The 2020 World Championships in Aigle and Martigny will not be held unless there is a significant reduction in the COVID-19 restrictions in Switzerland. On Friday, the organizing committee said the cancellation of the occasion “cannot be ruled out.”
The World Championships are scheduled to take place from 20 to 27 September, but public gatherings of more than 1,000 people are banned in Switzerland until at least 31 August. The Swiss Federal Council must announce adjustments to these restrictions on 12 August.
“At this level and on the basis of the epidemiological scenario, it cannot be ruled out that the occasion may not occur in all likelihood,” said the Aigle-Martigny 2020 organization. “A final resolution can only be taken later the next announcement of federal measures through the Federal Council on August 12, 2020 and on the basis of the epidemiological scenario in Switzerland and abroad.”
The 2020 World Championships are held in Aigle-Martigny
Still no certainty for the 2020 World Road Championship
The 2020 World Championships have been in doubt since the cycling calendar was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic in March, and Marca reported in May that the ICU plans to move the occasion to some other location in Oman, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates at a later date.
In June, Aigle-Martigny’s 2020 creation committee reaffirmed that it was still planning to host the World Championships in September and UCI President David Lappartient demonstrated last month that “there is no plan B” if the occasion simply does not take a position on scheduled dates in Switzerland.
On Friday, the creation committee stated that the 2020 World Championship “cannot be held without significant rest of measures for occasions of more than 1000 people.”
While it was noted open to the organization of world championships “with a limited number of spectators and significant safeguards,” he lobbied to take action to ease the existing restrictions required for the world championships to be held.
“Without primary easing, a decision was made through the federal government and since the list of high-risk countries requiring quarantine to enter Switzerland is growing, the situations for the 2020 ICU World Highway Championship in Aigle-Martigny would not be met.” the concluded.
The 2020 World Championships are scheduled to begin with the men’s individual time trial on September 20, the same day as the last level of the rescheduled Tour de France.
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