For the second year in a row, the Tour de White Rock – and the entire BC Superweek series of which it is a part – has been cancelled.
Citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, organizers of Superweek announced Tuesday that the week-long cycling series has been postponed “until July 2022 at the earliest.”
The Lower Mainland-based cycling series – which, in addition to White Rock, also includes the multi-race Tour de Delta, New West Grand Prix, Gastown Grand Prix, Giro di Burnaby and the PoCo Grand Prix – was also cancelled last summer due to the pandemic.
“Amid the pandemic, there was a lot of deliberation among the BC Superweek members about the status of this year’s series. The well-being of everyone involved was the top consideration, and the members look forward to bringing the series back once it is safe to do so,” said BC Superweek series director Mark Ernsting in a news release.
“Because the races that make up BC Superweek require significant planning, the uncertainty of the coming months makes it difficult for organizing teams to make the necessary arrangements normally required at this time.”
Traditionally, BC Superweek events attract top professional cycling teams from across Canada and the United States, as well as many international teams; with travel discouraged currently, and the U.S./Canada border closed for non-essential travel, staging such an event would be difficult, if not impossible.
Superweek is the largest professional road-cycling series in Canada and features more than $140,000 in total prize money, spread across nine races in 10 days.
The Superweek news release also noted that due to the economic impact of the pandemic, some businesses that normally support the event were unable to make sponsorship commitments at this time.
“Fortunately, many regular sponsors spoke positively about potentially supporting future BC Superweek events,” the release reads.
It is hoped that the status of the 2022 Superweek series can be announced this fall, organizers noted.
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