Organizers rescheduling Sea Otter Classic
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Organizers of the Sea Otter Classic have decided to reschedule the April 2020 event due to impacts of the Coronavirus. The Bicycle Leadership Conference will also be rescheduled.
Every year, the classic attracts 10,000 bicyclists and thousands of their fans from all over the world to WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca.
Athletes and coaches on Salinas High School's Mountain Bike Team said they have participated in the event for years.
"It's the first time we've ever had something like that happen. We totally understand what's going on. We have a global event going on. The Sea Otter Classic brings in people from all over the world," said Salinas High School's Mountain Bike Team head coach, John Carr.
Organizers of the event said the health of their attendees remains top priority, but a more pressing reason for the cancellation was delays in the manufacturing of bicycles.
"The impact on the bicycle industry globally is significant since so many bicycles and bike products are produced in Asia, both China and Taiwan. Of course, that has been significant impact over the last couple of months," said Sea Otter Classic President and CEO, Frank Yohannan.
The Sea Otter Classic also planned to host over 900 product brands.
Yohannan said some companies expressed concerns over travel, particularly those who were to come from overseas. "We could see, and we heard, that it was going to be more restrictive on them to come and attend," said Yohannan.
The event brings people from all over the world to the Central Coast. It provides a major boost for economy in Monterey County.
Officials at Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau hopes the event will be rescheduled. "Each event producer is going to make decisions for their event, for their audience, for their participants that makes the most sense for them. Our job is to make sure that we provide information to our members, to event producers and others on what is going on so they can make those decisions," said Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO, Rob O'Keefe.
Organizers are expected to make an announcement about when they will reschedule sometime next week. They also plan to address refunds and rollovers.
