The UCI announced Thursday that it has canceled the junior men's and women's and under-23 men's events scheduled for the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Belgium on December 20 in Namur and 27 in Dendermonde.

According to a statement from the sports governing body, the three events had to be removed from the schedule due to the Belgian government's implementation of strict COVID-19 measures until January 15, 2021.

Under the new rules, which began at the end of October and run through November 19, professional sports must be played in open spaces and amateur sports competitions, both indoor and outdoor, are prohibited to participants over 12 years old, according to Politico (opens in new tab).

"Due to the current pandemic (Covid-19) related to the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the Belgian government recently announced that measures and restrictions on sporting events will continue until January 15, 2021," the statement said. [As a result, the International Cycling Union (UCI) has cancelled the men's junior, women's junior and men's under-23 races of the 2020-2021 UCI Cyclocross World Cup to be held in Namur (Belgium) on December 20 and Dendermond (Belgium) on December 27 It is with regret that we have to announce that.

The elite men's and women's races are unaffected by this action and will take place as originally scheduled.

"The UCI shares the disappointment of the cyclocross community and recognizes the efforts of the organizers in this difficult situation," the statement said.

Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, this year's World Cup series has been reduced to just five races.

Racing began on Sunday in Tabor, Czech Republic, with Zoe Backstedt (GBR) winning the junior women's race, Maciej Stransky (CZE) the junior men's race, and Thomas Main (GBR) the under-23 men's race.

Lucinda Brand (Netherlands) won the elite women's race and Michael Vanthourenhout (Belgium) won the elite men's race to take the series' first elite leader's jersey.

The UCI Cyclocross World Cup continues with Namur, Belgium on December 20, followed by Dendermonde on December 27, Hulst, Netherlands on January 3, and concludes in Oweisse, Belgium on January 24.

The 2021 UCI Cyclocross World Championships will be held January 30-31 in Oostende, Belgium, and the sport's governing body said it is confident that the junior men's and women's and under-23 men's and women's events will be at the World Championships.

"The UCI is confident, based on ongoing discussions with the organizers and the competent authorities, that events in the junior and under-23 categories will be included in the competition program of the 2021 UCI Cyclocross World Championships."