Tour of the Tropics Cancelled

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the most recent advice from the Australian Government, State Governments the Tour of the Tropics will be postponed.

Please see the statement below from event organisers:

It is with great disappointment that we must notify you all, that we will not be proceeding with this year’s event. It is hard work getting an event of this nature up and running and not a decision that has been taken lightly. The safety of our riders and our supporters is paramount, and will always take precedence. Plans are afoot with organisers and peak cycling bodies to create a Virtual Race so riders can still showcase their cycling prowess and keep the momentum up as they wait in anticipation to hit the track again.

“Social isolation, working from home and training in our ‘fitness dungeon’ are becoming more of the new norm. With the support from our State and National Cycling bodies, we are currently looking into opportunities to carry out a ‘virtual’ event. However, if our current behaviours prove fruitful and restrictions are lifted, a social ride like no other would certainly be on the cards. We look forward to rekindling the community spirit,

“The Tour of the Tropics was initially formed from Andy Taylor and my desires’ to provide an event that brought all levels of cycling together, while also displaying the best that Australia has to offer to the region. The Tour of the Tropics team have been meeting regularly over the last few months, with Nick Loukas (Chairman), Andy Taylor (Co-Founder) and myself talking daily, evaluating the advice from the experts and how it impacts our event. The Tour’s August date looked to be suitably placed to be the parting of the clouds, providing the aspiration or fitness goal for us all to aim for. This unfortunately, is proving unlikely, with revised restriction dates forecast nearer October 2020,

“Global commercial uncertainty, travel and manufacturing restrictions have made the continued procurement of permits and finance required to orchestrate an event to the standards we set for ourselves, restricted,” said Tour of the Tropics Co-Founder and Race Director, Damien Ingram.

The cycling enthusiast reflects on the silver lining that the restrictions have forced on society.

“Cycling and exercise has always been my ‘Zen’ time, be it racing, training or commuting. With greater social restrictions, exercise clearly is one of behaviours that we are all reaching for in this unusual period of our lives.

For me, one of the beautiful by-products of this current scenario, is to witness the family bonds grow, watching them take to the streets from my balcony vantage.

“The running of the Tour provides us great satisfaction, watching the enjoyment that you all receive. An enormous amount of work has been carried out to this point, by an amazing team of individuals. I cannot thank them enough for their endless voluntary hours. This year’s event was progressing to be the best yet. With support from Cairns Regional Council, Crystalbrook Collection and many others, we negotiated the Stage 1 criterium in the city centre as the curtain raiser. Each year we look to step up the event to be the pinnacle of domestic racing. This is still our driver and it will take more than the current environment to resist this drive and passion.”

“You can be sure that this body of work will not be wasted, as we now look towards next year. We have been in discussions with many of our sponsors and are excited to confirm that they are all willing to roll over their support to next year. We will continue to update you with our developments, towards the currently forecast dates and beyond. We thank you for your support and hope you all keep well during these uncertain times,” said Mr Ingram.

DAMIEN INGRAM
Director/Race Director