The L'Etape Australia cycling event has been cancelled and the location of the event for 2022 and beyond will now be reviewed, following a decision by Shoalhaven City Council to ‘discourage’ the event from being held on public roads in the Shoalhaven.

A press release from Lateral Event Management, the event's organiser, says Shoalhaven City Council’s withdrawal of support has left Lateral Events no other option but to cancel the event, due to be held on the last weekend in November.

Race Director Florent Malézieux said the decision by Shoalhaven City Council was a surprise given their earlier written letter of support, and did not align with feedback Lateral Events had received from much of the community and Council officials and Councillors, during the consultation process.

“We were led to believe that the councillors and local businesses supported the race and had embraced the benefits of staging the event, which included having up to 6,000 riders, their families and supporters stay in the region, delivering millions of dollars of direct tourism expenditure, and a year-long national TV campaign promoting the event and the region.”

The withdrawal of support from Shoalhaven Council, one of the three LGAs involved with the event, was despite Lateral making significant adjustments to the event to respond to community concerns regarding potential impacts of the event. These included moving the event to the Sunday, dropping the Ride component and decreasing the time that roads would be closed by starting the event earlier.

“We respect the right of the Shoalhaven City Council councillors to make this decision. We will now consider our options and continue to create great experiences for riders in beautiful terrains,” Mr Malézieux said.

In its press release, Lateral Events gave special thanks to Kiama Council and Wingecarribee Shire Council, its councillors, along with businesses, residents and community groups for their ongoing support, saying they would like to see Kiama and the Southern Highlands continue to be supported by major events in the future.