Tour of California won’t be held in 2020

The Tour of California will not be held in 2020, the race organiser has announced.

AEG, the sports and live entertainment company that has run the Tour of California for the last 14 years, said the week-long stage race has been put on “haitus” next season.

The organiser did not reveal the exact reason for the decision, but hopes the race can be re-launched for 2021.

Kristin Klein, the president of the Tour of California and executive vice president of AEG Sports, said: “While professional cycling globally continues to grow and we are very proud of the work we have done to increase the relevance of professional cycling, particularly in the United States, it has become more challenging each year to mount the race.

“This new reality has forced us to re-evaluate our options, and we are actively assessing every aspect of our event to determine if there is a business model that will allow us to successfully re-launch the race in 2021.”

First held in 2006, the race grew from a 2.HC category race to become the only WorldTour race in the US from 2017.

Former winners have included Bradley Wiggins in 2014, Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) in 2015 and last season Egan Bernal (Team Ineos).

In 2015 the three-stage Women’s Tour of California was also launched, which quickly became a Women’s WorldTour level race.

Chairman of USA Cycling, Bob Stapleton, said: “On behalf of USA Cycling, I would like to thank AEG, Kristin and her team for providing and outstanding showcase for the sport in America and for our American athletes.

“We stand ready to help really additional support and resources in the hope of resuming this event in 2021.”

>>> Teams launch scathing criticism of UCI and demand urgent action 

The news that the the Tour of California will not be held next year may have played a part in Peter Sagan opting to ride the Giro d’Italia next season.

Sagan, the record winner of seven Tour of California stages, has ridden the event every year since 2010, but is opting to ride the Italian Grand Tour which traditionally overlapped with California.