After the Tour of Slovenia announced that it would not host the 2020 event, a series of race cancellations (open in new tab) and postponements due to the coronavirus outbreak continued into June.

The UCI Pro Series race was scheduled to run from June 10-16, but was canceled with almost three months' notice due to extensive containment measures underway in Slovenia, which borders Italy, the country most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. (Open in new tab)

The Tour of Slovenia has established itself in recent years as a preparatory race for the Tour de France, replacing the Tour de Suisse and Criterium du Dauphiné (open in new tab) In 2019, Diego Ulissi won, and in 2018 was won by Primoz Roglic, who beat Rigoberto Uran to win the overall.

"From an organizational point of view, we should have already done all the activities to organize the Slovenian Tour," said race director Bogdan Fink.

"In fact, all the rooting had to be cancelled at an unexpected length and the new financial reality had to be questioned. In light of this, we had to accept a responsible decision and cancel this season's Tour of Slovenia."

"We are very sorry for the loss of the Tour of Slovenia.

While many race organizers have announced postponements rather than cancellations of events due to the coronavirus outbreak, following the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Bretagne, the Tour of Slovenia has announced that its next event will be in 2021.

"The decision to cancel the race was made after careful and thorough consideration, taking into account the broader context of the race's organization," said Mojca Novak, president of the organizing committee. The Slovenian government passed a measure that does not allow further organizational and promotional activities. At the same time, the health of all those involved in the project must be taken into consideration."

The UCI confirmed that all races have been suspended until the end of April and that the Giro d'Italia, scheduled for May 9-27, has been postponed. Races such as the Criterium du Dauphiné and the Tour de Suisse remain on the calendar for June, but the cancellation of the Tour of Slovenia raises further questions about its viability, as does the 2020 Tour de France, scheduled to start on June 27 in Nice. as well as the 2020 Tour de France, which is scheduled to start in Nice on June 27.

Five-time winner Bernard Inaud told Le Parisien this week that the Tour organization "should not hesitate" to cancel the race if the coronavirus outbreak does not rapidly ease.

After a conference call with key race organizers on Tuesday, the UCI agreed in principle to extend the cycling season until November 1 in order to hold the postponed Giro and Monument in the fall, but if the coronavirus outbreak causes races to be canceled throughout the summer These plans will be reconsidered if the coronavirus outbreak causes races to be canceled throughout the summer.