USA Cycling announced Wednesday that it has been forced to cancel all elite national championships for the 2020 season, with the exception of the MTB Marathon, which was postponed to November, and the cyclocross championships in December.

Current champions will be allowed to wear the national champion jersey until the 2021 event. Last year in Knoxville, Ruth Winder (Trek-Segafredo) and Alex Howes (EF Pro Cycling) won the elite road race, while Amber Neben and Ian Garrison (Deceuninck-Quickstep) won the time trial. Travis McCabe and Emma White won the criterium.

"This update is written with disappointment after months of numerous plans and options, which unfortunately forced us to announce the cancellation of several National Championships for the 2020 season," the press release stated.

"During this time, we have been looking to set alternate dates in hopes that COVID-19 caseloads will decrease, seek alternative locations when necessary, and consider modifying our events to mitigate risk and meet local regulations and requirements.

"As the decision date approached, it became clear that many challenges to conducting a safe and fair All-Japan Championship were insurmountable. Ultimately, we are not confident that we can ensure the safety of our participants, volunteers, staff, and host community."

In the United States, several states saw a second spike in COVID-19 cases, with Tennessee, which was scheduled to host the Pro Road Championship, hitting a record number of new cases this week. Florida, Arizona, South Carolina, and Texas are among the states struggling to contain the spread of the potentially deadly disease.

However, other states that experienced early spikes, such as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC, have been successful in reducing infection rates.

The overall rate of new infections in the United States was deemed too high, and the Council of the European Union added it to the list of countries that do not permit non-essential travel for their residents.

USA Cycling stated that the "difficulties in obtaining local permits and licenses, the need to make significant changes to the event format, and the financial challenges faced by both our organization and the local organizing committee" led to the decision to cancel the championships

The decision to cancel the championships was due to the fact that the event format had to be significantly changed and we faced financial problems both in our organization and the local organizing committee.

The professional, amateur, masters road, mountain bike, elite, junior, masters track, and gran fondo championships were all cancelled.

A decision is still awaited on the fall collegiate championships.

"Fall collegiate events, Marathon MTB, and Cyclocross Nationals remain under review and we will continue to communicate the status of these events.