This year's Rutland-Melton CiCLE Classic is cancelled - but organisers hope for a return in 2022

This year’s Rutland-Melton International CiCLE Classic has been cancelled - but organisers are hopeful the popular event can return in 2022.

The 16th installment of the spring race was due to take place on April 25, but this week it was announced that the event has had to be axed due to the Covid-19 pandemic for a second successive year.

“Having lost the race last year, we were all hopeful this year would be serving us a little bit better,” race director Colin Clews told The Times.

“But circumstances are certainly against us, and the situation at the moment does not look optimistic for the early part of this year to have major events on.”

The CiCLE Classic proves popular locally, but also internationally, with 15 foreign teams showing an interest in this year’s event.

Now Mr Clews hopes the hunger for the Classic will continue, but understands the coronavirus will have taken its toll.

“The enthusiasm is there,” he added.

“We’ve run it for 16 years. The 16th edition, we put it off last year, we put it off again this year. I’ve still got all the numbers bearing the name the 16th edition of the CiCLE Clasic in my office.

“As soon as we can actually put them onto riders backs that would be what we wish to do, but we need to have a safe environment - not just for the competitors and teams, but for all our helpers and the general community that we encourage to come out and watch the event.

“I think that the longer the period we go without the event, there’s always the problem of getting everybody back on track.

“We had a very well-oiled organisation, which I’m hopeful we’ll be able to bring back to focus on an event next year.

“Once we get out of this pandemic we will have to reassess just where stand in terms of sponsors who are, perhaps, in one or two cases, unable to continue with us due their own circumstances a result of the pandemic. And there’s colleagues equally that we’ve lost to the pandemic.

“It’s very disconcerting and we’ll all need to take stock.”

At present, there remains hope that June’s Women’s and Junior races can still go ahead.