L’Étape Australia cancelled after Shoalhaven Council withdraw support

Organiser Lateral Events has announced the cancellation of this year's L’Étape Australia race, following the decision by Shoalhaven Council to withdraw its support for the event.

The 2021 L'Etape Australia has been cancelled. Source: Twitter

The two-day race, which aims to give amateurs the experience of a mountainous stage of the Tour de France, had been rescheduled from the 19th-20th of March to the 27th-28th of November due to weather concerns around the original dates.

Riders were set to travel a 136 kilometre route through the South Coast, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands regions of New South Wales before finishing in the town of Kiama.

But a statement issued on Tuesday by Lateral Events revealed Shoalhaven City Council, one of three Local Government Areas along the route, had made the decision to 'discourage' the event from being held on public roads in the area, forcing the event to be cancelled due to the need for total support from authorities in order for it to be held safely.

L’Étape Australia's Race Director Florent Malézieux said he was surprised by the Council's decision given their previous written support for the event.

“We were led to believe that the councillors and local businesses supported the race and had embraced the benefits of staging the event, which included having up to 6,000 riders, their families and supporters stay in the region, delivering millions of dollars of direct tourism expenditure, and a year-long national TV campaign promoting the event and the region," Mr Malézieux said in the statement.

He also revealed the organisers will now look to review the location of the race for the 2022 edition and beyond.

“We respect the right of the Shoalhaven City Council councillors to make this decision. We will now consider our options and continue to create great experiences for riders in beautiful terrains,” Mr Malézieux said.