Revolution Champions League opener cancelled
Paris event cancelled🌃 due to 'planning issues' after ticket prices were slashed
The openi꧑ng leg of the new Revolution Champions League series has been cancelled just 10 days before it was d🏅ue to take place in France, with organisers giving no clear reason as to why, simply citing 'logistical issues'.
The original Revolution series, which sees trade teams racing in velodromes across the UK, has been well-established 🌠and popular for a number of years, but for this season the organisers partnered with Velon to create the 'Champions League' system.
As well as increasing the number of WorldTour teams, the change was meant to take the racing across the ch♔annel, with the first of the three rounds to be held at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome on the outskirts of Paris. Riders such as Olympic Omnium champion Elia Viviani, Geraint Thomas, Giacomo Nizzolo and Dylan Groenewegen had already confirmed their participation.
"While the Revolution organisation was excited to launch thꦰe first event outside of the UK, the difficult decision was taken not𝄹 to proceed with the first round of the Revolution Cycling Champions League in Paris," read a statement from the organisers on Tuesday.
"The arrival of the competition in France has been delay✱ed to the 2017 season, and will this year take place in the UK only. We are still keen to contribute to the development of track cyc𝄹ling in France, and will aim to come back next year in more favourable conditions, to present the Revolution Series to the French audience."
It has been suggested that a lack of interest in the event - and the prospect of swathes of empty seats in the velodrome - lies at the heart of the decision, with the Direct Velo website,♌ where the news was first🗹 broken, noting that over the past few days ticket prices had been slashed by up to 50 per cent.
Contacted by Cyclingnews on Tuesday, the organisers denied this was the case🍨, stating the decision was due to difficulties in logistics and planning.
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The Revolution Champions League will now consist of just two rounds on UK soil, the first🥃 being held in Man🙈chester from 25-26 November, and the second in London from 2-3 December.
Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. H🌠e’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and♑ Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.