The regional council of Castilla y León has stepped in to save the threatened 2014 World championships, to be held in the northwestern Spanish city of Ponferrada, El Mundo reports. The current financial situation in Spain had meant that the organisers of the event were having problems securing enough sponsorship, and the International Cycling Union (UCI) had threatened to take the championships elsewhere if the funds could not be found.
On September 19th, as the UCI announced that the 2016 Worlds had been awarded to Doha, Qatar, it handed Ponferrada a 30-day deadline, which has now been met.
"The decision by (Castilla y León) President Juan Vicente Herrera has been decisive and removes all doubts over the possibility of the Worlds," said Ponferrada’s mayor Carlos Lopez Piesco, who proclaimed himself “overjoyed” at a press conference this afternoon.
“He has always demonstrated his sensitivity and affection for Ponferrada and El Bierzo [valley] and once again demonstrates his commitment to this land.”
The Ponferrada World championships will be the first time the even has been held in Spain since the Madrid Worlds of 2005. The 2013 event will be held in the renaissance city of Florence, Italy, while the 2015 championships will take place in Richmond, Virginia, where it will be hosted by the United States for only the second time.