many parts of the world suffering huge numbers of deaths and facing months of social distancing, the organisers of the Trofeo Binda have decided it is not yet the right moment to organise a bike race that greatly involves the local community in the town of Cittiglio, near Varese.
A provisional date of March 21 has been set for the 22nd edition of the race in 2021. Marianne Vos won the 2019 Trofeo Binda.
"This year, it just doesn’t seem right. Our area is going through a terrible moment of suffering and were not in a position to organise a bike race. It is better to roll up the banners and wait until next year," said Mario Minervino, president of the organising committee.
"This has been a very difficult but necessary decision, especially considering the huge suffering we are experiencing on a daily basis here in Lombardy. Both the Italian Cycling Federation and the International Cycling Union (UCI) offered us an indicative date during the summer but for us the Trofeo Binda and Mini-Trofeo Binda are hugely popular festivals involving the whole community; children, the many fans, the athletes and the whole area that, in different ways, look forward to the days of the two races."
Last week, the Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile (Giro Rosa) was officially postponed from its original dates of June 26-July 5.
The Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA) women's section recently announced on Twitter that the Giro Rosa has requested new dates of September 5-13, during the second week of the rescheduled Tour de France.
The Italian stage race has been held during the men's Tour de France in recent years to secure television coverage by state broadcaster RAI soon after the Tour de France broadcast ends.
However, the CPA women's manager Alessandra Cappellotto told Cyclingnews that any potential changes are dependent on the evolution of the pandemic over the next few months.
She said that the CPA Women have been in constant communication with the UCI as it tries to navigate a new late-season calendar. She also stressed that any potential date changes were dependent on government restrictions, guidelines and health precautions in each country amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
"The calendar is a very important issue and very complicated point of discussion," said Cappellotto, who told Cyclingnews her most recent meeting with the UCI was on Friday, April 17, to discuss a potential new calendar.
"We were also there for all the other things that concern women's cycling, especially in this particular period concerning COVID-19."
Cappellotto said that if the COVID-19 pandemic eases and governments lift health restrictions across Europe, the CPA Women would request that the UCI extend the racing calendar to the end of November.
This would allow for the majority of the postponed Women's WorldTour races to be rescheduled during the 2020 season.
