Life Time, which owns and produces the Garmin DK gravel event, announced that the 2020 DK, which had been rescheduled for September 12, 2020 in Emporia, Kan., has been cancelled due to persisting COVID-19 concerns. The decision to cancel comes after input from community leaders and reviewing the latest scientific data trends on the Coronavirus pandemic, said Life Time.
“Our team has worked hard for many weeks to determine if an event could take place in Emporia this Fall and we have been in regular communication with local community and health leaders to determine our best path forward,” said Lelan Dains, DK race director at Life Time. “While we hoped that something could be done, if even with an altered capacity, we now realize the safest and most responsible thing to do for our athletes, volunteers, and community is cancel the 2020 event.”
Life Time is offering registered athletes their choice of four options. Participants have been requested to select their choice by August 7:
- Complimentary deferral into the 2021 event (June 5, 2021)
- Complimentary deferral into the 2022 event (June 4, 2022)
- Donation of original entry fee to the Life Time Foundation (benefitting the Emporia Unified School District 253 school lunch program) and receive a guaranteed, non-complimentary entry into their choice of the 2021 or 2022 event
- Full refund (excluding processing fees)
“The decision to cancel an event is never an easy one, and I appreciate the thought and work that Life Time has put into planning the 2020 race,” said Danny Giefer, mayor of host city Emporia. “While we are all disappointed the event can’t occur as planned, we can look forward to 2021 and a continued long-term relationship hosting the world’s premier gravel cycling race right here in Emporia.”
Further information is here: https://dirtykanza.com/new-dirt/2020-event-status-update/
