Canceling a Race After It’s Finished? That’s What Happened at the Canadian Gravel Nationals

Can you cancel a race after it has finished? That is the question that elite racers are asking in the aftermath of the Canadian gravel championships this Sunday, as race organizers announced at the finish that the race was canceled due to extreme heat.

While the men’s overall podium had finished — including three bona fide gravel professionals, Mike Woods, Andrew “Lespy” L’Esperance, and Ben Perry — race officials stopped riders still out on course, due to the temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. (30 degrees Celsius is about 86 degrees Fahrenheit.)

“I’m disappointed, for sure,” Mike Woods, the unofficial winner of the event after an audacious solo breakaway, told Canadian Cycling Magazine after Cycling Canada’s announcement that the race was canceled. “I went so deep. One of the deepest I’ve ever gone. To now find out that there might be a podium or results? It’s a shame.”

While Canada is less accustomed to warm temperatures, having temperatures exceed 30 degrees on Vancouver Island, where the event took place, is hardly record-breaking. Nevertheless, with the race measuring temperatures in excess of 34 degrees,, the race decided that to guarantee the safety of the riders, it had to cancel the race despite making adjustments to the race program in anticipation of the higher temperature.

“As the event progressed, we monitored the situation referencing the Cycling BC Air Quality and Extreme Weather Safety Guidelines,” Jon Watkin, the race director, said in a published statement. “Over the course of the day, medical resources began to reach their capacity, creating a vulnerable situation for riders on course.

“On course race temperatures of greater than 34+ degrees Celsius were measured, and it became clear that proceeding with the event would not meet the safety standards required for every participant.”

Nevertheless, for a race with a 128km and 2,000 meters of climbing, to make a decision to cancel the event after the leaders have finished, without issue, seems like a fairly conservative choice for extreme heat. At the BWR Arizona event on February 28 of this year, L’Esperance battled for the win in 34 degree celsius temperatures over a course with more distance and more climbing.

It is a remarkably low threshold for race cancellation, especially with the weather anticipated from before the start, the shorter distances of race, and the proximity to summer.

Currently, all the results from the race have been annulled, and Canadian Cycling is reviewing that decision since it was made after the fact for the elite men. It is unclear at the time if the elite women were able to finish or who exactly was stopped before beginning the second lap of the course. There are mixed reports on if the men’s leaders were told the race was canceled during their final lap by moto-refs, but regardless, at that point, the only way back to the finish was to continue riding anyway.

“For the cancellation, from my understanding, there were participants that were having issues with the heat, and aid stations were not adequately stocked with water for the conditions nor frequent enough for the conditions,” Andrew L’Esperance said on an Instagram story after the race. “So, for the safety of participants, the organization made a good call to prioritize safety and cancel the race.

“In my experience, at other events, the protocols for hot racing include making the start time earlier to avoid some of the heat, ensuring plenty of water and ice available on course, and adding aid stations. It seems like these steps were not taken, which is surprising because we received a communication from the race organizer about the forecasted heat warning well before race day. In the end, no championship titles or results have been posted, and it is in Canadian Cycling’s hands to figure out a solution.

“It is too bad that this happened, and is a challenging situation for everyone involved. [I’m] glad everyone made it back to the finish, and hopefully CC and race organizers can take notes from this experience and make improvements for the future.”