There will be no celebration of a win for South Africa's Robert Hunter in the 2009 Worlds View Challenge (Image credit: Barloworld)
The 2009 Worlds View Challenge in South Africa has been postponed. Originally scheduled for February 13 - 15, 2009, the organisers fell victim to the current financial crisis and were not able to secure a budget to hold the event. The event attracted a strong field last year and many European pros travelled to the Southern Hemisphere so they could do their first races in a warm climate.
Event Director Alec Lenferna was disappointed with the postponement but stated he had no choice. "We cannot be assured of all finances required to stage the 2009 Worlds View Challenge and to make it the best event possible. Therefore it will be better to take this event off the CSA [South African cycling federation] and UCI [Union Cycliste International] calendars for the 2009 season."
Lenferna added that they fought very hard to secure the event, but had to announce the cancellation a month before the planned races. "We do not want to create any problems for the leading world teams that had already committed to the event in their preparations for the season ahead. We want to give them as much time as possible to make alternative arrangements."
Lenferna emphasised that it won't be the end of the event just yet. "We do however remain committed to staging a top quality road event in the future, and we will continue working towards this goal – hopefully as early as February 2010 again."
In the end Lenferna addressed a well-known problem in professional cycling. "It is our understanding that many other leading events around the world are also experiencing similar problems. Once things have 'returned to normal' in the world, we look forward to welcoming top road teams to South Africa again."
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