GS Alto Garda, organizer of the Tour of the Alps, has announced that it will not host the 2020 race and will focus on hosting the 2021 race.

The 2020 race was scheduled to take place April 20-24, but the race calendar was cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. This season was to be reborn as the UCI Pro Series, but no suitable dates could be found for the UCI's newly announced post-COVID-19 calendar from August to October, so for now it consists only of World Tour races.

In a statement released Wednesday, organizers said that given the current uncertain climate, there are no "significant prospects for identifying new dates" for the race.

"Under these circumstances, it is clear that we are not in a position to host the 2020 Tour de Alps at the appropriate level," said Giacomo Santini, president of GS Alto Garda.

"The outbreak of COVID-19 and its impact on the sporting world has led to choices for which there are no realistic alternatives.

"People's health and safety is paramount and sports like cycling have tough challenges to face in this regard. For this reason, we now want to set our goals for 2021, in the usual April calendar slot."

"We are also looking at the possibility of a new, more ambitious goal for the year 2021, which would be a great opportunity for us to make a difference.

The organizing committee will soon begin preparations for next year's event (the 44th edition) with the goal of "massive participation" by World Tour teams.

Formerly known as the Giro del Trentino, the race is one of the warm-up events for the Giro d'Italia, with many riders and teams participating prior to the Corsa Rosa.

In 2019, five WorldTour teams participated, with young Pavel Sivakov of Ineos taking the overall win. Past winners include Geraint Thomas, Cadel Evans, Vincenzo Nibali (twice), and Thibaut Pinot.