Women's cycling is on the rise, but it has also encountered struggles along the way. The Vårgårda West Sweden road race and team time trial, which was scheduled to happen, has been announced as cancelled by the organisers.
The decision to cancel the race was announced on the website by the organisers, who cited the economic downturn and the increasing financial demands from both the
UCI and local transportation regulations as the reason for the budget being out of reach.
"After 25 years of organising elite races at the highest level, the club is now forced to turn down the opportunity to continue as Sweden's only World Tour organiser. The reason is financial and increasing demands for a different type of organisation,” read the statement.
The race was instrumental in the rise of women's cycling and has been a part of its growth."Women's cycling is certainly on the right track, but we don't see any possibility of shouldering the increased demands, and on a non-profit basis, to run races at the absolute highest level. The cycling festival has, for a quarter of a century, been a standing event and put Vårgårda and West Sweden on the world map. We are incredibly grateful and impressed by all these efforts and forces that have acted over the years."