West Coast UCI cyclocross has taken another hit with the cancellation of the 2019 West Sacramento Grand Prix. Originally scheduled for October 19-20, the 2019 C2 weekend has been canceled due to an issue with the venue.
The WSCXGP is the second UCI race scheduled for that weekend to be scratched from the calendar. Earlier this summer, organizers of RenoCross, secheduled for Friday, October 18, announced their race would not happen due to an inability to find sponsorship.
The cancellation of WSCXGP is due to construction at and near Riverwalk Park, and race director Matthew Hargrove stressed the race will return in 2020. “The race is financially stable and we have full support of West Sacramento.,” he said.
The West Sacramento Grand Prix should return in 2020. 2018 West Sacramento Cyclocross Grand Prix Day 2. © L. Lamoureux
Hargrove described the challenges his team faced and how they tried what they could to make the race happen in 2020.
“The issue is that three major construction projects are happening at the park and in the neighborhood where our course is located,” Hargrove explained. “We have tried to wait until the last possible moment to make the decision to see if any of the projects get delayed, but they all are on track to break ground in September. They are big projects, two with construction cranes.”
“We even looked into moving the whole race, but we felt there was not another location within West Sacramento that would meet UCI technical standard and our own standards for a race course at that level.”
With the two West Coast races off the calendar, DCCX in the nation’s capital is the one UCI race in the U.S. that October weekend.
Despite losing the West Sac Grand Prix in 2019, Hargrove still had a sense of humor about the situation. “Our plan is to let the construction finish and be back,” he said. “The good news is that we will end up with a really nice hotel on course and new spectator area on the swing dock to watch the race from a unique perspective!”
Click here to see the full 2019 North American UCI cyclocross calendar
