Closed road sportive Velothon Wales folds after four years
Organisers cite lack of "sustainable model" for event closure
Welsh closed road sportive Velothon Wales has announced there will be no event in 2019. Organisers made the announcement on their Twitter feed on Thursday.
Last year’s sportive attracted over 8,000 riders for the three routes all based in South Wales. Run since 2015, the first three years also incorporated a UCI 1.1 classified road race. However, this year the pro race was not included and the sportive has now followed suit.
“Following detailed discussions between the Velothon Series owners Ironman, the Welsh Government Major Events Unit and local event delivery partners Run4Wales, we can now confirm there are no plans for Velothon Wales to continue in 2019 and beyond,” the statement read.
“Despite a successful event in 2018 in which more than 8,000 riders took part across three distances, it is unfortunate that we are unable to find a sustainable model for future events.”
Owned by Ironman, the Triathlon organisation, Velothon was part of the UCI Velothon Series which has in the past included similar events in Canada, Sweden, both of which appear defunct.
Of the other Velothon events the future of Berlin is unclear as no 2019 date has been set, though the Australian Sunshine Coast and Hamburg events are set to go ahead next year.
The Hamburg ride incorporates the UCI WorldTour one day EuroEyes Cyclassics, won this year by Quickstep Floors’ Elia Viiviani.
Cycling Weekly has contacted Ironman and the Welsh Government Major Events Unit for further comment, but received no response before publication.