The Keegan Downes Memorial Sundowner Handicap (from Coonabarabran to Gunnedah) and the Gunnedah to Tamworth Graded Scratch Races had been scheduled for September 12 and September 13 respectively.

Read also:

Tamworth Cycle Club said it followed the lead of Gunnedah Cycling and Triathlon Club - organiser of the Sundowner - in cancelling the Gunnedah to Tamworth.

TCC president Daniel Nash said COVID-19 safety concerns was the main reason the annual Gunnedah to Tamworth was axed.

He said medical professional and the general public were among those consulted before the TTC's committee informed Cycling NSW of the decision to scrap the event.

In the current environment it "was not worth the risk", he stressed.

"Potentially, we'd have a lot of Sydney and Newcastle riders potentially putting that [COVID] risk on three communities - Coonabarabran, Gunnedah and Tamworth," he said.

"I think it's better to be safe than sorry."

Nash said the annual Sundowner being cancelled made the decision to abandon the Gunnedah to Tamworth easier, as the latter segued from the former.

Many of the riders who compete in the Sundowner, he continued, also compete in the Gunnedah to Tamworth.

"The events kind of go hand in hand," he said

Cycling NSW said it "respected" the clubs' decision.

"The protection of public health continues to be of primary importance to the cycling community," said the state's peak cycling body.

Cycling NSW said that all club and state races it sanctioned "must be conducted in accordance with Cycling NSW and NSW government requirements and guidelines, including the implementation of a COVID-19 Safety Plan".