South Australia’s Festival of Cycling cut back to one-day event

The Santos Festival of Cycling village program in Adelaide will be slashed from four days to just one as a result of organisers being forced to switch locations as the original site at the city’s central Victoria Park is now one a Covid testing site.

The village - home to a range of cycling activities and live entertainment - will now be set up at the nearby Victoria Square to run on 26th January.

Organisers said the decision was made “following discussions with SA Health and understanding the peak of the Omicron outbreak in SA is likely to come at the back end of January”.

Nonetheless, Events SA Executive Director, Hitaf Rasheed said she was confident fans would still enjoy the village, telling The Advertiser “we understand the importance of the Victoria Park testing site, and support SA Health as their need for the precinct has evolved with the Omicron Covid-19 variant

“COVID has taught us to be nimble and to consider scenarios. Our talented team have done that.

“The new location - well known to Santos Tour Down Under cycling fans - was chosen for its central access, and abundance of open space so visitors can disperse around the track and also enjoy the activity in Victoria Square.”

The Santos Festival of Cycling is due to run from 21st to 29th January.

A scaled-back version of the Tour Down Under, it is the second year the festival has been held. The 2022 Tour Down Under was scrapped due to complications with COVID-19.

Image: The Tour Down Under passes through central Adelaide. Credit: Tour Down Under.