The Off-Road Commission within Cycling Ireland has expressed doubts about any off-road racing taking place this season.
However, a fortnight ago Cycling Ireland set out a road
map for the emergence of all forms of cycling from lock-down. It said a return
to group training and racing activities was expected in Phase 5 of the
Government’s plans to ease lock-down.
That phase begins on August 10th and, despite the off-road commission's concerns, Cycling Ireland has not changed its position since publishing its road map almost two weeks ago.
Some of the off-road commission's doubts about racing resuming this season centre on factors that are unique to off-road competition.
After a holding a meeting via Zoom to discuss the 2020 season, the commission said there was “still a lot of uncertainty” about the period ahead.
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“Going by the latest statement from Cycling Ireland, the
date of 10 August 2020 is where we might be able to return to full training and
competitions in large groups, but at county level only,” the off-road
commission said in a statement.
For clarity, the Cycling Ireland road map contained a reference to racing taking place at ‘county level’, which meant cyclists may initially only be able to travel to races within their own counties or regions.
However, Cycling Ireland stated several times in its road
map that the possibility racing may initially resume only on a county or
regional basis was not confirmed.
It should also be noted that in Phase 5 every person in the country will be permitted to travel outside their region, without restriction, if all goes according to plan.
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Cycling Ireland’s off-road commission pointed out that
its races would require cyclists being able to travel “from all corners of
Ireland” if large events were to be viable.
“With the issue of social distancing still upon us, we
would struggle to maintain social distancing in any of our current disciplines,”
the commission said of off-road racing.
“At this stage we don’t see a resumption of any
cross-country, downhill or Enduro events this season.”
It added holding off-road races not only involved
obtaining insurance from Cycling Ireland. They were also dependent on a number
of other factors, which may prove difficult in the current climate of Covid19.
These included: getting permission to use the land;
getting first aid; arranging uplifts (for downhill); getting volunteers and getting
support from the cycling community.
The off-road commission continued in its statement; “At
this stage we are not making any firm decisions. We are keen to see the next
statement from Cycling Ireland.
“And we fully appreciate the work they (Cycling Ireland)
are doing, the challenges they have, their reliance on decisions from Sport
Ireland, Sport NI, UCI and other sporting bodies as well as the current
positions of the two governments on the island.
“We are hopeful to have a cyclocross season but that will
depend on the social distancing restrictions. We have no confirmed dates when
that might be able to start.”
It added the commission would meet again next month.
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