The organisers of the Tour of Britain have announced the cancellation of stage 6 following the death of Queen Elizabeth ll.
Queen Elizabeth ll, the longest-reigning British monarch, died peacefully on Thursday afternoon at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, Buckingham Palace said in a short statement. She was 96.
The Tour of Britain organiser SweetSpot issued a statement upon the conclusion of stage 5 in Mansfield informing the public that stage 6, which was scheduled to take place from Tewkesbury to Gloucester on on Friday, would not take place as the nation is in mourning.
Queen Elizabeth II will lie in state in Westminster as part of 10 days of national mourning beginning on Friday. Other sporting events in Britain have also been cancelled and it is unclear if the Tour of Britain will resume on Saturday for the final two stages.
“The Tour of Britain organisation, alongside the teams, riders and officials involved in the event, are deeply saddened by the passing of Her Majesty the Queen. We would like to send our deepest condolences to the whole of the Royal Family.” SweetSpot wrote in a statement on Thursday.
“As a result, stage six in Gloucestershire on Friday 9 September, scheduled to take place between Tewkesbury and Gloucester, will not take place. Further updates in regards to the status of stages seven and eight will be provided in due course.”
The Tour of Britain in an eight-day race held from September 4-11. Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar) is currently leading the overall classification following stage 5. If the race is ended, under UCI rules Serrano would likely be declared the overall race winner and so be awarded the winner’s UCI ranking points, helping Movistar in their battle to avoid relegation from the WorldTour.
SweetSpot have not confirmed if the Tour of Britain will continue beyond the stage 6 cancellation, and into stage 7 set to take place from West Bay to Ferndown on Saturday and stage 8 from Ryde to The Needles on Sunday.
Updates regarding the final two stage of the Tour of Britain will take place on Friday, September 9.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…