The 2020 Mountain Bike Cross Country World Championships in Albstadt have been cancelled due to a coronavirus outbreak. Originally scheduled to run from June 25-28, the event was postponed until late March.

Germany has since banned all public gatherings of more than 5,000 people until October 24, forcing the cancellation of the event. In a statement Thursday, the UCI said it is still working to find an alternative venue for the 2020 Mountain Bike World Championships.

"The UCI and organizers initially sought to postpone the event, but worked together through this process before agreeing to make the difficult decision to cancel the championships.

"The UCI shares the disappointment of the cross-country community and acknowledges the efforts made by the city of Albstadt, the German Cycling Federation (BDR) and the state of Baden-Württemberg during this difficult situation.

"The UCI and the organizers hope to cooperate in organizing an international mountain bike competition in the near future.

The mountain bike calendar has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with only one World Cup event held so far, the E-MTB Cross Country World Cup in Monaco in March. all until the end of June. events have been postponed or cancelled, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been postponed until next year.

The UCI emphasized the importance of the Mountain Bike World Championships and World Cup to its finances when it announced a series of cost-cutting measures last month; both the MTB World Cup and World Championships are sponsored by Mercedes-Benz.

"The Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup round is particularly important to our organization in terms of revenue," the UCI said last month.

On Thursday, the UCI confirmed that it aims to host a world championship in 2020.

"The UCI remains committed to ensuring that the UCI Mountain Bike Cross Country World Championships are hosted by Mercedes-Benz in 2020. The UCI will make an announcement on this matter as soon as possible."