This year's world BMX championships scheduled for May 26-31 in the United States have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the international cycling federation (UCI) said on Monday.
The competition in Houston, Texas, was set to be the final chance to claim Olympic qualifying points for this summer's Tokyo Games.
"In view of the current health situation, holding the UCI BMX World Championships, preceded by the amateur Challenge class, would have potentially posed a risk to the health of the riders, all those involved in the event and the fans," a UCI statement said.
On March 15 the UCI asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to retroactively suspend the qualifying period from March 13.
Doubts about this year's Olympics increased on Tuesday as Canada pulled out of the Games and World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe called for them to be postponed over the outbreak.
"This position may of course be reviewed depending on the decisions taken by the IOC regarding the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games," the UCI said.
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