Due to rain disaster, Tour de Okinawa race section will run 50km for all classes – Tour de Okinawa 2024 cyclowired event information

A landslide caused by heavy rain occurred in the northern part of the main island of Okinawa ahead of the Tour de Okinawa. All cycling events scheduled for Saturday have been cancelled. For Sunday’s race section, it was decided that all classes would run one lap of the 50km course, running around the outer circumference of Motobu Peninsula and finishing in Nago.

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Tour de Okinawa will be held over two days on November 9th and November 10th. A linear band of rain had formed since the previous day in the Yanbaru area north of Nago City, the scene of the incident, and heavy rain continued to fall, causing landslides and road collapse until the early hours of the morning. Landslides occurred in several places in the towns of Ogimi, Kunigami, and Higashi, where long distance races are held, and residents were advised to evacuate. The moist ground tends to loosen, and the entire course is within the warning zone. The rain will continue into Sunday morning, with rainfall expected to reach 200mm.

After examining the condition of the roads on the course, the organizers and the roads office decided not to use the northern roads for the race, saying that they would not be able to repair the roads to be completed tomorrow so they could not keep it safe. race As an alternative, it was decided to use the course around Motobu Point, which is used for 50km races, and run races for all classes.

Although it was a “difficult decision” to make the change to hold the race, all distance races, including international races, will be held in just one 50km lap. Race classes divided by age and gender will be combined and implemented.

The start time for the international championship race remains unchanged at 6:45. The citizens’ 200km (50km) race will start 10 minutes later at 6:55am, followed by the 140km race, then the 100km race, and so on at different times.

At the meeting, the judges emphasized that “there should not be dangerous situations or overtaking (passing), and that the race should be held with the safety of athletes and other officials as a priority.”

It was also explained that as the rain is expected to continue tonight until tomorrow morning, the event may be postponed depending on future warnings and course conditions.

For details on when the race will be held, time changes, etc., check the official Tour de Okinawa website and the schedule posted on SNS.

text:Makoto.AYANO