Race organiser given a week to secure finances or lose event, says Belgian media
Louisville, Kentucky, could be on the brink of losing the right to host the 2013 cyclocross World championships, according to the Gazet van Antwerpen (GvA). The event, which would be the first time that the championships have been held outside Europe, is said to be under threat because the organisers have not been able to raise the necessary finances.
So far the only sponsors to have been secured to support the event are the Kentucky tourist board, Louisville Metro Parks, which is to be the event venue, and the Louisville Sports Commission. The International Cycling Union (UCI) has reportedly given the organisers until the end of this week to provide firm assurance that the necessary finances are in place.
Also of concern is the apparent lack of course construction. Louisville is also due to host the World masters championships on January 15th of next year as a warm up event. With less than four months to go, there has reportedly been little progress, as Belgian riders Bart Wellens and Rob Peeters (both Telenet-Fidea) discovered when they visited the venue last week.
“The organisers urgently need to do something,” said Wellens, according to Het Laatste Nieuws. “Absolutely nothing has happened here.”
Losing the cyclocross world championships would be a blow to cycling in the USA, which has just secured the road championships in Richmond, Virginia for 2015. If the UCI was to take the event from Louisville, the likely contenders to replace the US city would either be in Luxembourg or France, says the GvA.
VeloNation has contacted both the Louisville 2013 organisers and USA Cycling, but so far neither has replied with any comment.