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The Amgen Tour of California will not run in 2020

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The biggest American road race for men and women, the Amgen Tour of California, will not run in 2020.

Citing financial pressures, race organisers announced on Tuesday that the race would go “on hiatus” next season.

“This has been a very difficult decision to make, but the business fundamentals of the Amgen Tour of California have changed since we launched the race 14 years ago,” said Kristin Klein, president of the Amgen Tour of California and executive vice president of AEG Sports. “It has become more challenging each year to mount the race. This new reality has forced us to re-evaluate our options.”

Klein said AEG Sports is hopeful of bringing the race back in 2021, saying that the race owner was “actively assessing every aspect of our event to determine if there is a business model that will allow us to successfully relaunch.”

The men’s Tour of California began in 2006 as a UCI 2.1 event, but was elevated to a 2.HC ranking the following year. In 2010 it moved from its original February timeslot to May and has remained there since. In 2015 race organisers introduced a women’s event for the first time. That race was elevated to the Women’s WorldTour the following year.

In 2017 the men’s race was also elevated to WorldTour level, making the Amgen Tour of California the only U.S. race with WorldTour designation for both men and women.

Levi Leipheimer holds the record for the most overall wins of the men’s race, with three. Other former winners include Michael Rogers, Chris Horner, Tejay van Garderen, Bradley Wiggins, Peter Sagan, Julian Alaphilippe and Egan Bernal. This year’s edition was won by young Slovenian Tadej Pogacar.

Anna van der Breggen leads the way in the women’s race with two overall wins from five editions, including this year’s race.

The Tour of California is just the latest American race to bow under the pressure of economic challenges. Other statewide stage races, such as the Tour de Georgia, Tour of Missouri, and the USA Pro Challenge (Colorado) have all come and gone in the years since California began, likewise the Philadelphia Cycling Classic.

For more on the history of the Amgen Tour of California, be sure to check out Neal Rogers’ feature article from earlier this year.

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