Cycle racing on road course at Calga suspended

Members of the Central Coast Cycling Club are gearing up for their first 2017 CycloX event. Archive 2017

Central Coast Cycling Club’s Executive Committee has announced that the Club has suspended racing at its road course at Calga.

The Club races the course annually during the winter months, but announced the suspension on February 20 due to mounting external pressure.
In a statement, Club President, Brendan Marshall, said it was up in the air whether the club would be abandoning the course entirely.
“With much regret, the Club will be suspending racing there for the foreseeable future.
“The ever-increasing requirements from NSW Police and Central Coast Council, the spiralling costs, and the amount of work, planning and traffic control required to even get close to being approved is just too much for us to continue,” Marshall said.
“Thanks greatly to all of the efforts from the Road Committee to try and get this approved, and thanks to all those riders for supporting the race over the years.
“It is just beyond our reasonable attempts over several months, several revisions, and weeks’ of work,” he added.
The news comes after the Australian Time Trials Association (ATTA) announced that they’d also been forced to abandon their usual event at Calga due to the same pressures.
“We will continue to race at our University of Newcastle course and we will look at adding races there later in the season.
“We are also on the hunt for new race venues.
“It is, however, becoming very difficult, and these days will require a safe, car free closed road circuit.
“Open road or rolling enclosures are just too difficult for us to get approved,” Marshall said.

Source:
Website, Feb 20
Brendan Marshall, Central Coast Cycling Club