Organizers of the Tour of Saudi Arabia (open in new tab) have confirmed that the race will return in 2022.

Due to the global COVID-19 epidemic and related travel restrictions, the organizers of the Tour Down Under (open in new tab) and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race have once again cancelled the World Tour race, and the Tour Down Under has been replaced by a national forced to change the event to a National event.

However, the 2022 season will open with the Clasica Comunitat Valenciana race and the Challenge Mallorca race in Spain on January 26. La Marseillaise, the Grand Prix Cicliste de Marseille, is scheduled to open in France on January 30.

Argentina will host the Vuelta a San Juan (open in new tab) from January 30 to February 6. The Tour of Oman could also return in 2022, and the UAE Tour will kick off the men's World Tour on February 20-26. Of course, all races could be affected by the proliferation and impact of Omicron.

The Saudi Tour is run by ASO, the organizers of the Tour de France, and they have announced the 2022 race dates, stating that it is "one of the first races on the UCI calendar for the leading teams."

The first edition of the Saudi Tour took place in February 2020, with Phil Bauhaus winning the final stage and the overall. The second edition was not held in 2021 due to the Covid 19 epidemic, but the Saudi government is eager to bring the event back in early 2022.

According to the ASO, the race will take place on a star-shaped course that showcases Al-Ula, the heritage and culture of northwest Saudi Arabia. Teams will likely stay in the same hotel during the race.

Al-Ula is one of the oldest cities on the Arabian Peninsula and is home to Hegura, the first Saudi UNESCO World Heritage Site. Al-Ula's history dates back more than 200,000 years and was once located at the intersection of the Silk Road and the Incense Route. The region is being opened up as a year-round destination for heritage, art, nature, and adventure as part of Saudi Arabia's massive development plan.

ASO announced that there will also be a mass participation race alongside a men's professional stage race called the Saudi Tour Ride, a women's race called the Saudi Tour Women's Ride, a junior race organized by the Saudi Cycling Federation, and children's events.

Amnesty International had urged athletes to use their platforms and profiles to bring attention to human rights violations in Saudi Arabia before the 2020 race.

ASO was criticized by human rights advocates, but not before calling for a boycott of the event, which Amnesty criticized as an example of so-called sportswashing.

"We are not saying that individual athletes or teams should boycott the Saudi Arabia tour; we are saying that they should boycott the Saudi Arabia tour.