USA Cycling announced today the change to the Elite, Junior, and Para Track National Championship. The event will move from July 1-7 in Carson, Calif. to July 15-21 in Trexlertown, Penn.
The last 13 months have placed the VELO Sports Center in Carson, Calif., under severe operational restrictions due to COVID, which have had lasting impacts even as the state of California begins to reduce restrictions. Holding the event at VELO Sports Center is not feasible at this time. The Valley Preferred Cycling Center, along with Discover Lehigh Valley, has stepped in to support bringing the event to Pennsylvania.
“We are disappointed we had to make the difficult decision not to host the 2021 USA Cycling Elite, Junior, and Para Track National Championships,” said Travis Smith of VELO Sports Center.” After such a challenging year, it breaks our hearts to ask for the event to be moved from Los Angeles. We will welcome national championships back again in the coming years with open arms. We wish everyone good luck while racing in Trexlertown and know they will put on a great event as it’s always been a premier racing location.”
“We are very pleased that, by working in partnership with Discover Lehigh Valley, we can step in and provide the venue for Elite, Junior, and Para Nationals as COVID continues to present challenges to our sport. It’s been an incredibly difficult time for events and racers alike, and we know that our community is eager to return to racing in a fun, inclusive, and safe setting. We are thrilled to be able to welcome everybody to our venue this July,” stated Joan Hanscom of the Valley Preferred Cycling Center.
Bree Nidds, Vice-President of Sales for Discover Lehigh Valley, said, “We look forward to welcoming this event to Lehigh Valley. Cyclists are well embraced in our destination, and the Valley Preferred Cycling Center has a reputable history of hosting world-class events.”
“As with all changes to a previously announced event, we understand this change will be disruptive to families and teams that have already planned travel. Moving the event to the Valley Preferred Cycling Center allows us to continue to provide athletes with a great racing experience during a challenging time for sporting events,” stated Tara McCarthy, Director of National Events.