The Colombian National Championships, to be held in the department of Boyaca, have been delayed by two weeks and will now take place between February17-21 as reported by the Colombian Cycling Federation. The decision that could lead to the absence of some of the expected stars who are likely to be in Europe in mid-February.

The Colombian National Federation states that the event "will be postponed for administrative reasons that prevent the event from being held between February 4-7 , the dates originally planned" and that "in agreement with the authorities of the department, the event will be held from February 17-21 ". The new dates coincide with four major stages races: Tour of Oman, Vuelta a Andalusia, Volta ao Algarve and Tour du Haut-Var what may prevent the participation of some of the biggest names in Colombian cycling. Last year, Robinson Chalapud won the road race Rigoberto Uran the time trial.

"The new date was agreed with the federations because the agreements with the municipalities of Paipa, Tunja and Sogamoso had not been signed yet. And moreover, some sections of the circuit have not been repaired yet and fail to be ready for the start date," the federations states.

"Therefore, to take care of the athletes, we chose to postpone the event for the administration of Tunja to finish the work and thus have the necessary guarantees for a good show and no regrettable facts that harm participants, not only in this event but for the rest of the season.

"The most important for our institution and for the organization is always provide the best conditions for the cyclists and for the caravan that accompanies them. Therefore these changes are reported in advance in anticipation of a further notice from local authorities," the statement concludes."