Thousands of participants hoping to qualify for the 2025 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships were left in the lurch, had to abandon, just minutes before the start of the 3RIDES race in Aachen, Germany on Sunday morning.

The organizer made the untimely announcement on Facebook:

“The start of the 3RIDES Gran Fondo has been canceled for safety reasons. The reason is the continuing unstable weather conditions and thunderstorms. We cannot justify starting the race for safety reasons,” Björn Müller, CEO of 3RIDES Aachen posted. “It pains me deeply; we are devastated.”

Müller did not indicate if the event would be rescheduled or if entry fees would be refunded.

3RIDES was the only gran fondo world championship qualifying race scheduled in Germany this season. Riders hoping to qualify for the worlds must now quickly plan to travel to other European UCI Gran Fondo World Series races scheduled this month in Slovenia, Serbia, Italy or Switzerland.

Photo Credit: 3RIDES

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