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Bowral Classic 2024: Event Cancelled But Spirits High

The highly anticipated Bowral Classic, part of The Classics series presented by Bicycling Australia, was set to take place on Sunday 20 October but was unfortunately cancelled the morning of due to the traffic management contractor not showing up.

Despite the event organisers’ thorough planning, documentation all being correctly dated, and ongoing communication with the contractor throughout the year — even the week of the event — the company failed to arrive on the morning of the ride, forcing the cancellation of the event.

Altus Group, who were the contracted traffic management provider, have issued a statement accepting responsibility for the error. The statement reads, “The Bowral Classic event was cancelled today due to the Altus Group having planned for the event to occur the following weekend. This was an indefensible error that has negatively impacted a large number of people and for which we are profoundly sorry.”

It adds “While this is the first time in over 20 years and among 1000’s of supported events that we have made such an error, it is nevertheless unacceptable.” The full statement is available to read on their website.

The Bowral Classic event organisers are working hard to refund all registration fees. “We are absolutely heartbroken that the Bowral Classic could not proceed, and we deeply regret the inconvenience this has caused for our participants,” said James Yaffa, Classics Founder.

“We completely understand their frustration and are in the process of refunding all riders.”

While the news of the cancellation was undoubtedly disappointing for the nearly 3,000 cyclists who had travelled from across the country, the Bowral Classic team worked quickly to salvage the day.

The Event Village remained open, offering free food to all riders, entertainment, sponsor activations and a special guest appearance by recent Paris Olympics gold medallist, Conor Leahy. With the sun shining, many cyclists still turned up to the village to enjoy the camaraderie and celebrate cycling, albeit in a more relaxed setting.

For the riders that took to the Village, the sentiment was overwhelmingly positive. Diego Canvero, who has done all the previous 7 editions of the Bowral Classic, remained enthusiastic despite the cancellation. “Hats off to the organisers for offering a full refund and providing free (which was such a great gesture) food for all at were at the village. While we as participants were disappointed with the cancellation, it still looked and felt like the Bowral Classic 2024 took place for me and many others! Thank you”

Julie-Anne Hazlett from the VéloRoo’s Cycling Tours echoed this sentiment: “I still had a fantastic day! Beautiful countryside, lots of smiles, catchups with friends, sunshine and free food and drinks at the end! What’s not to love? The atmosphere was great, the Bowral Classic team did a fantastic job at making sure those that were there enjoyed themselves!”

Looking ahead, the Bowral Classic team remains committed to returning to the Southern Highlands, with the next edition scheduled for 19 October, 2025.

For further information, and future event updates, visit the official Bowral Classic website- www.bowralclassic.com.au.

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