# Riders await new date for test event

*By Simon | April 26, 2024*

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![2h-media-cdDDWLezAJ0-unsplash](https://globalkeirin.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2h-media-cdDDWLezAJ0-unsplash.jpg)

## 󠀁[Riders await new date for test event](https://globalkeirin.com/2024/04/riders-await-new-date-for-test-event/)󠁿

26 April 2024

With DerbyWheel’s test event
[missing its proposed April 26-28 dates](https://globalkeirin.com/2024/04/derbywheel-confirms-test-event-delay/)
, organisers and riders now face a number of practical challenges in choosing a
new date before the end of June, as promised.

After a relatively quiet spring, there are a number of well-established UCI C1
and C2 events scheduled for May and June; and track time at the Newport
velodrome in south Wales, still expected to host the test event, is always in
high demand.

Many UK-based sprinters will be at Newport on May 26, for the annual Black Line
Open, part of British Cycling’s National Sprinters League series. The meet was
scheduled at short notice, when track time became available in the wake of
DerbyWheel’s cancellation.

There are C1 sprint events listed for May 31 – June 1 in Cottbus, Germany; June
7-8 in Brno, Czechia; and June 28-30 in Ghent, Belgium. These usually feature
strong international fields, including some elite riders with Olympic ambitions.

At the lower C2 level, there are events in Dublin (June 1-2), London (June
13-14), Athens (June 21-22), Frankfurt an der Oder (June 21-22), and Sofia (June
26-27). These races would typically attract good national-level riders, whom we
might expect to see in DerbyWheel’s A or B classes.

Riders may find themselves having to decide between following through on
existing race plans, or withdrawing from existing commitments in order to
participate in the DerbyWheel test event.

For DerbyWheel’s younger riders, many will also have an eye on the European
Junior and U23 championships, held on July 9-14 at Cottbus, Germany. Even if the
UCI situation is resolved in time, a DerbyWheel test event in late June may not
sit well with their training plans.

There has been no explicit statement as to whether participation in a test event
would be considered sanctionable. The induction sessions at Melbourne and
Manchester were private events, with the lack of prize money making them easy to
overlook. But the test event has promised big paychecks, surely making the UCI
unlikely to be so forgiving.

**Categories:** Original
**Tags:** testevent