Blayney Shire Council will turn its attention to promoting and growing events within its own region after it was announced that the B2B (Bathurst to Bathurst) will not start in Blayney from 2020.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
From next year, the event - previously called the Blayney to Bathurst - is set to start and end in Bathurst, meaning the race will not start in Blayney for the first time in the event's history.
Blayney councillor David Kingham said Bathurst Regional Council required a contribution of $50,000 for the event, however, he said the investment was not worth it.
"It's not starting in Blayney because Bathurst Regional Council wanted a contribution of $50,000 from Blayney Shire Council to keep it going," he said.
"We thought, hang on, how many tourists are coming to Blayney for the event? Tourists are spending very little money in Blayney, so we decided about concentrating on ramping up our Hay Bale Challenge and we think we'll have our own bike race in the future."
Cr Kingham said it's disappointing not to be involved in the Bathurst Cycling Classic anymore.
"[The Bathurst Cycling Classic] is a great thing but now we'll spend $50,000 on our own thing," he said.
"The Hay Bale Challenge brings a lot of money and people to town. It's really a tourist mecca for Blayney.
It's something we've created, it's unique and it's something we want to carry on with.
- Blayney councillor David Kingham on the Hay Bale Challenge.
"It's something we've created, it's unique and it's something we want to carry on with."
Blayney councillor Bruce Reynolds said major cycling events will not be abandoned in the region.
"From a tourism perspective, we'll be talking with Orange360 about organising short term cycling events in the region," he said.
"We already hold a few and we're opening up a new bridge between Millthorpe and Carcoar, so there's a potential opportunity to create a new event between the two towns."
The Bathurst Cycling Classic will be held on March 14-15 with criterium and hill climb events on the Saturday and short and long course road events on the Sunday.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE NEWS?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...