The Cycling Ireland Off-road Commission met last night (via Zoom) to discuss the 2020 off-road competitive racing season. Given these strange times there is still a lot of uncertainly around. 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. Given the nature of off-road racing, we need riders from all corners of Ireland to come together to have enough riders to justify any large competitions. With the issue of social distancing still upon us, we would struggle to maintain social distancing in any of our current disciplines. At this stage we don’t see a resumption of any cross-country, downhill, or enduro events this season. It is not just a case of obtaining insurance to run the event from Cycling Ireland but also the challenges of 1. getting permission to use the land, 2. getting first aid, 3. arranging uplifts (for downhill), and 4. getting volunteers and, of course, 5. getting support from the cycling community.
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 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. The commission will be meeting again next month. Stay safe (All photo’s courtesy of David Mc Veigh BP Media team)
