The domestic road racing scene has been under pressure for almost a decade, and the cancellation of the late season stage race underlines how the issues are lingering (Photo: Sean Rowe)
An Irish end-of-season stage race has been cancelled two weeks out due to the very low number of riders who had entered the event to date.
The Charleville Two Day was due to take place on Saturday and Sunday 5th and 6th of September and was being organised by Charleville Wheelers Cycling Club.
Though the event has run successfully for years, and has always been very competitive, race director Brian Jordan has been left with no option but to pull the plug for 2026.
“We understand how disappointing this news is for everyone who was looking forward to attending,” said race director Jordan.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate the support and understanding of our attendees, partners and community.”
Charleville Wheelers Cycling Club, in its statement confirming the 2026 edition would not take place, said:
“The decision was made due to the exceptionally low entries and the need to inform the hotel, gardaí and local county council.”
The club added “all ticket holders will be contacted with information about refunds”.
Cancellation of the event comes in a season when other races have also been called off due to low numbers, and when bunches in many races have been modest.
Though a Cycling Ireland ‘road working group’ was established in the winter of 2024, to evaluate domestic road racing and implement reforms, little has been heard of the group of late.
In early 2025, based on the group’s work, a number of changes were put in place relating to how racing categories, and upgrading, works.
An effort was also made to try to rebalance the racing calendar in a bid to ensure quality racing was spread over the season and major events did not clash.