Pan American Championships Update

Not postponed for now, but not in Costa Rica, either.

©2021 Bill Schieken

We have been asked many questions about the fate of the Pan American Cyclocross Championships scheduled to take place on November 3-6 in San Jose, Costa Rica. I have spent the last day tracking down accurate information on the event's status.

Here is what I can confirm:

(1)   Costa Rica will not host PanAms in 2022. The race organizer lost access to Parque Viva, the event venue. They were not able to secure a replacement venue. More information on the issues facing the park are here: https://qcostarica.com/government-suspends-operating-permit-for-parque-viva/.

(2)   A few weeks ago, COPACI, the Pan American Cycling Confederation, which includes 40 national federations and four special status members from the American continents, appointed Josh Peacock as the interim president of the cyclocross commission filling a vacancy left after Brook Watts stepped down. Peacock is the director of marketing and events for Cycling Canada.

(3)    Members of the cyclocross commission and affected cycling federations are exploring the possibility of holding the 2022 event at a North American venue. No decision on where that venue is located has been made.

(4)   Even if a venue is found and a race organizer agrees to take on the event for this year, the UCI will still have to approve the change. This is not guaranteed. The commission will seek a derogation from the UCI, if necessary, to hold the event if a venue and organizer are found.

(5)   Derogation is the UCI’s preferred term for an exemption from the rules. In this case, the exemption would be for changing the mandated championship date for PanAms.

From my conversations, many of these questions could be answered by the end of the week. If that happens, I will report back with more definitive news.