Australia will have to wait even longer to crown a new national champion in the discipline after the Australian cyclocross championships were cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The title decider, scheduled for August 21, was postponed amid ongoing closures in Victoria and beyond to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The Australian Cycling National Cyclocross Championships, scheduled to be held at Broadford, a motorcycle racetrack north of Victoria's capital Melbourne, was rescheduled for October 17.

The Australian champion is usually crowned first at the start of the new international cyclocross season. Located in the southern hemisphere, August is the last month of winter, and the battle for the national title is waged as the Australian season draws to a close.

"Due to the recent blockade of Victoria, the championships will now be held in Victoria on October 17.

"Australian Cycling thanks the Sunbury Cycling Club for their commitment to the Championships so far, and due to the limited dates available at the Broadford track for the remainder of 2021, the Championships will be moved."

"The new venue will be determined over the next two weeks."

While the number of COVID-19 cases remains low by international standards across Australia, blockades in some locations, restrictions on the number of people allowed to congregate, interstate border restrictions, quarantine requirements, and rapidly changing conditions in response to the outbreak all hindering the ability to run cycling events. Cyclocross, a winter sport, has been one of the most heavily affected.

In cyclocross, not only have national championships been cancelled one year and postponed to the following year, but local events in areas hit hard by recurring regulations have also been forced to cancel or postpone.

The National Series has also struggled, with only the originally scheduled weekend event in South Australia taking place in 2021. The only international cyclocross event in the country, the Melbourne Grand Prix of Cyclocross in the Building C2 classification, was also cancelled in 2020 and was not on the calendar this year.

When the Australian cyclocross championships were last held, Chris Yongeward won his fifth national title and Peta Mullens finished second in the heavy mud of the course on the grounds of a winery in King Valley, Victoria.

However, New Zealand will host the Cyclocross National Championships on Sunday, August 15. This event is the first listed on the UCI cyclocross calendar for this season.

The first cyclocross World Cup round of the 2021-2022 season is scheduled for October, and there will be three events in Europe as well as the United States this season.