THE early call to cancel the 2022 Bathurst Cycling Classic has been met with a mixture of disappointment and understanding from Bathurst Cycling Club members.
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Organisers made the decision just prior to Christmas to cancel the 2022 Bathurst Cycling Classic, which was due to be run in March.
A mixture of both COVID concerns and competition from other cycling events led to the decision.
COVID almost threatened to cancel the 2020 edition of the race but it was marginally able to go ahead - in fact, it was one of the last major statewide sporting events to go ahead before restrictions took effect on the following day.
The window of opportunity opened back up in 2021 to run the classic but organisers have deemed that window has closed up again.
Bathurst Cycling Club president David Hyland said that outside of the race itself there are other major benefits to the city that will be lost.
"The real financial gains are to be made by having no restrictions on entry numbers, however this has been restricted in recent years by COVID," he said.
"Cycling tourism can have significant economic benefits to local economies. For example, riders and their families will spend a number of nights in local accommodation and spend money at local hospitality venues.
"It's also a missed opportunity to promote the town and region through an event that attracts a lot of people to the area, who contribute to local economies and businesses."
The Bathurst Cycling Classic has drawn riders across a wide range of skill levels, due to its choice of long and short course events.
Hyland said the opportunity to race on closed roads isn't one that many local riders pass up on.
"This is a very popular event. Both junior and social riders have used the event as a training goal, as well as the elite riders," he said.
"This has been a good opportunity for social riders, sometimes not members of cycling clubs, to compete in an organised event for people of all levels.
"Riders get to enjoy the event on closed roads on the same course as the elite riders."
Bathurst Cycling Club's Mark Windsor said it's been disappointing to see one of the community's major sporting events fall by the wayside.
"It was an event that was generated by the community which was then handed on to council. As a courtesy, you'd think they'd try and develop it further when you think about all the work that's gone in to getting it to where it's got to today," he said.
"It's a great promotion for Bathurst's future. In 2017 numbers got up to 3,000 and the prediction was that in the next few years it would reach 5,000, a conservative number based on the fact it was only 10 per cent women's entries at the time.
"If they could improve on that then you were looking at around half a million dollars from entry fees to spend on the event. The memories that you could give the riders would be amazing, plus you'd have money left over for charities.
"It was estimated that over 80 per cent of the people who entered the event would return, based on the demographics of the event. Those people were interested in things that didn't cost the city money to develop. They were mainly interested in quiet roads and coffee shops - things that were already here."
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