Austria tour canceled due to economic reasons

As in the previous year, the cycling tour of Austria had to be cancelled. While pandemic restrictions were to blame in 2020, this year’s traditional event has come to an end for financial reasons, the Austrian Cycling Association (ÖRV) announced on Tuesday. The decision to cancel on economic grounds was taken unanimously by the ÖRV Presidium.

The race was supposed to take place this year after being postponed from the end of June to the beginning of September in a mini format with four stages. But it hasn’t reached that now. However, in 2022, the tour should take place again, according to the ÖRV, with a reference to a restart.

The exact and rigorous Covid-19 concepts and testing specifications set forth by the global federation UCI, as well as associated safety and traffic concepts, would have led to massive cost increases in the event budget, according to the ÖRV. Additionally, some of the tour’s famous sponsoring partners have called for a cut in the past few days, despite agreements that have already been signed. At the same time, it was only at the beginning of September that tourism companies could provide a limited budget and room capacities.

“Economic risks are increasing recently every day. A round that was not funded from the start would be irresponsible,” said Harald Meyer, president of ÖRV. When planning to resume the round in 2022, efforts are being made to find a well-funded concept.

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Article image: GEPA