Fabio Aru (open in new tab) will make his 2020 season debut at the Tour Colombia 2.1 as he continues to slowly recover from the cytomegalovirus that forced him to retire from the Vuelta a España, race organizers have announced.

This will be the first time the UAE Team Emirates (open in new tab) rider has raced in Colombia, having previously raced in South America at the 2013 Tour de San Luis and the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Alou will be in Colombia for two weeks leading up to the race for a high-altitude training camp. Upon his return from Colombia, the Sardinia native will compete in Tirreno-Adriatico, and his spring program includes a debut in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and an appearance in the Tour de Romandie.

Aru will miss the Giro d'Italia, where Davide Formolo will lead the UAE Team Emirates challenge, and instead will line up at the Tour de France (open in new tab) with Tadey Pogacar, who impressed as a neo-pro in 2019. Aru will ride the Criterium du Dauphiné as a final warm-up for La Grande Boucle.

The 29-year-old is also hoping to be selected to represent Italy in the Tokyo Olympics road race, which will be held six days after the Tour ends.

"In Tokyo, there will probably be a more targeted buildup with the Giro," Aru told La Gazzetta dello Sport earlier this month. But the most important thing is to do well." If we do well at the Tour, ......."

The third edition of the Tour Colombia 2.1 will be held February 11-16 in the provinces of Boyaca, Cundinamarca, and Bogota.

The UAE Team Emirates will include Colombian riders Camilo Ardila, Cristian Camilo Muñoz, Sergio Luis Henao, and Sebastian Morano. In addition, Deceuninck-QuickStep confirmed that Julian Alaphilippe and Bob Jungels will participate.

Five other World Tour teams will join Team Ineos, EF Education First, Astana, Israel Startup Nation, and Movistar in Colombia.