The Tour Colombia is not going to happen in 2025, with organisers citing “financial difficulties” amid a scarcity of funding.
The race was initially run for 3 editions between 2018 and 2020 earlier than being cancelled in 2021 and 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was cancelled once more in 2023 as a consequence of a scarcity of funding earlier than it returned to the calendar in February 2024 for a six-day occasion received by Rodrigo Contreras, six seconds forward of Richard Carapaz.
The race is now set to drop off the calendar once more subsequent season after the Colombian Ministry of Sport has reduce funding, in accordance with a report from El Tiempo.
The newspaper experiences that funding for the race from the ministry has been diminished by 66%, from €300,000 to €100,000.
“This choice responds to the financial difficulties that the nation faces, the strategic priorities for sports activities growth within the areas and the necessity to strengthen the foundations of Colombian biking,” the Colombian Biking Federation introduced in a press release on Wednesday.
“We perceive the significance of the Tour Colombia as an occasion of worldwide scope and a supply of nationwide pleasure. Due to this fact, to any extent further we are going to work in a versatile method with the brand new Government Committee to handle and assure the mandatory sources that permit its return in 2026 with the standard and greatness that characterizes this race.”
The federation acknowledged that, with the race unable to be run in 2025, sources will as a substitute be focussed on “the promotion of grassroots biking and the strengthening of the nationwide and worldwide competitors calendar with the goal of continuous to advertise the event of recent skills and encourage the expansion of the game in all areas of the nation.”
With the lack of the Tour Colombia for 2025 and the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina run as an area occasion fairly than a UCI race in 2024, WorldTour racers is not going to be travelling to South America as a part of their early season preparation subsequent season.
Earlier editions noticed QuickStep, Sky, EF, Movistar, UAE, and riders together with Julian Alaphilippe, Egan Bernal, Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana, and Mark Cavendish journey to Colombia to participate.
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