The National Road Championships have been scrapped from Co Wicklow and a new venue is being planned, a little over two weeks out from the events. Nicolas Roche leads the winning escape four years ago in Clonmel.
The National Road Championships venue has been changed again after a number of problems with the course in Co Wicklow arose.
The favoured Phoenix Park location in Dublin had to be abandoned last month.
Cycling Ireland confirmed to stickybottle the championships will not take place in Wicklow, adding plans were being finalised for an alternative venue in the Eastern region.
A number of locals in Wicklow objected to the races – TTs and road races over four days – taking place in the area at such short notice.
Concern was also expressed by those organising a local festival in the area during the last week in June and so clashing with the championships. They said their event would be seriously disrupted by the cycling.
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And while the race headquarters had been booked for the Avon Ri Hotel in Blessington, problems outside the control of anyone in the cycling community suddenly arose with its availability.
The switched venue is the latest in a series of problems to beset the championships this year.
Clonmel CC had initially been set to promote the road race and TT title races in the last week in June after doing a fantastic job four years ago.
However, that promotion ran into financial problems; perhaps not surprising in the current financial climate.
Because Munster was always set to host the championships this year, as per Cycling Ireland’s rotation of the event between the regions, the federation asked any club in the province interested in taking on the races to step forward.
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However, when no suitable promoting club was found, Cycling Ireland offered the championships to every club in the country.
Eventually Dublin-based Orwell Wheelers stepped in and offered to promote the championships in the capital.
The start and finish of the events was set to be in the Phoenix Park, a move warmly welcomed as it would have brought bike racing back to the park after a break of many years.
But no sooner had that venue been announce than US vice president Joe Biden confirmed last month he was coming to Ireland and would be staying at the US ambassador’s residence in the park.
And because his stay coincided with the championships on the last weekend in June, the Garda said the park would not be available because of the security operation associated with the Biden visit.
Orwell Wheelers was forced to go back to the drawing board and it very quickly put in place plans to host the championships on a hilly course in Co Wicklow.
The route was to run along the side of the Blessington cycle greenway and onto Valleymount Ballyknocken, Lacken around the Lake Drive before finishing on Main Street in Blessington.
The TT course had not been announced but the elite and U23 men’s and women’s tests were to take place on the evening of Thursday, June 23rd.
The Masters 60, Masters 50 and Masters 40 road races were to be held on Saturday, June 24th.
And Sunday, June 25th, was to play host to the women’s elite road race early in the day with the men’s combined U23 and elite race in the afternoon.
The dates for all of the races remain the same, though the venue has moved away from Co Wicklow to an as yet undisclosed venue in the region.
Stickybottle understands plans for the alternative location are well advanced and that an announcement is expected in coming days.
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