The 2020 Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) Road World Championships will take place in the Vaud and Valais cantons of Switzerland, while the '21 event was assigned to the Flanders region of Belgium, "with the road races expected to finish in Leuven." The UCI also revealed that the road Worlds will return to Switzerland in '24, with the event due to be held at the same location as the Para-Cycling Worlds "in the German-speaking cantons" (CYCLING NEWS, 9/27).
NBA
The upcoming NBA preseason will feature a total of 17 games that involve NBA teams playing games outside the U.S. or int'l teams playing games in the U.S. All but two of the games will air internationally in one or more countries. The games include the Canada Series, which has 11 sponsors, led by presenter Bell. The China Games have a roster of 17 sponsors, including presenting partner Vivo (NBA).
Men and women "will race together for their nations for the first time" in the 2019 Road World Championships in Yorkshire. The team time-trial mixed relay is being introduced as part of a drive to "encourage gender equality." UCI President David Lappartient said that the new event was designed to "increase the attractiveness" of cycling (BBC, 9/26).
St. Petersburg, Russia, will host the 2023 World Ice Hockey Championship, the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia said in a statement on Thursday. The federation's deputy president, Roman Rotenberg, said that the '24 and '25 world championships will be held in the Czech Republic and Sweden, respectively (REUTERS, 9/27).
Soldier Field was awarded the final of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. It will mark the third time -- joining '13 and '07 -- that the NFL Chicago Bears' home has hosted the event. The tournament, expanding from 12 to 16 national teams, will also be played in 15 other U.S. venues, as well as in Central America and the Caribbean. The 2019 Gold Cup will begin next June (Ian Thomas, Staff Writer).
