September 30/20 10:59 am - 2021 National Racing Calendar Announced

Posted by Editoress on 09/30/20
 

Cycling Canada has released the proposed 2021 national calendar. Missing from the calendar are events in the cyclo-cross, track, and para track cycling disciplines, which have an event application deadline of October 1st. Following review of all relevant applications, Cycling Canada will publish a release with complete event details later in the year.

"We are very excited to return with a complete calendar of national events for the 2021 season across all disciplines," said Events & Partnerships Manager Josh Peacock. "Although Cycling Canada remains optimistic that the conditions surrounding the current pandemic will improve, we remain conscious that our ability to deliver our national events calendar may be subject to ongoing public health regulations. Cycling Canada will continue to work alongside our dedicated group of national event organizers, provincial partners and public health authorities to provide all of the necessary resources to ensure our 2021 events calendar can be conducted in a safe and effective manner."

The Mountain Bike Canada Cup calendar will have six XCO/XCC events and five Downhills, beginning at Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, on May 29-30; the only combined DH/XCO event in the Series. It will be part of the wider Crossroads Tremblant festival. The Canada Cup will with events every weekend in June, with XCO and DH stops in Alberta, British Columbia and Nova Scotia. July will see the DH Series continue with the final two events in B.C., as well as the DH Nationals in Golden, B.C. The XCO Nationals will also take place in July (10-11) at Hardwood Ski & Bike in Ontario, with the two final rounds of the Canada Cup to be in New Brunswick in mid-August. As was planned for 2020, all Junior events within the XC series will be sanctioned at a minimum level of UCI C2 including four stops on the UCI Junior Series. The mountain bike season will conclude in Saint-Felicien, Quebec, in early November, with the Marathon Nationals. Missing from the calendar - for the first time ever - will be the Mont-Ste-Anne World Cup [see No World Cup at Mont-Ste-Anne for 2021].

The BMX Canada Cup series will kick off in Drummondville, Quebec, on June 19-20, followed by a new stop on the series at Haut-Richelieu, Quebec, on June 26-27 and a stand-alone Canada Cup in St. Albert, Alberta, on July 17-18. The season will conclude with the Canadian BMX Championships and Canada Cup finale at Calgary BMX on August 28-29.

The UCI Gran Fondo World Series returns to Canada with the Classique des Appalaches in Victoriaville, QC, on July 1-3 making its debut on the national calendar. Adding to the profile of the event will be the inclusion of the Canadian Masters Road Championships from July 1-4.

The national road racing schedule opens at the beginning of June (3-4) with the women's Chrono Gatineau and Tour de Gatineau - rescued by a local group this year after the town of Gatineau decided to drop its support. In a reversal from the usual schedule, the Road Nationals (June 17-20) for Elite/U23/Junior and Para riders will take place before the Tour de Beauce (June 23-27). Both will take place in the Quebec City/Beauce regions. As mentioned above, the Masters Road Nationals will take place on July 1-4, in Victoriaville, Quebec. B.C. Superweek will take place in mid-July, with two events on the national calendar - the Delta Road Race (July 11) and Gastown GP (July 14). For Junior men, the premier event in North America, Tour de l'Abitibi and Challenge Sprint return on July 12-18. The Kitchener Twilight GP (Ontario) returns July 24th, and the final events on the national road calendar will be the UCI WorldTour stops in Quebec City and Montreal on September 10 and 12 for the Grand Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal.

The para-cycling national schedule will once again return to Montreal on May 1-2 for the Challenge Gary Longhi as part of the Défi Sportif AlterGo Paralympic festival. The season will continue with the Canadian Road Championships on June 17-20, and finish with the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Baie-Comeau, with final dates still to be confirmed.

"We would like to take this opportunity to commend our local and national organizing committees across the country who have continued to demonstrate an inspiring sense of optimism and resilience as we weather this storm," said Peacock. "We are thrilled to be working with them as we build towards another exciting year of national calendar racing."