Teams, including some from the World Tour, were ready to start the Adriatica Ionica Race tomorrow (September 22), but to their surprise, they were informed in the last few hours that the Italian race had been canceled.
Confirmed teams included Astana Qazaqstan Team, Soudal-Quickstep, EOLO-Kometa, EF Education, among other continental teams, with an initial list of cyclists that included names like Alexey Lutsenko, Gianni Moscon, Vincenzo Albanese, Lorenzo Fortunato, Louis Meintjes, and other notable professionals.
The majority of the teams were already present in Corropoli, where the multi-day event was set to begin. They had been reassured by the organization on Wednesday night, despite rumors circulating that the race might not go ahead. On Thursday afternoon, the race director, Moreno Argentin, announced from his home via video call that the race, in the end, could not take place.
The reasons given were issues with traffic technical guidance and the absence of the UCI jury. According to Argentin, the UCI’s failure to send arbitration members was due to a “political” conflict with the Italian Cycling Federation. Previously, the race organization and the cycling association had not reached an agreement on the television rights for the race.