England’s only UCI Gran Fondo World Championship qualifying race has been cancelled for the fourth time due to continued complications from the pandemic. Golazo Cycling, the organiser, cancelled the event twice in 2020 and now twice in 2021.

The UCI Tour of Cambridgeshire announced, “As with all events – especially ones requiring road closures – the organisers would need to enter into some major contracts and financial commitments in the coming days if they were to deliver the event in September. Sadly, this was not the case, and risk assessments around a fair start procedure and control at feed stations make the event impossible to deliver in a compliant manner at this time.”

The amateur cycling event is the largest UCI Gran Fondo World Series race and it hoped to occur 26 September, just two weeks before the 2021 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Sarajevo. The event typically qualifies hundreds of athletes to attend the world championships.

UCI Tour of Cambridgeshire has a “No refunds for any reason” policy and will not return entry fees to registered riders, but will automatically move them to the next edition.

The cancellation is another big setback for the optimistically Revised 2021 UCI Gran Fondo World Series Calendar after the Italian La Legendaria Chary Gaul race also confirmed this week it is cancelled as well.

Both events plan to remain part of the UCI Gran Fondo World Series and return in 2022.

PHOTOS: Golazo Cycling

GFDN Worldwide Gran Fondo Calendar